Budget earmarks $140M for refugee, foreign worker permanent residency fast-track
by Clayton DeMaine, True North
The Liberal government is spending nearly $140 million as part of the 2025 federal budget to fast-track refugees.
The Liberal government is spending nearly $140 million as part of the 2025 federal budget to fast-track refugees, those in need of asylum and temporary foreign workers to permanent residency under two separate “one-time” programs, claiming the move will reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada.
Tucked away in the Liberals’ “Canada Strong Budget 2025,” released Tuesday, is a pledge for a “one-time measure” to “recognize eligible protected persons in Canada” as permanent residents over the next two years. The pledge is to the tune of $120 million in new spending over four years.
Additionally, the Liberals proposed an extra $19.4 million for IRCC and CBSA to process applications for a “one-time measure” to “accelerate” the transition of “up to” 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. The total of the two programs amounts to $139.4 million in taxpayer spending.
In Canada’s immigration system, “protected persons” refers to those meeting the definition under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
The budget did not specify whether individuals from a specific country of origin would be targeted under the program or provide further details on how it overlaps with existing programs like the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel or the special permanent residence pathway for Hong Kong residents.
“This practical step is a reflection of the fact that the vast majority of these people cannot return to the country of their origin,” the budget reads. “It will also ensure that those in genuine need of Canada’s protection have their permanent status recognized, accelerating their full integration into the Canadian society and their path to citizenship.”