Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held Express Entry draws on two consecutive days, September 15 and 16, 2026, issuing invitations to apply (ITAs) to two very different groups of candidates. Round #443, conducted on September 15 at 10:21:41 UTC, issued 2,000 invitations under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 519 and a tie-breaking rule of March 26, 2026 at 00:16:39 UTC; round #444, held the following day at 12:44:28 UTC, issued 250 invitations under the category for senior managers with Canadian work experience at a minimum CRS score of just 389, with a tie-breaking rule of September 1, 2026 at 23:05:13 UTC. Both rounds were authorized by ministerial instructions signed in Ottawa by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The senior managers category, created in February 2026, has now run three draws, with the cut-off falling from 429 in its first round to 392 and then 389 -- a cumulative drop of 40 points and the lowest threshold in the category's short history. Over the same period, the CEC cut-off has declined for a third consecutive round after peaking at a 2026 high of 523 on August 18. Through round #444, IRCC has held 56 draws and issued 128,982 invitations in 2026, an annual record since Express Entry was launched.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held Express Entry draws on two consecutive days, August 31 and September 1, 2026. Round #438 on August 31 issued 562 invitations to apply (ITAs) to Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 697 — the lowest cut-off across all 17 PNP rounds held so far in 2026, a drop of 63 points from the 760 required on August 17, and the largest PNP round since June 22. Round #439 on September 1 issued 2,000 ITAs to Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates at a minimum score of 521, two points below the 523 that set the year's high on August 18 but still the second-highest bar the category has imposed in 2026. Both sets of Ministerial Instructions were signed in Ottawa by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab. With these rounds, Express Entry has now held 51 draws in 2026 and issued 122,427 invitations, including 51,250 across 15 CEC rounds and 7,961 across 17 PNP rounds. The August 30 pool snapshot showed that of 226,673 candidates, only 559 held a CRS score above 601, while 19,542 were clustered between 501 and 600 — and analysts attribute the falling PNP cut-off to a larger supply of provincial nominations, particularly Ontario's resumption of intake on August 4, rather than to any loosening of standards, while CEC candidates still need to sit above 515 to have a reasonably reliable expectation of an invitation.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held its 278th Expression of Interest (EOI) draw on August 27, 2026, issuing 741 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAA) to foreign nationals, of which 600 went to people already working in Manitoba in National Occupational Classification (NOC) major group 72, "technical trades and transportation officers and controllers," at a minimum ranking score of 731 points; a further 62 were targeted at bus drivers (NOC 73301) and general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102), 21 went to Francophone candidates, and 58 went to skilled workers invited directly through strategic recruitment channels. Occupation-targeted selections accounted for 89.3 per cent of all invitations in the round, underscoring how Manitoba has concentrated its places on workers already in the province and on shortage occupations since its federal allocation was cut. Of the 741 candidates, 150 reported a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, which means a provincial nomination would give them an additional 600 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Notably, Manitoba's 2026 allocation of 6,239 nominations is unchanged from its 2025 total after a federal top-up, even as the national provincial nominee allocation has rebounded from 55,000 in 2025 to 91,500 for 2026 - a contrast that is the practical backdrop to how narrowly this round was drawn. Candidates who receive an LAA have 60 days to submit a complete application to the MPNP.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) round of invitations on August 18, 2026 under Ministerial Instruction No. 436, issuing invitations to apply (ITAs) to the top 1,000 candidates in the Express Entry pool, with the lowest-ranked invited candidate holding a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 523; the draw was timed at 10:13:44 UTC that day, and the tie-breaking rule was set at 22:09:00 UTC on August 17, 2026. The cut-off sits well above the 516 recorded in the comparable CEC round two weeks earlier on August 5, and a full five points above 518, the previous CEC high of 2026 — making it the highest CEC score requirement of the year. At the same time, the 1,000 ITAs make this the smallest single CEC round of 2026, one-eighth the size of the 8,000-invitation round held on January 7. CEC has now accounted for 14 rounds and 49,250 invitations in 2026, with cut-offs ranging from 507 to 523. Analysts broadly attribute this "smaller draw, higher score" pattern to the composition of the pool: as of August 16, 2026, 226,859 candidates were in the Express Entry pool, of whom roughly 19,096 scored above 500, meaning a single 1,000-ITA round clears only about five percent of that upper tier — and the rate at which the high-score band replenishes itself has long been in tight balance with the rate at which draws clear it.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held Express Entry draw #432 on August 5, 2026, issuing 3,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence to Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 516. The draw issued 1,000 more invitations than the previous CEC round on July 21 while keeping the cut-off unchanged, bringing the total number of ITAs issued in 2026 CEC-specific draws to 48,250. The tie-breaking rule was set at July 3, 2026, at 21:35:13 UTC.

