Latest Express Entry draw: 2026 results

Last updated:September 29, 2026. This is an evergreen tracker re-dated after each official IRCC round of invitations. All cut-offs, ITA counts and dates below are mirrored from the live IRCC rounds-of-invitations page, which remains the authoritative source. Cut-offs change with every round, so check that page for the figure on the day you read this.

What were the latest Express Entry draw results?

The latest Express Entry draw was Round #446 on September 29, 2026, a Canadian Experience Class round issuing 2,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) at a CRS cut-off of 518, the day after Round #445 (September 28), a Provincial Nominee Program round of 733 ITAs at 725. Round #444 (September 16) was the third senior managers with Canadian work experienceround of 2026, 250 ITAs at 389, after #402 (March 5, 250 ITAs at 429) and #426 (July 10, 500 ITAs at 392). It is a new 2026 category and a small one, and like every narrowly targeted occupation round it reached far further down the pool than a program round would. Before it, Round #443 (September 15) was a Canadian Experience Class draw of 2,000 ITAs at 519, and Round #442 (September 14) a Provincial Nominee Program round of 576 ITAs at 734. Earlier in the month, Round #441 (September 4) was the third healthcare and social services round of 2026, 3,500 ITAs at 475 and the largest occupation-targeted round of the year, and Round #440 (September 3) a physicians category round of 229 ITAs at 198. Round #439 (September 1) was a CEC draw of 2,000 ITAs at 521.

Together these rounds show the 2026 pattern at a glance: Provincial Nominee Program rounds carry very high cut-offs because every invited candidate already holds a +600 nomination, and a larger PNP round reaches further down the pool, so the 760 cut-off on August 17 sits below the 768 of the smaller August 4 round. French-language rounds invite the most candidates of any category, and the August 19 round at 382 was the lowest French line of the year. The CEC stream runs in between, though the small 1,000-invitation August 18 round pushed that cut-off up to 523. There was still no general all-program IRCC draw. The 2026 category list that produced these rounds is one of the Canada immigration changes 2026 we track, alongside the fee, study permit and LMIA changes made this year.

Read across the table and the logic of each Express Entry draw is clear: the French-language round invited the most candidates at the lowest CRS cut-off, the Canadian Experience Class round sat in the middle, and the Provincial Nominee Program round had the smallest size and the highest cut-off because every invited candidate already carries a +600 nomination. If CEC is your stream, check your points against the CEC cut-off before the next round. The full, continuously updated draw history sits in the live table below.

Recent 2026 Express Entry draw history

IRCC held 58 rounds of invitations between January 5 and September 29, 2026, and the table below carries the most recent of them with round number, date, category, invitations issued and CRS cut-off. It updates automatically from IRCC's official open-data feed, so if there is an Express Entry draw today the new round appears here within hours.

How do Express Entry draws work?

An Express Entry draw, which IRCC officially calls a round of invitations, is the moment IRCC reaches into the pool of profiles and invites the top-ranked candidates to apply for permanent residence. Every profile in the pool carries a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score out of 1,200. For each round, IRCC decides the category and how many invitations to issue; the CRS cut-off is simply the score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited.

If you are at or above that cut-off in an eligible category, you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and have 60 days to submit a complete application. Because the cut-off is set by where the line falls each time, it moves from round to round. There is no fixed pass mark.

Nobody, IRCC included, publishes an Express Entry draw prediction. What you can do is read the previous rounds. The Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program has had no dedicated round in 2026, so a candidate with only foreign experience depends on a category draw or a provincial nomination, while the CEC and French-language cut-offs move inside a fairly narrow band you can see in the history table above. Provincial rounds are tracked separately on our latest PNP draws page.

1. 01

   You enter the Express Entry pool

   You create an online profile and receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score out of 1,200 based on factors such as age, education, language and work experience. See how many candidates are waiting in the pool to gauge the competition.

