🗓 On November 12, Statistics Canada released preliminary figures for October 2026. The figures cover arrivals in Canada by air and automobile, including Canadian residents returning from abroad. 🇺🇸 Trips to Canada by U.S. residents rose for the ninth straight month year over year U.S. residents made 1.54 million trips to Canada, up 8.1% from October 2025. About 1.1 million trips were by automobile (+8.7%) and 414,400 were by air (+6.5%). Daily arrivals by U.S. residents peaked at 102,100 on October 9, just before the U.S. long weekend. 🌍 Most visitors from countries other than the U.S. arrived by air Residents of countries other than the U.S. made about 465,300 trips to Canada (+5%). Of these, 417,000 were by air (+5.4%) and 48,300 were by automobile (+2%). 🍁 Return trips from the U.S. rose year over year and remained below October 2024 levels Canadian residents made 2.8 million return trips from abroad (+2.2%), including 1.88 million from the U.S. (+3%). This marked the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year growth in return trips from the U.S. Compared with October 2025, returns rose 2.2% by automobile and 5.6% by air. They were still 29% and 19.6% below October 2024 levels, respectively. Canadian residents made 968,528 return trips by air from countries other than the U.S. (+0.5%). Return trips from abroad peaked at 172,900 on October 12, Canada’s Thanksgiving Day. 📊 Since August 2026, Statistics Canada has been phasing in data on NEXUS automobile crossings at selected ports of entry. Because this changes which crossings are captured, Statistics Canada advises caution when comparing the figures with previous years.

🗓 On November 12, 2026, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published the average processing times for LMIA applications in October. Processing took longer in four streams compared with September. The Permanent Resident Stream saw the largest increase, from 79 to 94 business days. 📌 Average processing times for October ✅ Global Talent Stream — 9 business days (unchanged) ✅ Agricultural Stream — 20 business days (−2 days) ✅ Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) — 11 business days (+4 days) ✅ Permanent Resident Stream — 94 business days (+15 days) ✅ High-wage Stream — 102 business days (+4 days) ✅ Low-wage Stream — 86 business days (+4 days) 🔹 Service Canada measures processing time from the date a complete LMIA application is submitted until the applicant receives a decision. The required job advertising period before submission is counted separately.

🗓 On November 12, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Lena Metlege Diab, outlined how a time-limited measure announced in Budget 2026 will work. It applies to workers who already live and work in Canada outside Quebec, as well as their families. 📌 How will it work? The federal government is offering provinces and territories additional allocations under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Each province and territory can decide how many of these spaces to use to retain workers who meet local labour market needs. The additional allocations are intended to be used by March 31, 2027. 📋 Who else may be considered? Provinces and territories will also be able to identify candidates who have already applied for permanent residence (PR) and are awaiting a decision under one of the following programs: ▪️ Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) ▪️ Start-Up Visa Program ▪️ Self-Employed Persons Program ▪️ Agri-Food Pilot ▪️ Home care worker programs ❗️ March 31 is the date by which provinces and territories are expected to use the additional allocations. If you’ve already applied, your existing application can be considered under this measure without any further action on your part. Programs that are closed to new applications will stay closed. 📎 Official IRCC announcement