Latest Express Entry draw: 2026 results

Data current through: Round #450, October 16, 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. IRCC publishes no draw calendar; for the rhythm 2026 rounds have followed, see when the next Express Entry draw is likely. New to the system? Our Express Entry guide explains the three programs, the pool and the CRS before you read the rounds.

What are the 2026 Express Entry CRS cut-offs by category?

2026 cut-offs so far: Canadian Experience Class 507 to 523, Provincial Nominee Program 697 to 805, French-language 382 to 435 and occupation categories from 169 (physicians) to 477 (trades), across 62 rounds. Source: IRCC rounds data, updated October 16, 2026.

When was the last general (all-program) Express Entry draw?

The last general round, open to all programs, was Round #294 on April 23, 2024: 2,095 ITAs at CRS 529. IRCC has held no general round since, none in 2025 or 2026 (IRCC rounds data, updated October 16, 2026).

A general round ranks the whole pool, whatever the program. Since then IRCC has invited only through program rounds (Canadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Program) and category-based rounds, so an answer that quotes a "general" cut-off for 2026 is quoting a round that did not happen.

Which Express Entry categories have had no round in 2026?

Three categories canada.ca still lists have had no 2026 round: STEM (last on April 11, 2024), education (last on September 17, 2025) and researchers (no round yet). Source: IRCC rounds data, updated October 16, 2026.

The category list is read from canada.ca's category-based selection page and the round history from IRCC's feed. What has not happened, stated plainly:

• No general (all-program) round since Round #294 on April 23, 2024 (2,095 ITAs, CRS 529).
• No STEM round in 2026, although canada.ca still lists the category. The last was Round #293 on April 11, 2024 (CRS 491).
• No education round in 2026, although canada.ca still lists the category. The last was Round #367 on September 17, 2025 (CRS 462).
• No researchers round has ever been held, although canada.ca lists the category.
• No Federal Skilled Worker-only round since Round #240 on February 2, 2023 (CRS 489) and no Federal Skilled Trades-only round since Round #159 on August 6, 2020 (CRS 415). Candidates in either program are now invited through category or provincial nominee rounds.
• No agriculture and agri-food round since Round #285 on February 16, 2024; canada.ca no longer lists the category.

What changed in Express Entry rounds in 2026?

Before and now: the full 2025 year against 2026 to October 16, 2026, from the same feed (IRCC rounds data, updated October 16, 2026). 62 rounds and 143,467 ITAs so far in 2026, against 58 rounds and 113,998 ITAs in all of 2025.

What were the latest Express Entry draw results?

The latest Express Entry draw was Round #450 on October 16, 2026, a French-language proficiency category round issuing 5,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) at a CRS cut-off of 435. It followed Round #449 (October 15), a Canadian Experience Class round of 2,500 ITAs at 519, and Round #448 (October 13), a Provincial Nominee Program round of 752 ITAs at 772. Before those, Round #447 (October 1) was a trades occupations category round of 3,500 ITAs at 476, Round #446 (September 29) was a Canadian Experience Class round of 2,000 ITAs at 518, and Round #445 (September 28) was a Provincial Nominee Program round of 733 ITAs at 725. The full list of the most recent rounds is in the table below.

Together the 2026 rounds show the pattern at a glance. Provincial Nominee Program rounds carry very high cut-offs (697 to 805) because every invited candidate already holds a +600 nomination. 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 Canadian Experience Class runs in between, with cut-offs from 507 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. In a typical cluster the French-language round invites the most candidates at the lowest CRS cut-off, the Canadian Experience Class round sits in the middle, and the Provincial Nominee Program round has the smallest size and the highest cut-off because every invited candidate already carries a +600 nomination. If CEC is your stream, add up your Canadian Experience Class points and set them against the CEC cut-off before the next round. The full, continuously updated draw history sits in the live table below.

What was the latest CEC draw?

The latest Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw was Round #449 on October 15, 2026: 2,500 invitations at a CRS cut-off of 519. It was the 18th CEC round of 2026, and the 18 CEC rounds of 2026 have cut off between 507 and 523 and issued 57,750 ITAs in total.

• Lowest 2026 CEC cut-off: 507, in Round #404 on March 17, 2026.
• Highest 2026 CEC cut-off: 523, in Round #436 on August 18, 2026.
• When CEC rounds run: Every 2026 CEC round came straight after a Provincial Nominee Program round, a median 1 day later, and CEC rounds were a median 14 days apart.

To see where your score sits against the 507 to 523 band, use our CEC calculator, which scores a profile with Canadian work experience, or the full CRS calculator if you also qualify for a category round. The CEC requires at least 1,560 hours (one year full-time) of skilled work in Canada in the three years before you apply; the full rules are in our Canadian Experience Class requirements guide.

