What’s Lena Diab done with Canada’s immigration system in her first year…
Canada's immigration system has shifted toward regional control and rural labour priorities during Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab's first year in office, which began May 13, 2025. The 2026 Immigration Levels Plan increased provincial nominee allocations by 66% to 91,500 annual admissions while cutting federal economic immigration targets to 109,000 from 124,680 the previous year.
The change marks a departure from the centralized approach under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller. Provincial Nominee Program allocations now account for a larger share of economic immigration, allowing provinces to target occupations specific to their labour markets — British Columbia, for example, has directed nearly all its 2026 nominations toward healthcare workers, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and high-economic-impact candidates.
Diab's most concrete rural initiative, the In-Canada Workers Initiative, aims to transition 33,000 temporary workers living in smaller communities to permanent residence status across 2026 and 2027. The program requires at least two years of residence in a rural area and prioritizes existing applicants in Provincial Nominee Program and Atlantic Immigration Program inventories. IRCC processed 3,600 applications through the initiative in January and February 2026 alone, targeting 20,000 transitions for the full year.
"Part of this initiative consists of initially accelerating eligible applications from existing inventories," the May 4 announcement stated.
The policy affects temporary foreign workers in rural and smaller communities who hold valid work permits and have applied for permanent residence through provincial or regional programs. Urban workers remain excluded from the initiative, as Diab confirmed in an April interview. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program now allows eligible rural employers to fill up to 15% of their workforce through the low-wage stream, increased from the standard 10% cap.
Applicants living in smaller communities for at least two years who have submitted Provincial Nominee Program or Atlantic Immigration Program applications should monitor their IRCC online accounts for processing updates, as the department continues accelerating rural inventory cases through year-end.
Source: CIC News — published 2026-05-20.