Today, on November 8, Ontario announced a new update on the Entrepreneur Pilot. As per the new OINP update, Pilot has now been launched as OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative (OINP-ESI). Furthermore, this pilot is being managed by the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC).
It is a two-year pilot initiative supported by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The project will assist 100 immigrant entrepreneurs in establishing and growing enterprises in areas outside the Greater Toronto Area.
The Entrepreneur Success Initiative is for business owners who want to immigrate to Canada by establishing a new business or purchasing and expanding an existing one outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
In this article, you can learn about the following:
- Overview of OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative
- How will Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) help?
- About OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative
- Communities part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
- Who qualifies for the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative?
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Overview of OINP (Ontario PNP) Entrepreneur Success Initiative
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) enables foreign workers, international students, and other individuals with the required qualifications in terms of education, experience, and skills to apply for nomination for permanent residence in Ontario.
The OINP’s Entrepreneur Stream is for entrepreneurs from outside Canada who want to start a new business in Ontario or buy and expand an existing one.
While the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative (OINP-ESI) will help aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs develop and submit Entrepreneur Stream applications. The initiative’s objective is to draw and support 100 fresh applicants.
Moreover, the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative OINP-ESI will be administered for two years by the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC).
How will Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) help?
The TBDC administers the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative and offers personalized services to assist entrepreneurs in identifying business opportunities in Ontario and applying to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Entrepreneur Stream.
The OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative is a program supported by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development. It aims to assist immigrant entrepreneurs in achieving their dream of establishing a firm in Ontario and coming to Canada.
The TBDC offers the following assistance to qualifying entrepreneurs through the Entrepreneur Success Initiative:
- Assist in locating business opportunities in Ontario matching interests and qualifications (for example, opportunities to create a new business or purchase an existing one).
- Help with the application process for the OINP Entrepreneur Stream, including facilitating access to free legal services to assist with the process.
About Ontario PNP Entrepreneur Success Initiative
The OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative, or OINP-ESI, will offer the following services:
- Identify opportunities for business creation and expansion in communities outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
- Market the Entrepreneur Stream and business prospects globally to increase awareness among entrepreneurs.
- Support qualified entrepreneurs who wish to start a new business or buy and grow an existing one in communities outside of the GTA
- Connect qualified entrepreneurs with business opportunities and communities based on their business, personal interests, and professional experience
- Assist qualified entrepreneurs in creating and submitting high-quality expressions of interest (EOI) to the Entrepreneur Stream
The OINP will process applications in the order that they are received.
Communities part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
The Entrepreneur Success Initiative is for entrepreneurs who want to start a new business or buy an existing one in a community outside of the Greater Toronto Area. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) includes the following communities:
- City of Toronto
- Durham Region
- Halton Region
- York Region
- Peel Region
Who qualifies for the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative?
Interested candidates must meet the eligibility criteria of the Entrepreneur Stream. Then, if you meet the eligibility criteria, fill out the contact form, and a TBDC Advisor will contact you.
For more details, visit the OINP Entrepreneur Success Initiative (OINP-ESI) website at futureisontario.com or contact TBDC at info@futureisontario.com.
Source: OINP Updates
Latest Canada Immigration News & Articles
- Top 10 Universities In Canada For 2027 Revealed In New Rankings
A new list of top universities in Canada for 2027 has been released by Macleans and the edition marks the most sweeping overhaul the publication has introduced in more than two decades.
Released on October 15, 2026, the rankings evaluate 56 Canadian universities across 15 performance indicators, with six new institutions added to the list this year.
McGill University in Quebec claimed the top position among large universities, Simon Fraser University in British Columbia led the mid-size category, and Mount Allison University in New Brunswick topped the small-university group.
The results appear in the November issue of Maclean’s, available on newsstands since October 20, alongside detailed reporting on the issues shaping post-secondary education in Canada.
Table of Contents
Maclean’s Replaces Decades-Old Category System
For the first time since the rankings began in 1991, Maclean’s has retired the Medical Doctoral, Comprehensive, and Primarily Undergraduate categories that defined the program for more than 30 years.
In their place, universities are now grouped by full-time-equivalent enrolment into three straightforward size-based categories.
- Large universities enrol more than 30,000 full-time-equivalent students.
- Mid-size universities have between 10,000 and 30,000 full-time-equivalent students.
- Small universities serve fewer than 10,000 full-time-equivalent students.
Claire Gagné, director of special projects for Maclean’s, said the traditional categories were not always easy for students and families to understand, prompting a comprehensive review of how universities are evaluated, including ranking systems around the world.