2. 02

   IRCC chooses a category and a draw size

   For each round of invitations, IRCC decides the category (program-specific or category-based) and how many Invitations to Apply to issue.

3. 03

   The CRS cut-off is set by where the line falls

   IRCC invites the highest-ranked candidates first, so the CRS cut-off is the score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited in that draw. It moves from round to round.

4. 04

   Invited candidates apply within 60 days

   If you are at or above the cut-off in an eligible category, you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and have 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence. See how long the rest of the process takes once you are invited.

How often does IRCC hold Express Entry draws?

IRCC groups its rounds into clusters roughly every two weeks, and every one of the 58 rounds held in 2026 fell on a weekday, most often a Monday or a Tuesday. The cadence is not fixed: in a busy stretch IRCC runs three or four rounds inside a single week, pairing a program-specific draw with one or more category-based draws, and in quieter periods the gap stretches longer. The pace is driven by Canada's annual admission targets under the Immigration Levels Plan and by how many candidates sit in each category pool, not by a published calendar.

Because IRCC publishes no fixed Express Entry draw calendar, the only reliable way to know when the next round lands is to watch the official rounds-of-invitations page and a tracker like this one that re-dates against it. Whether the next round is a Canadian Experience Class draw or one of the 2026 category-based draws, the cut-off is only set once the round is published.

What is the 2026 Express Entry draw pattern?

Through 2026 IRCC has run only two kinds of round, program-specific and category-based, and has held no general all-program draw at all this year. Every one of the 58 rounds between January 5 and September 29 went to the Canadian Experience Class, the Provincial Nominee Program, or one of the standing categories.

• Program-specific draws: IRCC invites from one Express Entry program at a time, either the Canadian Experience Class, the steady high-volume in-Canada stream, which cut off between 507 and 523 across its 2026 rounds, or the Provincial Nominee Program, whose small rounds cut off between 697 and 805 because every invited candidate already holds a +600 nomination.
• Category-based draws: IRCC invites only candidates who meet one in-demand category, and the 2026 lines have been French-language proficiency 382 to 420, healthcare and social services 467 to 475, trades 477, transport 470, physicians 169 to 223, skilled military recruits 368 and senior managers 389 to 429.

Ranges cover every 2026 round from January 5 to September 29, taken from the IRCC rounds-of-invitations feed (canada.ca), accessed September 29, 2026.

This reflects IRCC's stated emphasis on in-Canada candidates and in-demand occupations. Most 2026 categories now require at least 12 months of qualifying experience (up from six), and for physicians, senior managers and researchers those 12 months must be in Canada within the past three years, so check the category criteria before counting on a lower category cut-off. Note that a strong CRS score alone is not enough for a category draw. You must also meet that category's eligibility. Our Carney immigration policy tracker follows the policy changes driving these rounds.

When is the next Express Entry draw?

IRCC publishes no Express Entry draw calendar, so the date of the next Express Entry draw is not confirmed until the round appears on the official rounds-of-invitations page. The most recent Express Entry draw was Round #446 on September 29, 2026, and since the early summer IRCC has issued its rounds in clusters: a Provincial Nominee Program draw, then a Canadian Experience Class draw, then often a French-language or occupation round within a few days. September had two clusters, on the 14th to 16th and on the 28th and 29th, so on that pattern the next cluster falls in October 2026, but treat any forecast as an estimate. Bookmark this tracker and we will re-date it as soon as each round is published.

Waiting for a latest Express Entry draw you can actually clear? Whether you are tracking the most recent round, the next Canadian Experience Class draw or a category-based round, use our free CRS calculator to see where you stand, then check your Express Entry eligibility and book a consultation with a licensed RCIC (CICC #R706497) to map the fastest realistic route, whether that is improving your CRS, qualifying for a category draw, or pursuing a provincial nomination. We never guarantee an outcome, but we make sure your profile is as strong as the rules allow against every upcoming Express Entry draw.