OTTAWA - Up to 305,000 new permanent residents could be admitted to Canada this year under the Liberal government's 2016 immigration plan.

Immigration Minister John McCallum says it's the highest number of projected admissions in decades.

Economic immigrants will continue to make up the majority of newcomers, but the overall numbers of those will be down from previous years.

That's in part because the Liberals are significantly increasing spaces available for family reunification programs and refugees.

Each November, the government is required to table a document laying out how many new permanent residents it intends to accept in the coming year.

The plan for 2016 was delayed by the October federal election.