Toronto, November 6, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Following the tabling of the 2026 federal budget in the House of Commons yesterday, OCASI welcomes the additional opportunities announced under the government's 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan for up to 200,000 people already in Canada to obtain permanent residence by the end of 2027, including 100,000 workers and 100,000 people in specified humanitarian categories.
However, these narrowly targeted measures leave many people already living and working in Canada without a clear pathway to permanent residence, including some of the estimated hundreds of thousands of undocumented people, international graduates struggling to qualify for permanent residence, and migrant workers in low-wage or seasonal jobs. Without secure immigration status, they remain particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Some have spent years in limbo, often because changes to immigration policies and processing delays have resulted in the loss of their legal status.
OCASI calls on the federal government to uphold Canada's humanitarian commitments, including timely processing of asylum claims and sustained support for refugee resettlement. This includes Canada's longstanding private sponsorship program, supported by individuals, community groups and organizations across the country.
The Immigration Levels Plan maintains Canada's target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions annually from 2027 to 2029, unchanged from last year's plan. For immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations already struggling with substantial funding reductions, the decision raises further concerns about the resources available to support newcomers.
Federal settlement funding in Canada is directly linked to projected immigration levels. Government investment in critically important settlement programs has been cut several times in succession. The first reductions followed the government's decisions in 2024 and 2025 to lower immigration targets. These were followed by further cuts under the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER), which imposed spending reductions on federal departments, including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Findings from a forthcoming OCASI report reveal the dire impact of these funding cuts for immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations across Ontario. In a survey of 75 organizations, 69% of affected agencies reported staff layoffs, 52% reported offering fewer services, and 32% reported disruptions to language training.
These cuts have consequences far beyond the organizations themselves. Settlement services help newcomers find employment, develop language skills and overcome barriers to integration, enabling them to build their lives and contribute fully to Canadian society and the economy. Cutting these services is short-sighted. If the government wants to realize the long-term economic and social benefits of immigration, it must invest in the organizations that make successful settlement possible.
Debbie Douglas, the Executive Director of OCASI, said:
“The Immigration Levels Plan has a profound impact on people's lives, including whether families can stay together, whether workers can escape exploitation, and whether people can access the support they need. Canada must uphold its humanitarian commitments, provide equitable pathways to permanent residence for people already here, and ensure that everyone who needs settlement and public services can access them. These are not simply numbers on a government spreadsheet. They are decisions that affect people's lives and futures.”
The government has made little progress in addressing lengthy family reunification delays affecting refugees and people seeking to sponsor their parents and grandparents. Family reunification is a longstanding principle of Canada's immigration system, yet systemic barriers continue to disproportionately affect racialized families, low-income families and refugees, delaying or preventing them from reuniting with loved ones.
We are also deeply concerned by the continued scapegoating of immigrants for Canada's housing crisis and the suggestion that immigration places “undue pressures” on housing, healthcare and social services. Such language risks portraying immigrants as a problem to be managed rather than people to be welcomed, while reinforcing negative attitudes and hostility towards newcomers.
While immigration contributes to demand for housing and public services, it is misleading to blame newcomers for longstanding failures to invest adequately in housing and infrastructure. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimates that Canada needs between 417,000 and 469,000 new homes annually to restore affordability to pre-pandemic levels by 2036. Immigrants are also helping to meet this need: according to IRCC's own figures, they account for 23% of residential building contractors and builders, 20% of roofers and 15% of carpenters in Canada. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada has warned that lower immigration, combined with an aging population, will mean fewer workers and slower economic growth.
OCASI Board Chair Alfred Lam said:
“The important conversation about immigration is fraught with misinformation. The most damaging is the false notion that investing in immigration and building our economy are competing interests.
The truth is for Canada, every aspect of nation building is directly tied to immigration: growing our population, strengthening our economy, building our infrastructure, sustaining our services, defending our culture and maintaining our international leadership as a welcoming nation and a champion of human rights.
The Immigration Levels Plan is not only about the number of people entering Canada, but whether Canada can continue to be the kind of nation we are proud to belong to.”
We welcome the investment in the Interim Federal Health Program ($404 million in 2026-27, $411 in 2027-28). However, the budget is silent on whether the co-payment model introduced last year will be discontinued. Earlier this year co-payments were removed for some, but not all health supports. These harsh measures continue, despite widespread outcry from civil society, including community groups and healthcare providers. Those affected typically cannot afford these co-payments, and may therefore forgo preventative care and prescriptions.
The investment in women’s programs, including initiatives addressing gender-based violence (GBV), while modest, is welcome news. GBV and intimate partner violence (IPV) against women continue to rise, and this is a significant concern for OCASI’s member agencies.