6 institutions join the rankings this year: Mount Royal University, Thompson Rivers University, MacEwan University, Concordia University of Edmonton, University of the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island University.
How Universities Were Evaluated
Maclean’s assesses universities across four broad areas using 15 performance indicators, including four that are new for 2027.
- Student Experience and Success (28%) captures student awards (8%), retention rate (5%), graduation rate (5%), and student-faculty ratio (10%).
- Faculty Quality (25%) includes faculty awards (8%), social sciences and humanities grants (6%), medical-science grants (6%), research volume (2.5%), and research impact (2.5%).
- Student Resources and Support (32%) measures operating budget per student (5%), library expenses (5%), library acquisitions (4%), student services spending (9%), and scholarships and bursaries (9%).
- Reputation (15%) is derived from a survey of university faculty, senior administrators, and employers conducted in partnership with Angus Reid Group.
The 4 new indicators for 2027 are retention rate, graduation rate, research volume, and research impact. Retention measures students returning for their second year, while graduation measures completion within six years.
Maclean’s removed the total research dollars indicator used in previous editions.
Data sources include Statistics Canada (for financial and enrolment figures), the three major federal granting agencies (SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR), and Higher Education Strategy Associates (using the OpenAlex database for the 2020–2023 publication window).
Canada’s Top 10 Large Universities For 2027
Fifteen universities fall into the large category, and McGill University’s claim to the top spot is powered by consistently strong results across faculty awards, student awards, and research impact.
McGill identified former professor Anne Carson as its twelfth affiliated Nobel laureate following her October 2026 award, and the university has developed more Rhodes Scholars and Nobel laureates than any other Canadian institution.
The University of Toronto, Canada’s largest university with more than 102,431 students across three campuses, placed second, drawing on commanding research volume (ranked first among large universities) and deep faculty strength.
The University of British Columbia rounded out the top three, while the University of Waterloo and Queen’s University completed the top five.
The University of Alberta and McMaster University share the sixth position, reflecting a tie across the weighted indicators.
Top 10 universities in this category
Rank University Province 1 McGill University Quebec 2 University of Toronto Ontario 3 University of British Columbia British Columbia 4 University of Waterloo Ontario 5 Queen’s University Ontario 6* University of Alberta Alberta 6* McMaster University Ontario 8 University of Ottawa Ontario 9 University of Calgary Alberta 10 Western University Ontario * Indicates a tie. Quebec placed two additional universities in the large category: Université Laval at 11th and Université de Montréal at 12th, while York University (13th), Toronto Metropolitan University (14th), and Concordia University (15th) closed out the group.
Queen’s University ranked second among large institutions in both student retention and graduation rates, trailing only McGill, and earned a top-five finish in medical science grants.
The University of Ottawa led the large-university category in scholarships and bursaries and placed third in both faculty awards and medical-science grants, reinforcing the strength of bilingual institutions in federal grant competitions.
Top 10 Mid-Size Universities In Canada For 2027
Nineteen universities make up the mid-size category, and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, captured the top position with first-place finishes in student awards, medical-science grants, and operating budget among mid-size institutions.
The University of Victoria placed second, while Dalhousie University, the largest university in Atlantic Canada and home to 56 Canada Research Chairs, took third with first-place finishes among mid-size universities in faculty awards, research volume, scholarships and bursaries, and reputation.
Carleton University, the first university in Canada to offer its journalism and public administration programs, ranked fourth, buoyed by the second-highest retention rate in the mid-size group at 90.1%.
The University of Guelph rounded out the top five, posting the highest retention rate among mid-size universities and ranking second in both research volume and research impact within the category.
Top 10 universities in this category
Rank University Province 1 Simon Fraser University British Columbia 2 University of Victoria British Columbia 3 Dalhousie University Nova Scotia 4 Carleton University Ontario 5 University of Guelph Ontario 6 University of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 7 University of Manitoba Manitoba 8 Université de Sherbrooke Quebec 9 Wilfrid Laurier University Ontario 10 UQAM Quebec The University of Saskatchewan ranked sixth, a position its administration noted provides a strong new baseline under the revised methodology.
Two newly added institutions, Thompson Rivers University (17th) and MacEwan University (19th), entered the mid-size group for the first time, alongside Mount Royal University at 18th.
Canada’s 10 Best Small Universities For 2027
Twenty-two universities compete in the small category, and Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, secured the number-one position once again, extending a record of excellence that spans multiple editions of the rankings.
