The federal government has paused new applications for its Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP), saying the move is aimed at reducing processing delays and better managing Canada’s immigration system.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced it will not accept new sponsorship applications “until further notice,” while continuing to process tens of thousands of existing files.
The department said demand for the program continues to far exceed available spaces. There are currently about 60,500 applications being processed, with average wait times of 33 months across Canada and up to 66 months in Quebec.
Despite the pause, IRCC says it still plans to approve up to 15,000 permanent residents through the parent and grandparent sponsorship stream in both 2026 and 2027, in line with Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan.
The Parent and Grandparent Program, introduced in 2020, received interest from more than 200,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents seeking to sponsor family members. Each year, only a limited number of applicants are invited to submit full sponsorship applications.
The suspension comes as the federal government continues efforts to slow immigration growth and address mounting backlogs. Canada’s current immigration plan targets 380,000 permanent residents annually between 2026 and 2028while significantly reducing the number of temporary work and study permits issued.
Immigration has become an increasingly divisive political issue. Internal government briefing documents prepared for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab found public support for immigration fell sharply in 2023 and 2024, reaching its lowest level in three decades. Government polling also found that more than half of Canadians believed immigration levels were too high.
Earlier this year, the federal government also introduced legislation tightening asylum rules and expanding Ottawa’s authority to cancel certain visas.
IRCC continues to face significant processing pressures. As of April 30, the department had more than 2.1 million immigration applications across all streams, including more than 922,000 applications classified as backlogged because they exceeded service standards. Fewer than half of permanent residence applications were processed within the department’s target timelines.
Between January and April 2026, nearly 112,900 people obtained permanent resident status through various immigration pathways.
While new sponsorship applications are on hold, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can still apply for a Super Visa, allowing parents and grandparents to visit Canada for up to five years per entry, with stays of up to 10 yearsunder the program’s overall validity.
