The major changes to Canadian permanent resident pathways in 2024

In 2024, Canada launched several new pathways to permanent residence and has made major changes to existing pathways.

The below table showcases these updates for a clearer overview.

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Pathway	Whom it is for	Summary of major changes	Date of launch
Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP)	French-speakers from select countries who graduate from select DLIs.	New program.	Launched August 26, 2024.
Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative	French-speakers wishing to settle in select communities outside Quebec.	Tennew communities have been added.	Details to be announced.
Alberta Law Enforcement Pathway	Those with job offers in law enforcement in Alberta.	New pathway.	June 25, 2024.
Quebec’s Skilled Worker Selection Program	Skilled workers who wish to settle in Quebec.	Replacement pathway for the Regular Skilled Worker Program. Paused until June 30, 2025.	To start issuing ITAs June 30, 2025.
In-Canada Focus Category	Express Entry candidates with temporary resident status in Canada.	New category.	October 24, 2024.
PEQ Graduates Stream	International students who graduate from DLIs in Quebec.	Addition of French requirement. Suspension until June 30, 2025.	October 31, 2024.
Federal Economic Priorities (Express Entry)	Express Entry candidates.	Focus on healthcare, skilled trades, and French.	Details to be announced.
BC’s Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot	Eligible newcomers looking to start businesses within the province and settle there permanently.	The pilot became permanent. Is now called Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) Regional Stream.	June 21, 2024.

Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP)

FMCSP was launched on August 26, 2024, as a flagship measure of the Policy on Francophone Immigration.

This program aims to attract and retain French-speaking international students who wish to settle in Canada permanently by providing graduates a direct pathway from temporary to permanent status.

Pilot program participants will also benefit from access to settlement services while they are studying.

Details and eligibility

To be eligible, participants need to meet the following criteria:

Be a citizen of an eligible country.
Have a letter of acceptance from a participating designated learning institution (DLI) that says they're applying under the FMCSP.
Be enrolled in a study program that meets the requirements of the pilot.
Have enough money to pay for tuition fees and living expenses for themselves and family members who come with them to Canada.
Live outside Canada when they apply.
Get a medical exam (if needed).
Get a police certificate (if needed).
Score a level 5 or higher in all abilities in the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) scale.

Depending on where they're applying from, they may also need to provide other documents.

Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative

Earlier this year, IRCC announced that it would be expanding its Welcoming Francophone Community Initiative.

The initiative supports the immigration of French-speaking newcomers to specific francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec.

Prior to its expansion, this initiative included 14 francophone and Acadian communities. IRCC expanded the program to include 10 more communities across six provinces in August 2024.

Under this initiative, these communities are given funding by IRCC to provide settlement plans, and services such as language training and employment advice, and arrange community events to help newcomers integrate into the communities.

Details and eligibility

Details about candidate eligibility in the new communities have not yet been announced.

Alberta Law Enforcement Pathway

On June 25, 2024, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) launched a new immigration pathway for those working in law enforcement.

Details and Eligibility

Candidates must have a job offer from an employer with membership in the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP).

This job offer must be for one of the eligible occupations:

Commissioned and non-commissioned police officers.
Related occupations in public protection services.
Police investigators and other investigative occupations.
Specialized law enforcement occupations.

Since this is an Express Entry aligned stream, candidates must also meet all the other Express Entry criteria.

The province allocated 50 nominations to this pathway in 2024.

Quebec’s Skilled Worker Selection Program

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) would replace Quebec’s Regular Skilled Worker Program (PRTQ).

The Skilled Worker Selection Program offers a pathway for people to live and work in Quebec permanently.

It differs from the previous program through an increased focus on French language proficiency and Quebec values.

It has four streams:

Streams	Whom it is for
Highly qualified and specialized skills	Workers with a knowledge of French whose main occupation is category FÉER 0, 1, or 2.
Intermediate and manual skills	Workers with a knowledge of French whose main occupation is category FÉER 3, 4 or 5.
Regulated professionals	Workers with a knowledge of French whose profession falls within the regulated professions list (those requiring a license to practice in Quebec)
Exceptional talent	Workers who have distinguished themselves in their occupations through exceptional expertise that is likely to contribute to Quebec’s prosperity. They also need to have practiced their occupation for at least three years out of five prior to the date of application.