With a student population just over 2,400, Mount Allison earned first-place finishes in faculty awards and library expenses, second in student awards and medical-science grants, and third in scholarships and bursaries and the reputational survey.
The University of Northern British Columbia placed second in the small-university category.
St. Francis Xavier University and Acadia University, both in Nova Scotia, took the third and fourth positions, underscoring the continued strength of Atlantic Canada’s smaller liberal arts institutions.
Top 10 universities in this category
Rank University Province 1 Mount Allison University New Brunswick 2 Univ. of Northern British Columbia British Columbia 3 St. Francis Xavier University Nova Scotia 4 Acadia University Nova Scotia 5 University of New Brunswick New Brunswick 6 Bishop’s University Quebec 7 Saint Mary’s University Nova Scotia 8 Lakehead University Ontario 9 University of Lethbridge Alberta 10 University of Prince Edward Island P.E.I. Three of the six newly ranked institutions entered the small category: Concordia University of Edmonton, University of the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island University.
Several of these newcomers posted strong individual-indicator results immediately, with Concordia University of Edmonton leading all small universities in student services spending at 12.7% of its operating budget.
Key Takeaways From the 2027 Rankings
The shift to size-based categories means direct comparisons with last year’s edition require caution, as universities that previously competed in different groups now sit side by side.
Ontario dominates the large category, placing eight of its universities in the 15-position list, while British Columbia holds the top two mid-size positions with Simon Fraser at the top and the University of Victoria in second.
Atlantic Canada punches well above its weight in the small category, with Mount Allison, St. Francis Xavier, Acadia, the University of New Brunswick, and Saint Mary’s all placing in the top seven.
The four new methodology indicators — retention rate, graduation rate, research volume, and research impact — collectively account for 15% of a university’s final score, giving greater weight to measurable student outcomes than earlier editions.
Student resources and support carry the heaviest weight at 32%, which favours universities that commit larger shares of their budgets to scholarships, student services, and library infrastructure.
The reputational survey, conducted with Angus Reid, accounts for 15% of the final score, meaning peer perception still influences placement but no longer defines it.
The full 2027 rankings, including detailed indicator-level results for each university, are available on the Maclean’s university rankings page.
Students weighing their options should look beyond the overall rank and examine how individual universities perform on the indicators that matter most to them, whether that is student-faculty ratio, scholarship funding, research opportunities, or graduate outcomes.
International students should also factor in the province’s immigration pathways and Post-Graduation Work Permit eligibility when choosing where to study, since the decision carries implications far beyond the classroom.
Immigration News Canada will continue to track developments in Canadian post-secondary education and their connection to federal and provincial immigration policy through the 2027 academic cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did Maclean’s replace the Medical Doctoral, Comprehensive, and Primarily Undergraduate categories?
Maclean’s concluded that the traditional categories were not intuitive for students and families and reviewed ranking systems around the world when developing the new framework.
The new size-based categories (Large, Mid-Size, Small) group institutions by full-time-equivalent enrolment, making it simpler for applicants to compare universities of roughly similar scale.
Because the methodology and groupings changed simultaneously, the 2027 results establish a new baseline, and year-over-year comparisons with the 2026 edition should be made cautiously.Can international students use these rankings to improve their chances of permanent residence in Canada?
Attending a higher-ranked university does not directly affect Comprehensive Ranking System scores under Express Entry or guarantee a provincial nomination.
However, universities with strong retention and graduation rates, robust employer networks, and established co-op programs tend to produce graduates who accumulate the Canadian work experience and language proficiency that immigration programs prioritize.
The province where a student studies also determines which Provincial Nominee Program streams they may access after graduation, so matching institutional strength with provincial immigration pathways is a practical consideration.How do the 2027 rankings account for French-language universities?
French-language institutions compete on the same 15 indicators as their English-language counterparts within each size category.
Université Laval and Université de Montréal placed 11th and 12th in the large-university category, while UQAM appeared in the mid-size group and Université de Sherbrooke placed eighth in the same group.
Université de Moncton is the only French-language entry in the small category.
The reputational survey draws responses from faculty, administrators, and employers nationwide, which can disadvantage institutions whose recognition is concentrated within a single linguistic community.What is research impact, and why does it matter as a new indicator?
Research impact measures the proportion of a university’s published research output that ranks among the top 10% most-cited publications in comparable fields, using data from the OpenAlex database for the 2020–2023 publication window.
Unlike total research dollars, which favoured universities with large faculties and heavy government funding, research impact rewards institutions that produce influential work relative to their size.
