Moving to Canada from the US: how many American citizens become permanent residents
- 201910,780
- 20206,380
- 202111,955
- 202210,415
- 202310,640
- 20249,330
- 20257,520
Source: IRCC open data (rounded). Full calendar years, by country of citizenship.
The short answer
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes how many people become permanent residents each month, by country of citizenship and immigration category. Its latest file covers January 2015 to August 2026.
In 2025, about 7,520 citizens of the United States became permanent residents of Canada. That is about 37% fewer than in 2021 (11,955), the highest year in the file.
From January to August 2026, the number was 4,880, using IRCC's rounded monthly figures. That is about 6% fewer than in the same months of 2025 (5,200).
An important limit: citizenship, not where people lived
The file counts people by their country of citizenship. It does not show where a person lived before they moved.
- A citizen of another country who lived in the United States is counted under their own citizenship, not under the United States.
- An American citizen who already lived in Canada, for example as a student or worker, is counted under the United States.
So these numbers show how many American citizens became permanent residents. They do not show how many people moved from the United States.
Year by year
| Year | American citizens who became permanent residents |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 10,780 |
| 2020 | 6,380 |
| 2021 | 11,955 |
| 2022 | 10,415 |
| 2023 | 10,640 |
| 2024 | 9,330 |
| 2025 | 7,520 |
The number has fallen every year since 2023. All permanent resident admissions in Canada also fell between 2024 and 2025, from 483,655 to 393,780. IRCC's file does not explain the change for American citizens, and this article does not guess at a cause.
In 2025, American citizens were about 1.9% of all new permanent residents. The United States was 12th among countries of citizenship that year.
How American citizens became permanent residents in 2025
| Immigration group | 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsored family | 4,245 | 56% |
| of which: spouses and partners | 3,645 | 48% |
| Economic programs | 2,720 | 36% |
| Protected persons and refugees | 445 | 6% |
| All other | 110 | 1% |
This is different from immigration as a whole. Across all countries in 2025, sponsored family was about a quarter of new permanent residents, and economic programs were more than half. For American citizens, family sponsorship was the largest group, and almost half of all American citizens who became permanent residents were sponsored spouses or partners.
Among the economic programs in 2025, the largest for American citizens were:
| Economic program (2025) | American citizens |
|---|---|
| Provincial Nominee Program | 1,065 |
| Canadian Experience | 840 |
| Skilled Worker | 620 |
| Business programs | 115 |
How to read these numbers
- These are admissions: people who became permanent residents in that year. They are not applications, and they do not show visits, study permits or work permits.
- IRCC rounds every number to the nearest 5 and hides very small numbers to protect privacy, so parts may not add up exactly to totals.
- IRCC says the data is preliminary and subject to change. This article uses the file with data to August 2026.
What this means for you
- If you are an American citizen thinking about Canada, these numbers show that thousands of American citizens became permanent residents every year from 2015 to 2025, through several different programs.
- The yearly totals cannot tell you which program fits you, or how any single application will be decided.
- For official information on current programs and rules, see IRCC's "Immigrate to Canada" page, linked in the sources above.
About this article
This article was written by SK for Newcomer Board with the help of AI tools. All numbers come from IRCC's open data file on permanent residents by country of citizenship and immigration category (data to August 2026), checked on 4 November 2026. Shares and changes were calculated from that file and rounded. This is general information, not legal advice.