Express Entry Draws: Latest Round and CRS Cut-offs

An Express Entry draw — IRCC calls it a round of invitations — is how IRCC picks people from the pool. It isn’t random: for each round IRCC chooses the round type and how many people to invite, ranks everyone eligible by their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and invites the highest-ranked candidates to apply for permanent residence.

1. 1

   Choose the round type

   General, program-specific (for example Canadian Experience Class or Provincial Nominee Program) or category-based.

2. 2

   Decide how many to invite

   The number of invitations is set for each round.

3. 3

   Rank eligible candidates

   Only profiles eligible for that round are ranked, by CRS score.

4. 4

   Invite the top

   The highest-ranked candidates receive an invitation to apply (ITA). They then have 60 days to submit a complete application.

IRCC publishes each round once it has been held, with the number of invitations, the lowest score invited and the tie-break time. The tracker above has all 451 rounds since Jan 31, 2015.

IRCC runs three kinds of rounds. General rounds invite the top candidates from the whole pool. Program-specific rounds invite only candidates eligible for one program, such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Category-based rounds invite only candidates who meet a category the Minister set for an economic goal.

IRCC lists these categories as current:

• French-language proficiency
• Healthcare and social services occupations
• Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations
• Trade occupations
• Education occupations
• Transport occupations
• Physicians with Canadian work experience
• Senior managers with Canadian work experience
• Researchers with Canadian work experience
• Skilled military recruits

The last round IRCC labelled “General” or “No Program Specified” — open to every program — was on Apr 23, 2024. Since then every round has been program-specific or category-based.

The cut-off is what IRCC calls the “CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited”: the score of the last person invited in that round. Everyone eligible with a higher score was invited too.

When several candidates share that lowest score, IRCC applies the tie-breaking rule: the date and time each profile was submitted. Candidates who submitted before the tie-break time were invited. In round #450 the tie-break was Oct 6, 2026 at 21:31:22 UTC.

IRCC says it invites top candidates “about every 2 weeks”, but it doesn’t publish a schedule. In 2026 up to Oct 16, 2026, it held 62 rounds and issued 143,467 invitations — often two or three rounds in the same week, each for a different program or category.

Within 2026 so far, CEC cut-offs ranged from 507 to 523, French-language rounds from 382 to 435, and PNP rounds from 697 to 805. Use the filter above to see any category.

From November 3, 2026, the CRS adds a Labour Market Integration factor: points for Canadian work experience (with extra points for work in high-wage occupations) or for a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation, whichever is higher — up to 150 points for a single applicant, 140 with a spouse or partner.

• IRCC recalculates existing profiles automatically. To get job-offer points, IRCC’s news release says candidates must update their profile with the job offer before November 3.
• Cut-offs from rounds before November 3 were scored under the old points, so they aren’t directly comparable with later rounds. The tracker marks the switch in the list of rounds.
• IRCC hasn’t said what cut-offs will look like after the change, and we don’t predict them.
• See your score both ways in the CRS calculator, and every change in Express Entry changes 2026.

1. 1

   Know your score

   Work it out in the CRS calculator, which can show the current rules and the November 3 rules side by side.

2. 2

   Find the rounds you can be invited in

   CEC rounds need Canadian work experience, PNP rounds a nomination, category rounds the category’s requirements. Your eligibility decides which cut-offs matter to you.

3. 3

   Compare with those rounds only

   Pick the category above and look at its recent cut-offs and range, not at the latest round overall.

4. 4

   Look at what you can still change

   Language results are one factor you can retake. See what each CLB level is worth in CLB to CRS points, and practise for CELPIP® Speaking.