August 2026 arrives with a stack of confirmed deadlines, expiring policies, and anticipated announcements that together make it one of the most consequential months of the year for Canadian immigration stakeholders.
Two humanitarian policies have reached or are approaching their expiration dates, a student pilot enters a new annual intake cycle, and one of Canada’s largest provincial nominee programs could reopen its application portal at any point during the month.
IRCC has also redesigned how it reports on its application backlog, making direct comparisons with earlier months more difficult for applicants trying to gauge processing momentum.
Meanwhile, hundreds of international graduates continue protesting post-graduation work permit refusals connected to non-credit programs, with no federal resolution announced as August begins.
This article covers every confirmed change, every expiring policy, and every watch item that immigration applicants, employers, and advisors should track through August 2026.
Table of Contents
IRCC Changes How It Reports Processing Backlogs
IRCC redesigned its application inventory dashboard in July 2026, and the change has significant implications for how applicants interpret backlog data going forward.
The new page, titled “Inside IRCC’s application processing system,” was published on July 21 with data as of May 31, 2026.
Under the previous format, IRCC reported what percentage of applications in each category were being processed within service standards versus sitting in backlog.
The new format no longer provides that percentage breakdown, removing the most commonly cited metric for tracking whether IRCC was keeping pace with its own targets.
Instead, the updated page reports total applications awaiting a final decision, broken into three new categories for permanent residence: Economic, Family, and Protection.
As of May 31, 2026, IRCC reported 1,517,770 total applications across permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship still awaiting processing.
The permanent residence inventory alone stands at 705,315, with Protection class at 307,215 applications representing the largest single category.
The new reporting structure also includes applications placed on a waitlist for future processing, a category that did not exist under the previous dashboard format.
Applicants who have been tracking month-over-month backlog trends since late 2025 should be aware that direct comparisons between the old and new reporting formats are not straightforward.
The next inventory update under the new format is expected in August 2026, and it will determine the real month-on-month data comparison.
New Francophone Student Pilot Intake Begins
A new annual intake period under the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot begins on August 26, 2026, following the extension announced by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab on July 6 in Winnipeg.
IRCC can accept up to 2,970 qualifying study permit applications between August 26, 2026, and August 25, 2027.
The pilot was originally set to close on August 25, 2026, but the extension added a third year of intake at the same 2,970 application cap.
The FMCSP offers French-speaking international students from designated countries across Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas a direct pathway to permanent residence after completing a Canadian credential.
Eligible applicants must hold a letter of acceptance bearing the FMCSP code from one of 17 participating designated learning institutions outside Quebec.
The pilot requires a minimum French language score of NCLC 5 in all four skills, a lower threshold than the NCLC 7 required for Express Entry French-language category draws.
Applications received after the annual cap is reached will not be accepted for processing and will be returned to the applicant.
Hong Kong Permanent Residence Pathways Close
The temporary public policy providing two dedicated permanent residence pathways for Hong Kong residents officially closes on August 31, 2026.
Stream A targets Hong Kong nationals who graduated from a Canadian designated learning institution within the past three years.
Stream B targets Hong Kong nationals with at least 12 months of full-time Canadian work experience or the equivalent 1,560 hours of part-time work within the past three years.
Both streams require Canadian Language Benchmark level 5 proficiency in English or French across all four language skills.
Applicants must be physically present in Canada with valid temporary resident status at the time of application and when permanent residence is granted.
Applications properly submitted before the August 31 deadline can continue to be processed afterward, though current processing times for Hong Kong pathway applications extend beyond 12 months.
This policy has been in effect since June 1, 2021, and IRCC has not yet announced any plans for a further extension beyond August 31, 2026.
So it also becomes one of the important updates in August to see if IRCC extends it or pathway just ends.
Applicants who have not yet completed their language tests, gathered education documents, or verified their work experience records should act immediately given that many of these steps carry their own processing timelines.
Will Express Entry Draws Continue in August?
IRCC conducted 42 Express Entry draws between January 5 and July 23, issuing 104,616 invitations to apply for permanent residence in the first seven months of 2024.
