Doors Are Opening for Those Who Are Ready

If you have been watching the Express Entry pool with a mix of hope and impatience, this week gave you something to work with: three draws in three days, an invitation count that has already passed the full-year total for 2025, and clear signals about where Canada wants to send its next wave of permanent residents. It also reminded us that the system rewards preparation more than luck. Ontario's new employer-driven stream has still not issued a single invitation, and the CRS cut-offs that matter most remain out of reach for many profiles. Here is what happened, what it means, and what to do next.

This Week at a Glance

•  Three Express Entry draws: 576 provincial nominees (CRS 734), 2,000 Canadian Experience Class candidates (CRS 519), and 250 Senior Managers with Canadian work experience (CRS 389).

•  A record year: 2026 now stands at 56 draws and 128,982 invitations to apply, already about 14,900 above the 114,102 issued across all of 2025.

• Ontario is still waiting: the Workforce Priority Stream has accepted expressions of interest since August 4, but no invitation round has been posted under it.

• More room for provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador announced 1,000 extra nomination spaces, part of 2,303 added this summer across four jurisdictions.

• PR admissions are climbing but still behind pace: July reached 32,565, the strongest month of 2026, yet Canada needs roughly 38,000 a month to reach its 380,000 target.

• New rule for workers: eligible work permit holders can take courses of six months or less without a study permit, but full-time study has an Express Entry catch.

Key Dates Table

Date	Event	Detail
Mon, Sept 14	Express Entry draw 442: PNP	576 invitations · CRS cut-off 734
Mon–Tue, Sept 14–15	Saskatchewan SINP capped-sector intake window	Next SINP window listed for November 2
Tue, Sept 15	Express Entry draw 443: Canadian Experience Class	2,000 invitations · CRS cut-off 519
Wed, Sept 16	Express Entry draw 444: Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	250 invitations · CRS cut-off 389 · profiles submitted before Sept 1, 2026 at 23:05 UTC
Thu, Sept 17	BC PNP: Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support Initiative	33 invitations · minimum score 60
Sept 4 (in effect)	Study-without-a-study-permit policy for work permit holders	Announced by IRCC on Sept 9 · runs to Dec 31, 2027 unless revoked earlier
Est. week of Sept 28	Next likely Express Entry draw cycle	Estimate based on recent rhythm; IRCC does not announce draws in advance
Est. Thu, Sept 24	Next likely Manitoba EOI draw	Pattern of draws every second Thursday since July; not confirmed
No date	First Ontario Workforce Priority Stream invitation round	Could be posted without advance notice

Canadian Immigration Blog

Express Entry: Draw-by-Draw Analysis

Draw	Date	Type	Invitations	CRS cut-off
442	Sept 14	Provincial Nominee Program	576	734
443	Sept 15	Canadian Experience Class	2,000	519
444	Sept 16	Category: Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	250	389

Monday: the PNP-aligned draw (442)

IRCC invited 576 provincial nominees with a minimum score of 734. Because a provincial nomination adds 600 points, that cut-off implies the lowest-ranked nominee invited had roughly 134 points on their own profile. In these rounds the nomination, not the CRS score, does the heavy lifting. This was the 18th PNP-aligned draw of 2026, and together those rounds have invited 8,537 candidates, an average of about 474 per draw. Moving2Canada has pointed out that the sharp rise in the federal PNP target for 2026 has not yet translated into noticeably larger Express Entry rounds. That is partly because many nominees never touch Express Entry at all: base PNP applications are filed directly with IRCC.

Tuesday: Canadian Experience Class (443)

IRCC issued 2,000 invitations at 519 points, two points lower than the September 1 draw (521) and four below the August 18 draw (523), which was the highest CEC score of the year. CEC cut-offs in 2026 have ranged from 507 to 523 with an average near 516, so 519 remains slightly above the average line. The pool is the reason the number stays high: as of September 13 it held 226,793 candidates, including roughly 70,000 in the 451–500 range and about 20,000 between 501 and 600. That dense cluster just below the CEC line means small gains matter. A stronger language result, an extra year of Canadian work experience, or a spouse's improved language score can be the difference between waiting and receiving an invitation.

Wednesday: Senior Managers (444)

This was only the third draw for the Senior Managers category, which the Minister introduced in February. The first round on March 5 invited 250 at 429; July 10 invited 500 at 392; this week IRCC returned to 250 invitations at 389. The cut-off has eased by three points since July while the round size was cut in half, which one reasonable reading suggests is a limited number of eligible candidates in the category. Candidates sitting at exactly 389 points were invited only if they had submitted their profiles before September 1, 2026 at 23:05 UTC. If you are a senior manager with Canadian work experience, check the category's occupation list and work experience requirements on IRCC's website, and make sure your profile is current.

