Is IRCC going to magically approve 115,000 immigration files after struggling for years?

Summary

A committee member questioned how the government’s one-time initiative—described as granting permanent residency to 115,000 protected persons and 33,000 temporary workers over two years—would be reflected in the immigration levels plan. The member argued that processing these people outside the published targets made the plan unclear and could push actual immigration numbers above the stated levels.

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said the initiative was disclosed in budget documents and was additional to the levels plan. She noted that protected persons already had the right to remain in Canada and said IRCC expected to process the cases using existing resources, without diverting officers from other work. The questioner challenged whether the department could manage the volume after years of processing delays; Diab pointed to ongoing efforts to improve efficiency.

The committee also asked how many Yazidi survivors from Iraq had arrived through a resettlement program launched in 2023 and requested a report on applications and approvals. No figures were provided during the exchange.

In a later exchange, a member pressed Diab on the budget’s planned 15% cuts, potential staffing reductions, and the effects on services and backlogs. Diab said IRCC had already removed 3,300 positions in February 2025 after the permanent-resident target was reduced, and stated that frontline services would not be cut.

The member cited long delays in the Hong Kong pathway, including reports of waits of up to ten years, and criticized the government’s handling of temporary residents and employment. They also argued that young people were struggling to find jobs while temporary foreign workers were being admitted.

The member and minister disputed the share of Canada’s population made up of non-permanent residents. Diab cited 7.26% for the third quarter of 2025. The member referred to figures of 7.4% in 2024 and about 7.1% currently, compared with 2.5% in 2022.

Diab said arrivals were declining. From January to September 2025, Canada had 150,220 fewer international students and 158,660 fewer workers arrive than during the same period the previous year. She also said asylum numbers were down and the government was managing non-permanent resident numbers. The member concluded that many Hong Kong pathway applicants remained frustrated by delays and lacked a clear path forward.

Presenters and contributors

• Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration
• Committee chair, unnamed in the subtitles
• Two committee members/questioners, whose names are unclear in the subtitles; one is rendered near the end as “Mr. Managus” or “Mr. Magus.”