IRCC ran three rounds in mid-September. On September 14 (#442), a PNP round invited 576 candidates at a CRS cut-off of 734. On September 15 (#443), a CEC round invited 2,000 at 519. On September 16 (#444), IRCC held the first round under the new "Senior managers with Canadian work experience" category, inviting 250 candidates at a CRS of 389. For managerial clients with Canadian experience, that low cut-off makes profile eligibility under this category a priority to check now

The provincial Government of Manitoba announced that the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) database is currently experiencing technical issues that are affecting several processing systems. Technical teams are actively working to resolve the system disruptions and restore full functionality as quickly as possible. The program announced the outage on September 28, 2026, advising applicants and stakeholders of the temporary technical difficulty. Further updates are exp

On September 28, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held Express Entry draw #445 for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. The Government of Canada issued 733 Invitations to Apply (ITAs), and the round’s cut-off score was 725 points, nine points fewer than in the previous PNP-targeted draw. The tie-breaking rule for this round was September 17, 2026, at 01:36:17 UTC. As of September 27, 229,904 profiles were registered in the Express Entry pool.

On September 25, 2026, Newfoundland and Labrador held its 16th selection round through the Enhanced Expression of Interest (EOI) system and issued 41 invitations, all under the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP). This was the province’s fourth selection round in September and the third this month exclusively for NLPNP candidates. The other September draws were held on September 4, when 97 NLPNP invitations were issued; September 10, with 36 NLPNP inv

Alberta released the results of the recent Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) immigration draws. On September 10, 15, and 18, the province invited 166 candidates under the Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare) pathway. On September 21, the province invited up to 10 candidates under the Law Enforcement Pathway, followed by 100 candidates under the Accelerated Tech Pathway on September 22. Additionally, the provin

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its operational instructions to clarify eligibility criteria under the temporary public policy (TPP) exempting select in-Canada applicants from completing an Immigration Medical Examination (IME). Operating until October 5, 2029, the policy permits applicants residing in Canada who completed an IME within the five years prior to submitting their application to provide their previous IME or Unique Medical Identifi

IRCC held three rounds of invitations in the past week. On September 14, a Provincial Nominee Program-specific round issued 576 ITAs at a CRS cut-off of 734. On September 15, a Canadian Experience Class round issued 2,000 ITAs at a CRS cut-off of 519. On September 16, a category-based round for Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience (2026-Version 1) issued 250 ITAs at a CRS cut-off of 389. Clients close to these cut-offs, particularly in the CEC and PNP streams, should

On September 16, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the third Express Entry draw for senior managers with Canadian work experience. IRCC issued 250 Invitations to Apply (ITA) in the third draw of the week. In round #444, the cut-off score was 389, 3 points fewer than the previous draw for senior managers. The tie-breaking rule for this round was September 01, 2026, at 23:05:13 UTC. As of September 13, 2026, 226,793 profiles were registered in the E

On September 15, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada held Express Entry draw #443 for Canadian Experience Class candidates. IRCC issued 2,000 invitations to apply, with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 519. The tie-breaking rule was March 26, 2026 at 00:16:39 UTC. This was the second CEC draw in September: on September 1, IRCC also invited 2,000 candidates, but the CRS cut-off was 521. The latest round therefore kept the number of invitations unc

On September 4, 2026, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador held the 13th round of selection through the Enhanced Expression of Interest (EOI) system, issuing 97 invitations under the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP). This draw is the second NLPNP-only draw of the year. Last year, Newfoundland and Labrador invited 3,376 applicants under the NLPNP and AIP. To date, the province has invited 2,556 candidates in 2026, including 394 AIP candidates

On September 4, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the third occupation-specific Express Entry draw of the year for candidates working in healthcare and social services occupations. In round #441, IRCC issued 3,500 Invitations to Apply (ITA), and the cut-off score was 475 points (the same as it was in the last draw for this category). The tie-breaking rule for this round was May 26, 2026, at 00:26:14 UTC. As of August 30, 2026, 226,673 profiles wer

A new report from Royal Bank of Canada warns that Canada's immigration system has lost its edge following recent population shocks and policy volatility. The report emphasizes that while immigration remains essential to combat population aging and shrinking workforce participation, public sentiment has turned negative due to systemic pressures. RBC argues that targeted sub-categories within Express Entry are undermining the merit-based points system by allowing lower-scoring

On September 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the third Express Entry draw for Physicians with Canadian Work Experience. IRCC issued 229 Invitations to Apply (ITA) in this draw. In round #440, the cut-off score was only 198 points, 25 fewer than in the previous round for this category, held on June 24. So far in 2026, the Government of Canada has issued 122,656 invitations under 52 Express Entry draws. #express_entry, #ircc, #ita, #physicians,

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has updated its Skills Immigration registration pool statistics, reporting a total of 8,013 active candidates as of September 1, 2026. According to the latest program update released on September 2, 2026, candidates scoring between 100 and 109 form the largest single group in the pool with 1,559 registrations, followed closely by 1,444 candidates in the 90 to 99 score range. Only eight candidates hold scores of 150 or h

On September 1, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted Express Entry draw #439, inviting 2,000 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score remained at 521, two points fewer than the previous CEC draw. In this round, the tie-breaking rule was applied to profiles submitted before August 18, 2026, at 03:24:13 UTC. The Government of Canada has now issued 122,427 Invi

IRCC continues to hold Express Entry rounds roughly every two weeks across general, program-specific (including PNP), and category-based invitation types; the live rounds table and current CRS cut-offs are JavaScript-rendered on IRCC's site and could not be pulled into this digest for a specific figure this run without risking an unconfirmed number — please check the rounds page directly for the latest cut-off before advising clients. (Source: IRCC) Processing times continue

On August 31, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the Express Entry draw #438 for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. The Government of Canada issued 562 Invitations to Apply (ITAs), and the round’s cut-off score was 697 points, 63 points fewer than the previous PNP-targeted draw. It was the lowest CRS for the PNP candidates in 2026 to date. The tie-breaking rule for this round was April 12th, 2026, at 04:32:26 UTC. As of August 30, 226,673

On August 18, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted Express Entry draw #436, inviting 1,000 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score remained at 523, seven points more than the previous CEC draw and the highest for the CEC candidates in 2026. In this draw, the tie-breaking rule was applied to profiles submitted before August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC. The Gov

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released updated application figures showing over 1.5 million temporary residence applications finalized between January 1 and June 30, 2026. The inventory of pending applications for students, foreign workers, and visitors stood at 401,280 files. Processing priorities include expedited two-week study permit processing for PhD students and 14-day work permit streams for up to 5,000 licensed doctors under provincial nominee p

On August 17, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the Express Entry draw #435 for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. The Government of Canada issued 442 Invitations to Apply (ITAs), and the round’s cut-off score was 760 points, 8 points fewer than the previous PNP-targeted draw. The tie-breaking rule for this round was August 07, 2026, at 18:01:56 UTC. As of August 16, there were 226,859 profiles registered in the Express Entry pool. This