The bigger picture: a record year, a crowded pool

With 56 draws and 128,982 invitations, 2026 has already surpassed 2025's full-year total of 114,102 invitations across 58 draws. That pace is unlikely to hold: analysts at Moving2Canada expect smaller rounds through the rest of the year, with PNP draws roughly every two weeks, CEC draws of around 2,000, and small, occasional category draws. One more point worth repeating to clients: IRCC has not held a general, all-program draw since April 23, 2024. If your plan depends on one appearing, it is time to build a plan around CEC, category-based, French-language or provincial routes instead.

What we did not see this week

There was no French-language draw and no healthcare draw. The last French round was on August 19 (5,000 invitations at 382, the lowest cut-off of 2026), and the last healthcare round was on September 4 (3,500 at 475). French draws ran roughly every two weeks through July and August, so a month without one is worth noticing. It is not a policy change, since category draws are irregular by design, but it is a good reason for French-speaking candidates to keep their language results valid and their profiles active.

BOTTOM LINE  Record invitation volume does not mean easy invitations. The candidates moving forward are the ones with a route that fits how IRCC is selecting: Canadian experience, French proficiency, a targeted occupation, or a provincial nomination. Book a profile review with Elgin Immigration to see which route fits yours.

Provincial Nominee Program Updates

Jurisdiction	Latest activity	Snapshot
Ontario (OINP)	No invitations since April 30. Workforce Priority Stream EOI portal open since Aug 4; no round posted yet.	2026 allocation of 14,119 (up from 10,750). More than 13,000 invitations were issued under the former streams between February and April.
British Columbia	Sept 17: Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support Initiative, 33 invitations, minimum score 60. Sept 10 sector draws invited 429 workers.	5,185 invitations issued in 2026 against 6,254 nomination spaces after a 1,000-space top-up on Aug 18.
Alberta (AAIP)	No new round as of Friday morning. Last round Sept 9: Dedicated Health Care Pathway (Express Entry), 51 invitations.	Three September rounds totalled 722 invitations. 4,864 of 6,603 nominations issued (74%), leaving 1,739.
Manitoba (MPNP)	Sept 10: EOI draw #279 issued 793 Letters of Advice to Apply.	2,673 of 6,239 nominations issued (43%). Draws have fallen every second Thursday since July.
Saskatchewan (SINP)	Capped-sector intake window ran Sept 14–15. No scheduled EOI draws this year.	2,628 of 4,761 nominations issued (55%). Next window listed for Nov 2.
Newfoundland and Labrador	Announced 1,000 additional nomination spaces; NLPNP quota rises to 2,379. Atlantic Immigration Program allocation unchanged at 475.	2,198 NLPNP invitations issued through Sept 10 (36 on Sept 10, 97 on Sept 4).

Ontario: A stream with no track record yet

For anyone in the GTA, including Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto, this is the story to follow. Ontario closed all eight legacy streams in late June and reopened its expression of interest system on August 4 for the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, which has three pathways: TEER 0–3 occupations, TEER 4–5 occupations, and self-employed physicians. More than six weeks later, the province's posted updates still show no invitation round under the new stream, and nothing had appeared as of this Friday. The mechanics are now well documented on the Ontario government's application process page: the employer submits a job offer first; the employer must have operated in Ontario for at least three years, have a workplace, and have no outstanding employment standards or health and safety orders; and once a candidate is invited, the employer has 14 calendar days to request approval of the position while the candidate has 17 calendar days to submit their application. Candidates in the TEER 0–3 and physician pathways can also choose to be nominated through Express Entry if they hold a valid profile, which may speed up IRCC processing.

Because no invitations have been issued, there is no cut-off score, no favoured occupation list, and no evidence yet of how the new scoring grid treats wages or regions. Nobody, including us, can honestly tell a candidate what score is safe. What we can say is that files that are ready when the first round lands will be the ones that meet those 14- and 17-day windows.

DO THIS NOW  Confirm your employer meets the eligibility rules, keep language test results valid, gather proof of work experience and any required licence, and, if you qualify, create an Express Entry profile so the nomination option stays open.

Business Immigration News

Federal business immigration remains effectively closed. The Start-Up Visa Program stopped accepting new applications after December 31, 2025 (except from applicants holding a valid 2025 commitment certificate, who had until June 30, 2026), and the Self-Employed Persons Program pause has been extended indefinitely. IRCC promised a redesigned entrepreneur pilot in 2026; as far as we can confirm, it has not launched. The scale of the retreat shows up in the numbers: the Levels Plan sets Federal Business admissions at 500 for 2026, half of the earlier 1,000, which Meurrens also flagged when the plan came out, against 239,800 planned economic admissions overall.

