Canada pauses new parent and grandparent sponsorship applications in 2026 while processing existing ones

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will not accept any new applications in 2026 for the parent and grandparent sponsorship program, Cbc reported. The pause remains in effect until further notice. There are 60,500 applications already in progress.

National processing wait times average 33 months, reaching up to 66 months in Quebec. The program launched in 2020 after more than 200,000 permanent residents and citizens expressed interest in sponsoring a parent or grandparent. An Immigration Department official said the government will still approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the program in 2026 and 2027 combined.

Canada's immigration levels plan, released in fall 2025, targets 380,000 permanent residents per year from 2026 through 2028. The plan also reduced the number of temporary work and student visas issued in 2026 to nearly half the 2025 total. Population growth is expected to stay flat in 2026 for the second consecutive year.

Briefing materials prepared for Immigration Minister Lena Diab in 2025 showed government polling found support for immigration fell in 2023 and 2024 to a 30-year low. In November 2024, more than half of Canadians surveyed by the department said too many immigrants were arriving.

In a May 2026 video, Diab stated the government is working to restore control and sustainability to the immigration system.

In March 2026 the federal government passed a law tightening asylum eligibility and retroactively canceling thousands of claims filed outside a new deadline. As of April 30, 2026, the department held more than 2.1 million applications across all streams, with more than 922,000 in backlog. Between January and April 2026, 112,900 people became permanent residents through various programs.