2027 Immigration Levels: Canada must renew its commitment to refugees
November 6, 2026
The Canadian Council for Refugees is dismayed that the federal government’s immigration levels plan announced today shows a further reduction in the commitment to resettling refugees. At a time when global displacement is at record levels, and the US has dismantled its resettlement program, Canadian leadership more critical than ever.
The cuts in numbers of Government-Assisted Refugees, down from 15,250 in 2023 to 11,750 in 2027, reflect the disproportionate impacts on refugees of reductions in immigration levels: since 2023, Canada’s refugee resettlement levels have been cut by 43%, more than twice the 18% cut to immigration overall. The people with the fewest options are losing the most and refugees are bearing a disproportionate share of these cuts.
“The further cuts to Government-Assisted Refugees after years of decline is shocking and not in keeping with Canadians’ expectation of global refugee leadership from their government” said Asma Faizi, CCR President. “Behind every cut is a person: a woman who has survived violence and has nowhere safe to go, a torture survivor still carrying that trauma, a family with no one in Canada to sponsor them. For these people, government resettlement is the avenue to safety.”
CCR had urged Canada to ensure at least 15% of our immigration levels be dedicated to refugee resettlement, including at least 20,000 Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs), which are an important expression of State responsibilities under the Refugee Convention. Now at only 8%, we are far from that goal the revised target of 17,500 for privately sponsored refugees results in no net new resettlement spaces for refugees, merely replacing the cuts to GARs and offloading the responsibility and costs of resettlement disproportionately onto communities and civil society. Even with the small increase, the PSR target means. wait times of four years and tight restrictions on how many refugees can be sponsored. Yet communities across Canada are ready and waiting to welcome refugees.
Despite the welcome special initiative announced last year to provide permanent residence to 115,000 Protected Persons (refugees accepted in Canada) over 2026 and 2027, the underlying problem of the levels remains unaddressed. Refugees continue to face waits of over three years before they can be reunited with family members who are still overseas. The CCR urges the government to implement a structural solution, inspired by the special initiative, with a system re-design that allows Protected Persons to receive permanent residence automatically.
The Government’s new initiative to grant permanent residence under humanitarian programs to 100,000 people in Canada is commendable. This goes some way to address the huge backlogs of applications in various categories, which resulted in people facing waits of many years, in some cases over 10 years. This includes people eligible under special measures for citizens of Sudan, Ukraine and Hong Kong, as well as people who have been accepted in principle on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. We are concerned that the government’s notes regarding this initiative did not mention nationals of Sudan.
Finally, the levels plan continues the major cuts for temporary residents (temporary workers and international students) – from 516,600 in the 2025 plan to 370,000 in 2027 plan. The CCR continues to urge the government to ensure pathways to permanence and open work permits to address the high levels of exploitation experienced by temporary workers who are playing vital roles in our society and economy without respect for their basic rights. The commitment to a reform of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program announced in Budget 2026 provides an opportunity to address the fundamentally exploitative nature of the program, if the government centres its reforms on the rights of the workers.
Overall, cuts in targets for refugees, humanitarian applications and Family Class reflect the government’s objective of increasing the economic share of immigration to 64%. “An overly economic focus on the levels distorts the role that immigration plays in building our society and telling the story of who we are,” said Gauri Sreenivasan, CCR Co-Executive Director. “When we open the door, more refugees gain a safe home, and Canada gains future citizens who strengthen our communities, enrich our culture, create jobs, and build our economy. Canadians know we are better and stronger together.”