For entrepreneurs, activity has moved to the provinces, but volumes are small. BC's Entrepreneur Immigration draws on August 25 invited 11 base candidates and 5 regional candidates at minimum scores of 116. On the employer side, this week's most useful development is the new study policy described below: businesses that want to upskill tradespeople, nurses or lab technicians already on work permits can now support short courses without triggering a separate study permit application. IRCC has said the measure is not a new pathway for workers to come to Canada.

Ministerial Statements and Policy Direction

We did not see a major new statement from Minister Lena Metlege Diab this week, but the policy direction she set out earlier in the year continues to shape everything above. In her February 18 speech announcing the 2026 Express Entry categories, she said Canada is reducing its non-permanent resident population to below five per cent by the end of 2027, and that Francophone immigration outside Quebec is targeted to reach 12 per cent by 2029, with more than 30,000 French-speaking newcomers a year planned. Those two ideas explain why French-language draws carry the lowest CRS scores in the system and why temporary-resident measures, like the new study policy, are framed around workers already in Canada.

Permanent residence pace. IRCC's July data shows 32,565 admissions, the highest month of 2026 and about 5,400 more than June. Through July, roughly 188,800 people had been admitted, about half of the 380,000 target with 58 per cent of the year gone. Canada would need close to 38,000 admissions a month from August to December to reach the target. At the pace seen so far the year would finish near 324,000, below the 350,000 lower end of the range the plan allows, so the pace has to improve. Economic admissions are furthest behind (about 109,600 of 239,800, or 46 per cent), while family class is ahead (about 52,900 of 84,000, or 63 per cent). IRCC says it is on track for all PR categories. The large number of invitations issued earlier this year, more than 70,000 in the first four months alone, gives some reason to expect a lift in Express Entry admissions later in 2026.

Behind the scenes. IRCC's 2026 Deputy Minister transition binder, published this month, describes a multi-year Digital Platform Modernization program to replace its aging case management system, with Express Entry among the first programs to move and a new expression of interest system planned as part of that first release. IRCC has not announced changes to eligibility, the CRS, or a launch date, so no action is needed from candidates today.

Week-Ahead Outlook

What to watch	Our read
Next Express Entry cycle	IRCC does not announce draws in advance. Recent cycles have run a PNP draw on Monday, a CEC draw on Tuesday, then one or more category draws, with a quiet week in between. On that rhythm, the next cycle would fall around the week of September 28. This is an estimate.
French-language draw	None since August 19. Given the roughly two-week cadence through July and August, a French round in the next cycle would not be surprising, but nothing is guaranteed.
Manitoba EOI draw	Draws have fallen every second Thursday since July, which points to September 24. Manitoba has issued 43 per cent of its allocation, so there is room to keep drawing.
Ontario Workforce Priority Stream	No date for the first invitation round, and rounds can be posted without notice. Keep files ready.
August PR admissions data	If IRCC keeps its usual lag, August figures should appear in mid-October. Watch whether monthly admissions move toward the roughly 38,000 needed.
IRCC notices to work permit holders	IRCC said it would email eligible workers about the study policy. If you receive one, read the conditions before enrolling.
Next Levels Plan	The multi-year plan is normally published in the fall (the current one came out in early November 2025). It will show how Ottawa intends to balance provincial and federal selection going forward.

Immigration Tip of the Week

Short course, big consequences: read this before you enrol

Since September 4, 2026, a temporary public policy lets eligible foreign workers study without a study permit if the program is six months or less. It is useful, but it comes with fine print that can affect a future PR application. Here is what to check first:

• You need a valid work permit, and the program can be no longer than six months. Your authorization to study lasts six months or until your work permit expires, whichever comes first. If your permit ends before the course does, plan around that date.

• Full-time study can cost you Express Entry credit. Under the policy, work experience gained during full-time studies does not count toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility or toward Canadian work experience points in the CRS. If you are building toward CEC, check how your program is classified before you commit.

• Keep your work permit handy. The school may ask you to prove you are eligible to study without a study permit, and your valid work permit is the proof.

• Co-op placements may need a new work permit. If a co-op employer or occupation differs from your current one, you may need a new employer-specific work permit first. Open work permit holders do not.

• Talk to your employer. The policy waives work permit conditions related to studying, but your employment contract still applies, so any change in hours is between you and your employer.

• Quebec workers are covered. No Quebec Acceptance Certificate is needed for eligible short studies.

• It is temporary. The policy runs to December 31, 2027 and can be revoked earlier. Anything longer than six months still needs a study permit.

TIP  Not sure whether a course helps or hurts your PR plan? Contact Elgin Immigration before you enroll.

This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration policies and procedures can change; please contact Elgin Immigration at info@elginimmigration.com for advice specific to your situation.