Express Entry draws are expected to continue in August, but the IRCC does not publish a guaranteed advance draw calendar and can change timing, category, or volumes without notice.
The most recent draws followed a cluster model in which PNP, CEC, and French-language rounds appeared within a compressed window of three to four consecutive days.
July 2026 featured two such clusters, one from July 6 through July 10 and another from July 20 through July 23, with no draws conducted outside those windows.
The two July CEC draws each issued 2,000 invitations, while CEC cutoffs have remained between 515 and 518 since April 2026.
French-language draws have been the highest-volume category-based pathway in 2026, with 40,500 invitations issued across 8 rounds and a CRS cutoff that dropped to 399 in the most recent round on July 22.
Candidates in the Express Entry pool should keep their profiles current and documents ready because we might see a PNP draw today, followed by a CEC and category-based round later in the week.
Fate Of Portage College PGWP Refusals and Ongoing Protests
Hundreds of international graduates connected to Portage College partner campuses in Calgary and Edmonton are continuing to protest post-graduation work permit refusals that began in late June 2026.
IRCC has been refusing PGWP applications from these graduates on the basis that their programs are classified as non-credit, citing that non-credit programs do not meet the eligibility criteria for work authorization under the immigration regulations.
The refusals followed an update to the IRCC PGWP webpage on or around June 24, 2026, which clarified that applicants must complete a program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate and that general interest programs, ESL/FSL programs, and other non-credit programs do not qualify.
IRCC has stated that this is not a new rule but a longstanding eligibility requirement that was clarified in the website update.
Portage College has said it does not make immigration decisions, does not act as a representative in individual immigration matters, and does not guarantee that any program will result in a particular immigration outcome.
The college has advised affected graduates to seek independent legal advice from an authorized immigration representative and explore available PGWP to PR pathways.
A petition on Change.org has called on Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab to pause all PGWP refusals on Portage College files pending review and to reverse the June 24 webpage change or apply it only prospectively to students who enrolled after the clarification was published.
As of August 2, 2026, IRCC has not announced any reconsideration, moratorium, or policy reversal, making this a continuing watch item through the month.
Palestinian Temporary Immigration Measures Extended
The special temporary immigration measures for eligible Palestinian passport holders and certain family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents were set to expire on July 31, 2026.
However, IRCC has further extended these special measures until December 30, 2027, now.
These measures were first introduced in December 2023 in response to the crisis in the Palestinian Territories and were extended twice.
The policy allows eligible Palestinians in Canada to apply for fee-exempt study permits, open work permits, temporary resident permits, or extensions of their temporary resident status.
This remains an August update for affected Palestinians in Canada.
Ontario Workforce Priority Stream Could Open in August
Ontario launched its new Workforce Priority Stream on June 26, 2026, replacing the eight previous OINP streams in the first phase of a two-phase program redesign.
The new stream covers workers across all NOC TEER levels from 0 through 5 and includes a separate pathway for self-employed physicians who do not need a job offer.
Ontario closed its Expression of Interest system on June 25, 2026, and all pending EOIs that had not received an invitation to apply were automatically withdrawn.
The province has stated that the EOI system is expected to reopen “later in the summer of 2026” but has not committed to a specific date.
Ontario also published the EOI scoring framework on July 20, 2026, setting out how eligible candidates will be ranked once the system reopens.
Employers who previously registered in the OINP Employer Portal do not need to register again, but they will need to submit a new job offer and a new application for approval of an employment position once the platform is active.
Ontario received a nomination allocation of 14,119 spots for 2026, and approximately 13,000 invitations to apply had already been issued under the former streams as of April 30, 2026.
Whether the remaining allocation flows through the new stream and how quickly Ontario begins issuing invitations under the new framework are key questions that August may answer.
Ebola Immigration and Border Restrictions Scheduled to End in Late August
Two sets of temporary measures introduced in response to the Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan are currently scheduled to end in late August 2026.
The immigration document suspension, which prevents foreign nationals who listed one of the affected countries as their last country of residence from using previously approved visas, permits, or electronic travel authorizations to travel to Canada, is scheduled to end at 23:59 ET on August 28, 2026.