This shift benefits research-intensive mid-size and small universities that publish fewer papers but achieve higher citation rates per study.Does ranking position correlate with tuition costs for domestic and international students?
Tuition varies enormously between provinces, programs, and residency status, and ranking position does not predict affordability.
McGill’s basic tuition for Quebec residents in 2026–27 is $103.92 per credit, or $3,117.60 for a 30-credit year before additional fees. Tuition for other Canadian students varies by admission cohort and program.
International tuition at Canadian universities commonly ranges from $20,000 to more than $60,000, depending on the institution and program.
The rankings do include a scholarships and bursaries indicator (weighted at 9%), which reflects each institution’s commitment to offsetting costs, making it a useful data point for students weighing financial support alongside academic quality.Fact-Checked: The category rankings and methodology were checked against Maclean’s 2027 University Rankings and Maclean’s 2027 Methodology, with supporting university and government sources used for the education and immigration context.
Disclaimer: University rankings reflect one set of quantitative and survey-based indicators and should not be the sole factor in choosing a post-secondary institution. Students are encouraged to consult official program pages, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and qualified professionals when making education and immigration decisions.
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- 6 Canada Immigration Changes Conservatives Want In The New Plan
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre turned Question Period on October 22, 2026, into a sustained offensive on the Liberal government’s immigration record, accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of losing control of the system.
Poilievre demanded a fundamental overhaul of how Canada sets its permanent resident targets, centring his attack on a Statistics Canada population revision that added roughly 300,000 people to the country’s estimated population.
The opposition leader’s core challenge was direct: how can Ottawa set new immigration targets when it cannot accurately count who is already in the country?
Earlier that morning, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner and colleague Brad Redekopp laid out detailed demands at a Parliamentary Press Gallery conference.
Their list included dramatically lower immigration levels, real exit tracking, provincial involvement in target-setting, and a crackdown on fraud.
Redekopp specifically targeted the Express Entry system’s upcoming November 3 high-wage job offer changes, warning the new rules could enable wage suppression and employer fraud.
Table of Contents
Poilievre Challenges Government Over Population Numbers
The opposition leader opened his round of questions by going straight at the Statistics Canada revision that had upended the government’s population narrative.
In June, the government had claimed that the population was shrinking, but Statistics Canada’s updated figures told a sharply different story.
Approximately 300,000 more people were living in Canada than the government had reported, according to the revised estimates.
Poilievre’s question to the House was blunt: how can the Prime Minister tell foreign media that Canada needs more immigration when the government cannot track who is already here?
The Statistics Canada revision, released on September 23, 2026, estimated Canada’s population at 41,798,407 on July 1, 2026.
That figure represented an increase of 189,425 over the preceding year, contradicting the earlier interim estimates that had shown a population decline.
Updated estimates of the temporary resident population drove the revision, with the count turning out to be roughly 240,000 larger than Ottawa had claimed.
Poilievre was careful to draw a line between immigrants and the policy framework that governs their entry into Canada.
Immigrants themselves are not to blame, he told the House, calling them hard-working, law-abiding people who have been failed by a Liberal government that destroyed the system.
To back his case, Poilievre cited a string of figures: the immigration backlog up 2,500% since the government took office, temporary foreign worker permits up 135%, and the temporary resident population up 260%.
Government Deflects, Points To Past Conservative Voting Record
With the Prime Minister absent, responses came primarily from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and a minister substituting for the immigration portfolio.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs offered only a brief reply, saying the government has been working on immigration and would have more to share soon.
Champagne took a more aggressive approach, pivoting away from immigration and toward the Conservative opposition’s voting record in the House.
The opposition leader has been in the House for over 20 years, Champagne noted, and has repeatedly voted against measures that would have helped Canadians.
The Conservatives’ vote against the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit drew particular attention, with Champagne calling it a program that is putting food on the table for 12 million Canadians.
On the immigration question directly, the government’s line was that the Prime Minister has taken back control of the system and ensured sustainable levels.
When Poilievre pivoted to provincial control, arguing that provinces deliver health care, jobs, and housing, a government minister countered that Ottawa already works with provinces on the temporary foreign worker program to ensure flexibility where labour shortages exist.
The government also accused the Conservative caucus of demonizing both immigration and immigrants, a charge Poilievre rejected outright.
If anyone should be apologizing to immigrants, Poilievre responded, it is the Liberal government for destroying the system and letting corporate interests use vulnerable newcomers to drive wages down and rents up.
6 Canada Immigration Changes Outlined By Conservatives
In a press conference held earlier that day and published on her Substack, Rempel Garner detailed the Conservative Party’s formal position ahead of the expected tabling of the next Immigration Levels Plan.