When was the latest FSW draw?

The latest Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) draw was Round #240 on February 2, 2023, a program-specific round of 3,300 invitations at a CRS cut-off of 489, and IRCC has held no FSW-only round since, including none of the 62 rounds of 2026. The date comes from IRCC's rounds feed, the same source as every table on this page.

FSW candidates can be invited without an FSW-only round. A Federal Skilled Worker Program profile can be picked up by a category round it qualifies for (French-language proficiency, healthcare, trades and the other 2026 categories), or by a Provincial Nominee Program round after a provincial nomination adds 600 points.

When was the latest healthcare draw?

The latest healthcare draw was Round #441 on September 4, 2026, a healthcare and social services category round of 3,500 invitations at a CRS cut-off of 475. IRCC has run 3 healthcare and social services rounds in 2026, with cut-offs from 467 to 475, and a separate physicians category with 3 rounds from 169 to 223.

Only candidates with qualifying experience in an eligible healthcare or social services occupation are considered in these rounds, so the lower cut-off applies only if your occupation is on the list. The occupation lists and the experience rule for each category are on our category-based draws page.

Every 2026 Express Entry round

IRCC held 62 rounds of invitations between January 5 and October 16, 2026, and the table below lists every one of them, newest first, with round number, date, category, invitations issued and CRS cut-off. Each row has its own link (for example Round #450). 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 (the last FSW-only round was #240 on February 2, 2023), 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.

An enhanced provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points, so it is worth knowing where the provinces stand. Each province runs its own selection with its own score: the Manitoba PNP draw results list every recent Manitoba round, and our MPNP points calculator estimates your Manitoba EOI score. Ontario now nominates workers through the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, which starts with a qualifying Ontario job offer, and our OINP points calculator scores a profile against that stream's factors.

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 has held its 2026 rounds in 20 groups, each starting a median 14 days after the one before, and every one of the 62 rounds held in 2026 fell on a weekday, most often a Tuesday or a Monday. The cadence is not fixed: the largest groups had 4 rounds inside a single week, pairing a program-specific draw with one or more category-based draws, and the longest gap between groups was 28 days. 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 CRS cut-offs has IRCC used in 2026?

From January 5 to October 16, 2026 IRCC held 62 Express Entry rounds and none was a general all-program draw: 20 Provincial Nominee Program rounds (CRS 697 to 805), 18 CEC rounds (507 to 523), 11 French-language rounds (382 to 435) and 13 occupation-category rounds (169 to 477). Each category's range, invitations and latest round are in the cut-off table by category near the top of this page. Past cut-offs do not set future ones.

• 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 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 435, senior managers 389 to 429, healthcare and social services 467 to 475, physicians 169 to 223, trades 476 to 477, transport 470 and skilled military recruits 368.

IRCC chooses its categories using labour market information and input from provinces, territories and stakeholders. 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 schedule, so the date of the next Express Entry draw is known only when IRCC posts the round. The latest round was Round #450 on October 16, 2026, a French-language proficiency category round of 5,000 ITAs at a CRS cut-off of 435. Based on 2026 rounds so far (62 rounds to October 16), these are the patterns the dates show:

• Rounds come in groups: IRCC held its 62 rounds of 2026 in 20 groups, and the rounds inside a group were a median 1 day apart.
• Gap between groups: Each group started a median 14 days after the one before, and 18 of the 19 gaps were 13 to 15 days.
• Usual days: Tuesday had 17 rounds, Monday 16, Wednesday 12, Thursday 11, and Friday 6; no 2026 round fell on a weekend.
• First round of a group: A Provincial Nominee Program round opened 20 of the 20 groups, on a Monday 16 times and a Tuesday 4 times.
• What follows a Provincial Nominee Program round: A Canadian Experience Class round came next 18 times out of 20, a median 1 day later.

Based on 2026 rounds so far, a 14-day gap from the latest group, which opened with Round #448 on October 13, 2026, points to Tuesday, October 27, 2026 for the next group. That date is a pattern read off past rounds, not an IRCC announcement, and no pattern sets the CRS cut-off: IRCC fixes it when the round runs. For how the rhythm has changed through 2026, see when the next Express Entry draw is likely.

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 get your free assessment from a licensed RCIC (CICC #R706497) to map your strongest 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.

Download every Express Entry round (CSV)

The full IRCC round history is free to download and reuse under CC BY 4.0, generated from the same feed as every table on this page (IRCC rounds data, updated October 16, 2026).