The 33,000 Worker Initiative – Not the same old TR to PR Pathway
Posted on 18/03/2026
Summary
As of mid-March 2026, there's a plan to transition 33,000 temporary workers in Canada to permanent residency. It's different from the 2021 TR to PR pathway, which had clear routes. Details the new initiatives are expected to be unveiled in April 2026.
No, the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) plan recently announced by Minister Diab is not a pathway to permanent residence like the one carried out in 2021.
As of mid-March 2026, it’s a strategy that reportedly focuses on several existing pathways to transition 33,000 temporary workers in Canada to permanent resident status. So, stop comparing it to the 2021 TR to PR pathway, which was indeed a series of clearly defined pathways. Until we get more details, we don’t know if the current strategy, including the initiative to move 33,000 workers to PR status, will become specific pathways.
We’ve told you about IRCC’s new policies on immigration levels and the cutbacks they have produced over the last 2 years. To reduce the number of temporary workers already in Canada, you have to:
- Make it harder to renew temporary work permits.
- Move temporary workers to permanent residents, targeting specific occupations and regions.
As you read this, IRCC is doing and has been doing the first one, sending more and more workers home. The question regarding the second option is: what don’t we know and what do we need to know about the initiative for transitioning workers to PR status?
2021 – TR to PR Pathway
This was a clearly defined pathway to deal with labour shortages resulting from the COVID pandemic. It had details on 6 streams, as well as caps, and eligibility requirements:
- 20,000 applications for healthcare workers
- 30,000 applications for essential workers in other areas
- 40,000 applications for post-graduate international students
- 3 additional francophone streams with no intake caps
There was a detailed application guide showing:
- Information on all 6 streams
- Requirements to be currently working with authorization in Canada
- Requirements to have been working for at least 12 months in Canada over the last 36 months
- Requirements to have an eligible Canadian academic credential for recent graduates
- Language requirements which varied by stream (worker stream: CLB/NCLC 4; graduate stream: CLB/NCLC 5)
- Other admissibility requirements
There was clear timeline with fixed start and finish dates:
- The pathway was announced on April 14, 2021
- Admissions were opened up on May 6, 2021
- Admissions were closed on November 5, 2021
There was a precise list of eligible occupations that reflected the labour shortages in 2021:
- About 40 healthcare occupations
- Around 95 other essential occupations
2026 – TR to PR Initiative
Most of the above type of details are still missing from IRCC’s latest initiative. However, there is a strategy that has been in place over the last year or two with several elements to it:
- Express Entry and especially CEC (Canadian Experience Class) are favoring in-Canada applicants.
- Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) and Rural Pilot Programs like RCIP are being used as streams for in-Canada temporary workers in certain occupations to get PR status.
- The 33,000 TR to PR initiative which has recently been announced but still needs to be fleshed out.
Will there be a clear pathway, with eligibility requirements, and an intake window (a dedicated webpage where you can submit your application)? Or will the 33,000 goal be met through PNPs, Rural Pilot programs and CEC/Express Entry? We don’t know at this point, but hopefully we’ll get answers in April as the government has stated.
- You should note that the 33,000 TR to PR initiative has so far not mentioned recent graduates working in Canada, and has instead focused on temporary workers in Canada. Does that mean that recent graduates will need to have a valid work permit and at least 12 months full-time experience to qualify? We don’t yet know.
What are my Choices?
There are a number of potential pathways for temporary workers in Canada who want to transition to PR status. Let’s group these potential pathways into several categories:
Existing Channels being favoured more over the last year:
- Canadian Experience Class draws in Express Entry
- Express Entry draws based on categories (restricted to certain types of occupations)
Reviewing the latest draws at Express Entry will give you an idea of who the successful applicants are. Go here for details on the latest EE draws.
Review the eligibility criteria for Canadian Experience Class here, and see if you might be eligible, and of course, follow the EE latest draws to see who’s being taken up.
Existing Regional Pathways
To ease the housing crunch in major urban centres, the government is clearly trying to funnel more foreign workers to specific rural areas with labour shortages and to Provincial Nominee Programs which are designed to meet occupational needs in their respective provinces and territories. These regional pathways include:
- Provincial Nominee Programs and Rural Pilot Programs
- Atlantic Pilot Programs – especially in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland/Labrador
- Other community-focused programs
Don’t forget to check out PNP’s like OINP, BC PNP, & AAIP. And see our detailed blog on RCIP, the latest Rural Immigration Pilot program.
New To-Be-Detailed Initiative
The 33,000 worker transition from TR to PR is reportedly a one-time initiative that will take place over 2026 and 2027. So, as we said initially, it might become a well-defined pathway in the following weeks and months. Look for information on the following areas when Minister Diab gives a press conference on the matter, reportedly sometime in April, 2026. Does she mention the following?
- Opening & Closing dates?
- One stream or several eligible streams?
- What occupations qualify?
- How long will you have to have been in Canada for to qualify?
- What is the required minimum work experience?
- What language levels (Canadian Language Benchmarks or CLB) are required?
- Will the 33,000 cap be divided by region, streams, or by province?
- Will international graduates be eligible? With or without work experience?
- Will it function inside of Express Entry or as a stand-alone program?
- Will a rural focus be mandatory depending on the occupation?
It does appear that the government is working out the details and has not yet put together answers to the questions listed above. Hopefully, when our Minister of Immigration gives us more details, she’ll have some answers. But remember, you need to go digging for these answers throughout IRCC’s website on a fairly regular basis. And if you need some guidance with your search, we’ll be happy to help.
Posted in News Tips and tagged Temporary foreign workers, TR to PR pathways