The separate quarantine and border measures under the Quarantine Act, which require a 21-day quarantine for eligible travellers who have been in the affected areas within the previous 21 days, are scheduled to remain in effect until 23:59 EDT on August 29, 2026.
A third layer of restrictions was added on July 20, 2026, prohibiting foreign nationals who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the past 21 days from entering Canada entirely.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and persons registered under the Indian Act are not prohibited from entry but remain subject to a health assessment and the 21-day quarantine requirement.
The government has stated that the health risk to Canadians from Ebola remains low and that no travel-related Ebola cases have been reported in Canada.
However, the outbreak is evolving, and the government could extend or modify any of these restrictions before their scheduled end dates depending on the epidemiological situation.
August 2026 Immigration Dates at a Glance
| Date | Event | Status |
| Aug 2 | Express Entry draw clusters resume | Expected to continue with PNP draw on August 2 |
| Aug 2 | Palestinian temp measures already expired (Jul 31) | Extended until December 2027 |
| Aug 26 | FMCSP new annual intake opens | Confirmed |
| Aug 28 | Ebola immigration document suspension ends | May extend |
| Aug 29 | Ebola quarantine measures end | May extend |
| Aug 31 | Hong Kong PR pathways close | May extend |
| TBD | Ontario Workforce Priority EOI reopens | Expected summer 2026 |
| TBD | Next IRCC backlog update (new format) | Expected in August |
| TBD | PGWP refusal response from IRCC | Unknown |
The Hong Kong pathway closure on August 31 and the Francophone student pilot intake opening on August 26 are fixed dates that cannot be extended without new ministerial action.
The Ebola restrictions, Ontario EOI portal, and PGWP refusal situation are all items where federal or provincial decisions could arrive at any point during the month.
Candidates should monitor the official IRCC news page and provincial government announcements for updates as they are published.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can Portage College graduates appeal their PGWP refusals?
Affected graduates can apply for leave and judicial review at the Federal Court within 15 days of receiving a refusal made in Canada. The process involves filing fees. Some graduates may also be eligible to submit a new PGWP application if their eligibility circumstances change, but the underlying program classification issue would likely produce the same result.
Does the IRCC backlog reporting change affect my application?
The reporting change does not affect how IRCC processes individual applications or the order in which files are reviewed. It only changes how IRCC presents aggregate data to the public, making it harder to track month-over-month trends using the old percentage-based metric. Applicants can continue to check their individual processing times on IRCC’s separate processing times page, which is updated weekly for temporary residence categories and monthly for permanent residence.
What happens to Hong Kong pathway applications submitted before August 31?
Applications properly submitted before the deadline will continue to be processed by IRCC regardless of when the policy closes. Current processing times for Hong Kong pathway applications extend beyond 12 months, meaning applicants should maintain valid temporary resident status while waiting for a decision. Applicants whose temporary status is expiring may be eligible for the special open work permit for Hong Kong permanent residence pathway applicants, which can be valid for up to three years.
Is the Ebola travel ban likely to be extended past August?
The government has stated it will adjust measures as needed based on the epidemiological situation in Canada and internationally. Extensions have been common with previous public health measures when the underlying situation has not resolved by the scheduled end date. Travellers and immigration applicants connected to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan should monitor the PHAC and IRCC websites for any updates to these measures.
Have Canada’s temporary immigration measures for Palestinians been extended?
Yes, the new temporary immigration measures are in effect from August 1, 2026, until December 30, 2027. Eligible Palestinian passport holders and certain foreign-national family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada may apply for an open work permit, study permit, or extension of their stay. Eligible people who have not previously applied under the earlier Palestinian public policies can apply without application fees, while qualifying open work permit holders may apply once for an extension under the new policy with standard fees.
Fact-Checked: All information in this article has been verified against official IRCC pages, Government of Canada announcements, Ontario government publications, and primary source documents as of August 2, 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is published by Immigration News Canada for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or licensed immigration lawyer for guidance specific to your situation.
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