Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) closed the third quarter with a flurry of Express Entry activity, issuing 11,288 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) across eight separate rounds in the month of September alone. A new analysis published on October 1 shows that category-based draws—especially the 3,500-invitation healthcare-worker round of September 4—accounted for almost one-third of the month’s invitations. Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates also benefited: three equal-sized CEC rounds (2,000 ITAs each) moved the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off down from 521 on September 1 to 518 on September 29. For employers that rely on temporary foreign workers converting to permanent residence, each incremental drop widens the talent pool eligible for invitations. September continued 2026’s trend of avoiding “all-program” selections. Instead, IRCC alternated between targeted category draws and provincial-nominee rounds, keeping PNP cut-offs in the mid-700s. The absence of general draws suggests Ottawa is still using category-based selection both to manage inventory and to steer immigration toward sectors facing acute shortages—including healthcare, transport and senior management. For prospective applicants and in-house mobility teams, the take-away is tactical: monitor category criteria as closely as CRS scores. Candidates sitting in the 510-520 CRS band should ensure profiles remain valid and consider language-test re-takes or credential assessments that could yield the extra points needed for the next draw. Companies should pro-actively capture Canadian work experience gained by foreign workers, because even one year can flip an LMIA-backed employee into the CEC pool—dramatically shortening the path to permanent residence. Looking ahead to October, analysts expect IRCC to repeat the same cadence—early-month category rounds followed by mid-month CEC and PNP clusters. Whether a French-language draw returns and whether CEC round sizes remain at 2,000 will be the key leading indicators of how fast cut-offs might continue to fall this fall.
Source: IRCC.com
