IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

Economic Immigration

Context

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) manages economic immigration programs to support the development of a strong Canadian economy and ensure that the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions.

Background

Impacts

Labour Market Impacts

Current Programs

The vast majority of economic immigrants are selected through Core Programs which focus on longstanding human capital factors such as level of education, official language proficiency, and skilled work experience. The core programs also respond to national and regional economic and labour market needs such as expected occupational shortages and strategic objectives, including Francophone immigration, allowing for a more targeted approach to support the economy.

Federal Programs (The 2025 admissions target for federal programs is 99,180)

Regional Programs (The 2025 admissions target for regional programs is 122,000 and 5,000 for Community Pilots).

Federal Business Class (The 2025 admissions target for federal business programs is 2,000).

Pilot Programs and Targeted Measures

Recent Developments

Upcoming Milestones

Key Service Delivery Statistics

Permanent Residents: Federal High Skilled – Data up to 2025 (Jan to Feb)

Service Standard Service Standard
Adherence in 2024
Wait Time
(Queue length for new applications)
2025 Admissions Target (vs. 2024) Client Satisfaction
FSW: 6 months FSW: 82% FSW: 5 months

New 2025 Themes:

  • Federal Economic Priorities: 41,700 (FSW+CEC)
  • In- Canada Focus: up to 82,980 (CEC incl. PNP space)
  • (2024 Federal High Skilled (FSW+CEC): 110,770)

PR Economic
2022: 81%
2023: 91%

CEC: 6 months CEC: 86% CEC: 6 months

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)

Application wait times by line of business are reflected on their own scale and are shown by quarter for comparative purposes.

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)
2023-Q1 2023-Q2 2023-Q3 2023-Q4 2024-Q1 2024-Q2 2024-Q3 2024-Q4 2025-Q1 2025-Q2
FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 5 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months FSW: 6 months
CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 6 months CEC: 7 months CEC: 5 months

Inventory Compared to Remaining 2025 AdmissionsNote *

Current Inventory vs. Planned Admissions

Inventory Admissions (YTD)
FSW 12,500 24,200
CEC 19,300 43,700

FSW:

Planned admissions Mar-Dec 2025: 24,200
All inventory to be processed in 2025 (with exceptions)

CEC:

Planned admissions Mar-Dec 2025: 43,700
All inventory to be processed in 2025 (with exceptions)

(PR = Permanent Resident; CEC = Canadian Experience Class; FSW = Federal Skilled Worker)

Permanent Residents: Provincial, Territorial and Regional Programs – Data up to 2025 (Jan to Feb)

Service Standard Service Standard
Adherence in 2024Note *
Wait Time
(Queue length for new applications)
2025 Admissions Target (vs. 2024) Client Satisfaction

PNP Base: 11 months
AIP: N/A
Community Pilots
(RNIP, RCIP/FCIP): N/A
PNP EE: 6 months

PNP Base: 79%
AIP: 94%
Community Pilots : 94%
PNP EE: 83%

PNP Base: 19 months
AIP: 24 months
Community Pilots: 7 months
PNP EE: 6 months

PNP (All): 55,000 + up to 27,500 from in-Canada Focus Theme (110,000)
AIP: 5,000 (6,500)
Community Pilots: N/A

PR Economic
2022: 81%
2023: 91%

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)

Rising wait times for PNP Base and AIP, reflecting surplus nominations.

Application wait times by line of business are reflected on their own scale and are shown by quarter for comparative purposes.

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)
2023-Q1 2023-Q2 2023-Q3 2023-Q4 2024-Q1 2024-Q2 2024-Q3 2024-Q4 2025-Q1 2025-Q2
AIP 8 8 10 10 11 12 13 17 27 24
PNP Base 12 11 12 12 13 11 11 13 24 1
Community Pilots (RNIP, RCIP/FCIP) 7 8 9 9 9 12 14 12 12 7
PNP-EE 6 6 6 6 7 6 6 7 7 6

Inventory Compared to Remaining 2025 Admissions

Current Inventory vs. Planned Admissions

Inventory Admissions ( YTD) Inventory to be processed in 2025
PNP Base 87,700 42,100 35%
AIP 12,100 4,100 33%
Community Pilots 3,500 4,100 All inventory to be processes in 2025 (with exceptions)
PNP-EE 16,300 25,700 All inventory to be processes in 2025 (with exceptions)

PNP = Provincial Nominee Program. AIP= Athlantic Immigration Program. RNIP = Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. RCIP= Rural Community Immigration Pilot. FCIP = Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.

Permanent Residents: Quebec Economic – Data up to 2025 (Jan to Feb)

Service Standard Service Standard
Adherence in 2024Note *
Wait Time
(Queue length for new applications)
2025 Admissions Target (vs. 2024) Client Satisfaction

QSW: 11 months
Quebec Business: N/A

QSW: 89%
Quebec Business: 12%

QSW: 9 months
Quebec Business: 108 months

QSW + Quebec Business: 34,500 (37,990)

PR Economic
2022: 81%
2023: 91%

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)

Quebec Skilled Worker intake and output aligned, while Quebec’s new plan includes few spaces for Quebec Business compared to inventory.

Application wait times by line of business are reflected on their own scale and are shown by quarter for comparative purposes.

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)
2023-Q1 2023-Q2 2023-Q3 2023-Q4 2024-Q1 2024-Q2 2024-Q3 2024-Q4 2025-Q1 2025-Q2
Quebec Business 28 17 26 23 10 20 17 22 108 108
QSW 9 9 9 8 9 8 8 11 8 9

Inventory Compared to Remaining 2025 Admissions

Current Inventory vs. Planned Admissions

Inventory Admissions (YTD) Inventory to be processed in 2025
QSW 27,600 35,400 All inventory to be processed in 2025 (with exceptions)
Quebec Business 4,100 375 3%

QSW: Quebec Skilled Workers.

Permanent Residents: Pilot Programs and Other Economic – Data up to 2025 (Jan to Feb)

Service Standard Service Standard
Adherence in 2024Note *
Wait Time 2025 Admissions Target (vs. 2024) Client Satisfaction

Agrifood: N/A
SUV: N/A
EMPP: 6 months
Caregivers: N/A

Agrifood: 80%
SUV: 4%
EMPP: 54%
Caregivers: 15%

Agrifood: 228 months
SUV: 420 months
EMPP: 54 months
Caregivers: 108 months

Federal Economic Pilots: 12,970 (15,875)

PR Economic
2022: 81%
2023: 91%

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)

Wait Times for New Applicants (in months)
2023-Q1 2023-Q2 2023-Q3 2023-Q4 2024-Q1 2024-Q2 2024-Q3 2024-Q4 2025-Q1 2025-Q2
SUV 31 41 83 47 48 48 51 71 420 420
Agrifood 8 10 9 9 13 22 32 60 180 228
Caregivers 56 65 61 47 50 31 29 27 84 108
EMPP 10 10 8 10 36 54

Inventory Compared to Remaining 2025 Admissions

Current Inventory vs. Planned Admissions

Inventory Admissions (YTD) Inventory to be processed in 2025
SUV 38,600 1,300 2%
Agrifood 8,900 450 5%
Caregivers 34,400 4,200 14%
EMPP 2,500 375 12%

SUV = Start-up Visa
EMPP= Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot.

Federal Economic Other includes SUV, EMPP, Agrifood, Caregivers and Regularization Public Policy.

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2025-09-11