Details and eligibility

To qualify for any PSTQ stream, you must not only meet the criteria specific to that stream, but must also meet general eligibility requirements:

Be 18 years or older.
Intend to settle in Québec and take up employment.
Be capable of performing the job you’re applying for
Sign a Financial Self-Sufficiency Contract, proving you can support yourself and any accompanying family members for three months after arriving in Québec.
Obtain a certificate of learning democratic and Québec values, including for any family members aged 18 or older.
Comply with any return conditions if you have a scholarship in Québec.

The exceptional talent stream is the only stream that does not require knowledge of French.

*There are certain restrictions on employment such as not being on behalf of a company where you have legal or de factor control, or being in fields such as payday loans, adult entertainment industry, and pawnbroking.

To apply to receive a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) under this stream, candidates must enter the Arrima pool, and be drawn from the pool to receive an invitation to apply from the Quebec immigration ministry.

The PSTQ has suspended issuing Invitations to Apply until June 30, 2025. It is expected to start inviting candidates after that date.

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PEQ Graduates Stream

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) would undergo significant updates.

PEQ offers a pathway for temporary workers and international graduates to transition to permanent residence in Quebec. It has two streams: one for Quebec graduates and one for temporary foreign workers.

Starting November 23, only programs where 75% of courses or credits are completed in French are eligible for the PEQ Graduates stream.

The Quebec government announced that it would be reducing the number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQs) to PEQ graduates in 2025 – from a projected 14,500 in 2024 to a target of 4,500 in 2025.

Details and eligibility

The graduate stream of the PEQ has been paused. It will reopen on June 30, 2025.

In-Canada focus category

In the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that 40% of the planned admission spaces for 2025 will be allocated to applicants already residing in Canada through the In-Canada focus category.

In 2025, this is planned to equate to 82,980 dedicated admission spaces in the category.

The introduction of this category is in line with the federal government’s decision to prioritize domestic candidates for PR.

Details and eligibility

The In-Canada Focus category primarily encompasses admissions from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) in addition to regional pathways.

It may also come from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

Candidates would need to have eligible Express Entry profiles at the time of an immigration draw and be non-Permanent Resident (NPR) with a valid temporary resident status in Canada.

Federal Economic Priorities (Express Entry)

In the Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC set a target for 41,700 permanent residence admissions under a Federal Economic category.

This category makes up part of the Express Entry admissions targets.

These Economic Priorities may be addressed through Canada’s category-based draws, first launched in May 2023.

The levels plan specifically called out three categories as priorities in 2025:

Healthcare occupations;
Trade occupations; and
French-language proficiency.

Candidates eligible for these categories may be more likely to receive ITAs in 2025.

BC’s Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Stream

On June 21, British Columbia made the Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Program a permanent fixture in their Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

Now known as the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Stream, this helps eligible newcomers looking to start a new business.

Interested candidates must visit the community they plan on running a business in, and also receive a community referral that allows them to register and apply under the EI stream.

Eligible communities include:

Cariboo region:

Mackenzie.
Quesnel.

Kootenay region:

Castlegar & Central Kootenay (Areas I & J).
Columbia Valley & East Kootenay.
Kimberley Nelson & Central Kootenay (Areas E & F).
Rossland Trail.

Nechako region:

Bulkley-Nechako.

Northeast region

Fort St. John.

Thompson Okanagan region:

Clinton (Temporarily paused).
Penticton.
Salmon Arm.
Vernon.

Vancouver Island/Coast region:

Campbell River.
Comox.
Mount Waddington.
Powell River.

Details and eligibility

In order to be eligible, candidates must:

Establish a new business aligned with the priorities of the referring community;
Demonstrate business and/or management experience;
Have a personal net worth of more than $300,000 CAD;
Make an eligible personal investment of at least $100,000 CAD in the business;
Create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or PR;
Demonstrate a minimum language proficiency of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4;
Have, or be eligible for, legal immigration status in Canada; and
Have been lawfully admitted into the country where they currently live.

Nominees can receive a work permit for establishing their business in BC while their application is being processed.

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