Manitoba held its 276th Expression of Interest (EOI) draw on July 30, 2026, issuing 766 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs), of which 605 went to candidates currently working in manufacturing and utilities occupations in the province at a cut-off score of 632, a single category accounting for nearly 80% of the round; a further 74 went to workers in seven targeted occupations including aerospace engineers, air pilots, aircraft mechanics and family physicians, 17 went to candidates who communicate with the province in French, and the remaining 70 were issued as direct invitations under the strategic recruitment initiative, led by the Francophone Community with 25. Of the 766 candidates, 94 declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, meaning that once they receive a provincial nomination they will pick up an additional 600 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Notably, almost every invitation in this round went to people already working or living in Manitoba, continuing the province's "keep the people we already have" posture adopted in 2025; as of July 30, Manitoba has held 15 draws in 2026 and issued 4,822 LAAs, roughly 3.4 times the 1,424 issued over the same period in 2025, even though its federal nomination allocation for this year stands at 6,239, still more than 30% below the 9,500 allocated in each of 2023 and 2024.

As Canada moves into the second half of 2026, the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have each used roughly half of their annual allocations, yet the two provinces are structured differently and measure their progress in different ways. As of the end of May, Manitoba had issued 2,167 nominations out of an annual allocation of 6,239, of which 697 were enhanced nominations issued through Express Entry; from January through June the province held 12 selection rounds and issued 1,833 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAA), with the Skilled Worker Stream accounting for 66%, plus two targeted draws aimed at healthcare (192) and education occupations (431). Saskatchewan, meanwhile, had issued 2,628 nominations out of its 4,761 allocation as of June 30, using up 55%; for 2026 it divides its nominations into three sector categories -- priority, capped and other -- with priority sectors (healthcare, agriculture, skilled trades, mining, manufacturing, energy, technology) reserving at least 50% of spots and already 62% used, capped sectors (accommodation and food services, trucking, retail) limited to 25% and about 60% filled, and the next capped-sector application window set for September 7. Both provinces' allocations are sharply smaller than in 2024, an ongoing aftershock of the federal government's overall cut to provincial nomination spots in 2025.

The Government of Canada has put forward a temporary, targeted measure known as the Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge, which would let roughly 2,700 foreign workers already living and working in Manitoba keep their work authorization — and their legal status — while the province finishes outstanding Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nominations. The proposal follows from a 2024 federal public policy that granted up to two-year open work permits to prospective provincial nominees, under which Manitoba had committed to nominate all supported candidates by December 31, 2026; the province has since said it cannot meet that deadline, and the new measure would extend it to December 31, 2027. According to the federal government, more than 1,600 of these workers have already become permanent residents through the earlier policy, while about 2,700 are still waiting for a provincial nomination and could lose their legal status without further action. The proposal is now before the Government of Manitoba, and could only take effect if the province accepts it.

On July 7, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the 424th Express Entry round, issuing 2,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 517. The round was half the size of the previous CEC draw on June 23, which sent out 4,000 invitations, yet the cut-off inched up from 516 to 517 rather than falling, a shift immigration observers largely attribute to the smaller pool of invitations rather than to any sharpening of competition among candidates. This was the 11th CEC-specific draw of 2026, bringing the year's cumulative CEC invitations to 43,250, with cut-off scores holding within a comparatively low band of 507 to 518, well below the peaks close to 547 seen in 2024 and 2025 and distinctly favourable to temporary residents who have already built up Canadian work experience. Against a backdrop of Ottawa tightening its temporary-resident numbers and doubling down on an "in-Canada focus" selection strategy, the CEC is fast becoming the principal route for talent already in the country to move on to permanent residence.

New figures from the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) show that as of June 30, 2026, the province had issued 2,628 nominations this year, about 55% of its 2026 allocation of 4,761 spaces, with priority sectors already 62% used, ahead of capped sectors at 60% and other sectors at 37%, leaving 2,133 spaces still available for the second half of the year; the 4,761-space allocation matches Saskatchewan's finalized 2025 total but remains more than 40% below the 8,000 spaces the province held in 2024, a reminder of the federal government's sharp cuts to provincial nominee allocations in early 2025 followed by a partial restoration late in the year. At the same time, Saskatchewan is opening a new round of capped-sector intakes across four staggered windows on July 6 and 7 for trucking, retail trade, accommodations and food services, splitting accommodations and food services into two separate categories for the first time, with two further intake dates set for September 14 and November 2; capped-sector employers may apply only during these designated windows, and only for workers with six months or less remaining on their work permits, while priority-sector and other-sector employers face no such restriction and may apply at any time.