On 4 May 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced progress on the one time In-Canada Workers Initiative aimed at transitioning up to 33,000 workers already in Canada to permanent residence (PR) over 2026 and 2027. Rather than creating a new PR stream, IRCC is accelerating the processing of certain PR applications already in its inventory. The initiative is directed at workers living in smaller communities who have established long term ties and have applied for permanent residence through specific regional and pilot programs. The In-Canada Workers initiative was first announced in November 2025 with the Budget 2025 announcement. When initially announced, the initiative prompted uncertainty about whether the 33,000 transitions might be delivered through an Express Entry invitation mechanism. IRCC’s recent announcement clarifies that this initiative is being implemented outside Express Entry and is limited to accelerating processing of permanent residence applications already submitted under specified regional and pilot programs.

A Tax Alert prepared by EY Law LLP group, and attached below, provides additional details.