IRCC released details on the government of Canada's Immigration Levels Plan for 2024-2026. Canada aims to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024; 500,000 in 2025; and 500,000 in 2026. The impact of these targets is already reflected in IRCC's recent actions and initiatives, including the following:

• Significantly increasing how many applicants are being selected to apply for permanent residence under various categories, with a focus on applicants who are currently in Canada
• Creating new pathways for permanent residence to individuals who work in essential occupations and to recent graduates from Canadian post-secondary institutions who will begin working in essential occupations
• Transitioning application processes that were previously prepared and submitted by paper to new online systems, which will help facilitate the application process and speed up processing times