Canada Work Permit Holders (TFWP + IMP)
How many work permits Canada has issued — split between LMIA-supported TFWP and LMIA-exempt IMP (which includes PGWP, CUSMA, CUAET, IEC, and intra-company transfers). By country, program, and destination province, every year since 2015.
Work permits issued, year by year
Combined count of every TFWP and IMP work permit that first became effective in the calendar year. Watch the 2022–2023 surge (post-pandemic backlog clear + CUAET Ukraine response) and the subsequent rebalancing. 2026 is partial (Feb, Jan).
TFWP vs IMP — the real split
Most people use "TFWP" loosely to mean "foreign worker in Canada", but the IRCC data is split between two completely different programs. TFWP requires a positive LMIA from Service Canada and is the politically visible program. IMP is LMIA-exempt — it's where PGWP graduates, CUSMA/CETA professionals, intra-company transferees, IEC working-holiday participants, CUAET Ukrainians, and spousal open work permits live. IMP is roughly 3.5× larger than TFWP.
Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP)
A subset of IMP and the most-requested permit by recent Canadian graduates. PGWP issuance peaked at 240,320 in 2023 as the post-2020 study-permit cohort graduated en masse. The post-2024 study permit cap will drag this number down over the next 2–3 years.
Top source countries (TFWP + IMP combined)
Cumulative since 2015. India leads, but Mexico (CUSMA), Ukraine (CUAET), and the Philippines (TFWP caregivers) are major streams.
All-time permits by province
Cumulative TFWP + IMP since 2015
Applying for a Canadian work permit?
The right program (TFWP vs IMP, LMIA vs LMIA-exempt) changes the timeline by months. We assess every available exemption (CUSMA, CETA, GATS, IEC, spousal, intra-company) before recommending LMIA.
About this data
Two programs: the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) requires a positive LMIA from Service Canada; the International Mobility Program (IMP) is LMIA-exempt and includes Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP), the International Experience Canada (IEC) youth mobility agreements, intra-company transfers, CUSMA/CETA professionals, and spousal open work permits. Counts are by the year in which a permit became effective. IRCC suppresses cells with counts 0-5.
Combined counts add TFWP and IMP. Counts are by the year in which a permit first became effective.
Source & licence
Original dataset: Temporary Residents: TFWP and IMP Work Permit Holders — Monthly IRCC Updates.
Published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Released under the Open Government Licence — Canada.
Data last refreshed by Halani from canada.ca for 2026 reporting.