When is the next Express Entry draw?

Does IRCC publish an Express Entry draw schedule?

No. IRCC's rounds-of-invitations page explains how a round works: it chooses the type of round, decides how many candidates to invite, identifies the highest-ranking eligible candidates in the pool and invites them. The Ministerial Instructions for each round, which set its date, size and type, are "posted online at the time of the round". There is no calendar, and IRCC does not say in advance which program or category the next round will target.

The one thing IRCC does announce ahead of time is the list of categories it may use in a year. Its category-based selection page says "We'll announce the chosen categories in advance", and the 2026 list was announced on February 18, 2026. Knowing a category exists is not the same as knowing when it will be drawn: some announced categories have not had a single round this year (see the table below).

What we know, and what nobody knows

What IRCC's own data tells you

• The pace. IRCC says it invites candidates "about every 2 weeks". In 2026, the typical gap between cluster starts was 14 days, and the shortest was 13 days.
• The days. Every round this year fell on a weekday: Monday (16), Tuesday (16), Wednesday (12), Thursday (10) and Friday (5).
• The order. 19 of 19 clusters opened with a Provincial Nominee Program round; in 17 of them a Canadian Experience Class round followed within two days; 16 included at least one category round.
• The cut-off bands. Each round type has cut off in its own range this year, set out by type below.
• The round types used. No general (all-program) round has run in 2026; every round has been program-specific or category-based.

What nobody outside IRCC knows

• The date of the next round, or whether the next cluster will keep the usual spacing.
• Which category, if any, will follow the program rounds.
• How many invitations IRCC will issue, which is what sets the cut-off.
• The cut-off score itself, which only exists once the last candidate is invited.
• Whether a general round, or a round for a category not yet used this year, will happen.

Anyone who gives you a firm date or score for the next draw is filling in that second list with a guess. The first list is enough to plan with.

The latest Express Entry rounds

The most recent cluster began on September 28, 2026: a Provincial Nominee Program round on September 28 (733 invitations, CRS 725), a Canadian Experience Class round on September 29 (2,000 invitations, CRS 518), then a trades occupations category round on October 1 (3,500 invitations, CRS 476). It started 14 days after the previous cluster, which opened on September 14, 2026. Here are the last three clusters in full, newest first.

The 2026 rhythm, month by month

This table is generated from IRCC's feed, so it grows with every round. Read across a row and the pattern is visible: provincial nominee rounds recur all year, each followed within days by a Canadian Experience Class round and, often, a category round. Between January 5 and October 1, 2026, IRCC issued 135,215 invitations across 59 rounds. The longest quiet stretch was 28 days, between the clusters that began on May 25 and June 22, which is a reminder that the rhythm is a habit, not a rule.

Which round types to watch, and their 2026 cut-offs

The next draw only matters to you if you are eligible for it. A Canadian Experience Class round invites no one without qualifying Canadian work experience, and a category round invites only people who meet that round's instructions. So the question to ask is not "when is the next draw?" but "when is the next round I qualify for, and where has its cut-off been?"

• Provincial Nominee Program: cut-offs of 697 to 805 look high only because a nomination adds 600 points. If you hold an Express Entry-linked nomination, these rounds are the most predictable route to an invitation. See our provincial nominee programs guide.
• Canadian Experience Class: 17 rounds this year at 507 to 523, the band to plan against if you are working in Canada. Check eligibility on our Canadian Experience Class page or with the CEC calculator.
• French-language proficiency: 10 rounds at 382 to 420, every one below the lowest Canadian Experience Class cut-off. See the French-language category.
• Occupation categories: healthcare, trades, transport, physicians and senior managers rounds each have their own experience rules. Start with category-based draws, then the guides for nurses, doctors, tradespeople and truck drivers.

What decides the cut-off in the next round

The cut-off is not a target IRCC sets in advance. It is the score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited, so it falls out of three things: who is eligible for that round type, how their scores are spread, and how many invitations IRCC decides to issue. Invite more people from the same group and the line drops; invite fewer, or let more high scorers join the pool, and it rises. You can see this in the 2026 Canadian Experience Class rounds: the largest (8,000 invitations on January 7) cut off at 511, the smallest (1,000 on August 18) at 523.

IRCC publishes a snapshot of the whole pool with each round. The latest, taken on September 27, 2026, counted 229,904 candidates, of whom 21,798 scored above 500 and 73,131 scored 451 to 500. Not all of them are eligible for every round type, so the snapshot tells you about competition, not about the next cut-off. Our Express Entry pool page breaks it down.

When several candidates share the cut-off score, IRCC applies a tie-breaking rule and invites them in order of the date and time they submitted their profiles. IRCC confirms that updating your profile does not change that timestamp.

Over the year, the volume of invitations follows the Immigration Levels Plan. The 2026 to 2028 plan sets a 2026 target of 109,000 admissions in the Federal High Skilled programs (Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class), within a range of 85,000 to 120,000, and 91,500 for the Provincial Nominee Program, which covers all provincial nominees and not only those who come through Express Entry. Admissions count everyone who becomes a permanent resident, including family members, so these are not invitation counts, and they do not tell you the timing of any single round.

How to get your score ready before the next round

You cannot control the date. You can control whether your profile is ready to be invited and whether you can file within the deadline when it is.

1. 01

   Know your exact CRS score

   Run your real test results, education and experience through the CRS calculator, then compare it with the band for each round type you qualify for. Our guide to what counts as a good CRS score sets out the targets.

2. 02

   Check every expiry date

   IRCC requires language results under 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you apply, and an ECA under 5 years old. Your profile expires 12 months after you submit it if you are not invited, and work experience must fall in the right window before you apply. Put each date in your calendar.

3. 03

   Keep your profile accurate

   Update the profile when your situation changes: a new test result, another year of experience, a new credential. A change that lowers your score matters too, because you must be eligible on the details you claim. Updating does not cost you your tie-break place.

4. 04

   Gather documents before you are invited

   An invitation gives you 60 days to submit a complete application. Police certificates, reference letters and proof of funds take time, so start now with our Express Entry document checklist and read what happens after your ITA.

5. 05

   If you are below the line, raise it

   Waiting for a lower cut-off is not a plan. Our guide on how to increase your CRS score ranks the levers: a 600-point provincial nomination, higher language scores (check yours with the CLB calculator), French, more experience and further education.

Why online draw predictions disagree

Search for a next Express Entry draw prediction and you will find dated forecasts that do not agree with each other. They are all doing the same thing: projecting the last few rounds forward. That works while IRCC keeps its habits and fails the moment it does not, as the 28-day gap from May 25 to June 22 showed this year. Forecasts of the cut-off are weaker still, because the cut-off depends on how many invitations IRCC chooses to issue, which it decides on the day. Some prediction pages are also simply old, still titled for an earlier year.

That is why this page shows the pattern and the cut-off bands, with their source, and stops there. The useful planning question is whether your score clears the recent band for a round you qualify for. If it does, the next suitable round is likely to reach you; if it does not, no date will change that.

How Wild Mountain Immigration can help

We are a licensed immigration consultancy (CICC #R706497) working entirely online. We check your CRS score line by line, confirm which round types you are eligible for, flag any test, ECA or profile date that could expire before you are invited, and get your documents in order so an invitation does not start a scramble. We work from IRCC's current rules and never promise a draw date or an outcome. Start with the CRS calculator, then book a free call.

Round data on this page comes from IRCC's official rounds-of-invitations feed and refreshes every few hours. Check the latest round on canada.ca before you act. Rules on the CRS, categories and document validity were checked on canada.ca on October 12, 2026.