The current 2026–2028 plan sets a target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions annually across all three years, with a planning range of 350,000 to 420,000.
The Conservatives did not release a specific alternative PR target, but their position was unambiguous: levels must go “way down, not up,” and any Liberal attempt to raise admissions will face vigorous opposition.
First, bring the numbers down. Unemployed and underemployed Canadians must get first priority for jobs, housing starts must catch up with demand, and hospitals and family doctors cannot continue to absorb the strain.
Immigration, in the Conservative framing, must return to helping newcomers integrate rather than serving as a corporate tool to suppress wages.
Second, restore integrity to the system. People in Canada with no legal right to remain should face swift removal, with stronger security and identity checks on every applicant.
The demand also included an end to lenient criminal sentences designed to avoid deportation and a crackdown on document fraud, study permit scams, and job-offer sales.
Third, set levels together with provinces and territories based on what their housing, hospitals, schools, and social services can actually handle rather than from an Ottawa boardroom.
The Immigration Minister, Rempel Garner noted, has already admitted that provinces were not consulted on health care capacity when immigration levels were set.
Poilievre previewed this argument two days earlier in an October 20 statement following Alberta’s referendum, saying provinces should control immigration selection and numbers because they provide the services and build the housing.
Fourth, prove the government knows who is in the country. The Auditor General’s March 2026 finding underscored the gap in the government’s tracking capacity.
Of roughly 39,500 international students whose permits expired in 2024, only about 16,000 could be confirmed as having actually departed Canada.
The Conservatives are demanding real exit tracking that matches every expired permit against a confirmed departure, along with public numbers that are not designed to flatter the government’s narrative.
Fifth, any plan to open Canada’s borders further through EU trade agreements must be disclosed transparently in the levels plan.
The Conservatives signalled they will oppose any attempt to import what they described as the EU’s open borders policies into Canadian immigration.
Sixth, invest in Canadians already here. The best workers, Rempel Garner argued, are already in Canada’s high schools, trades programs, colleges, and unemployment lines, waiting to be trained and hired.
Redekopp Targets Express Entry Changes Set For November 3
Brad Redekopp used his portion of the press conference to zero in on the Express Entry changes IRCC announced on October 16, 2026, which take effect November 3.
Under the new rules, Express Entry will award additional CRS points for Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation.
An occupation qualifies as high-wage when its median wage reaches at least 1.3 times the national median across all Canadian occupations.
From November 3, qualifying job offers will no longer require an LMIA for Express Entry program eligibility or CRS points.
High-wage occupation requirements apply to CRS job-offer points, while qualifying FSW and FST offers may also be in other eligible occupations.
This LMIA removal covers Express Entry only and does not eliminate the requirement for employer-sponsored work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Redekopp’s critique targeted three problems with the new framework, each centred on what he sees as a gap between the policy’s design and its real-world consequences.
The wage, in his analysis, only matters when IRCC classifies an occupation, not when the employer actually writes the paycheque for the individual worker.
Nothing in the rules stops an employer from recruiting a foreign worker at well below the occupation’s median salary, since the high-wage test applies to the job category rather than the offer itself.
Removing the LMIA requirement also eliminates the need to prove that no Canadian is available for the position, which Redekopp warned will make it easier for unscrupulous employers to sell fraudulent job offers for up to $50,000 or more.
A third concern was the absence of any requirement for the worker to actually stay in the offered position after receiving permanent residence.
The job offer, under this arrangement, functions as a gateway to PR status rather than a genuine long-term employment commitment.
These criticisms represent the Conservative opposition’s position on the upcoming policy changes, not enacted rules or confirmed outcomes.
What This Means For Prospective Permanent Residents
Nothing has changed in Canada’s immigration rules or admissions targets as a result of these Conservative demands, and as the official opposition, the Conservatives cannot unilaterally alter the Immigration Levels Plan.
The political pressure still matters for anyone planning a permanent residence application, particularly with the next levels plan approaching.
Under Section 94(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the annual immigration report must be tabled in each House by November 1, or within its next 30 sitting days if that House is not sitting on that date.
The next Immigration Levels Plan covering 2027–2029 is expected under this statutory deadline, and if the Liberals raise levels as signalled, a major political fight is guaranteed.
For Express Entry candidates, the November 3 changes introducing high-wage occupation points and removing the LMIA requirement for qualifying job offers are going ahead as announced regardless of opposition criticism.
Candidates in the Express Entry pool who hold or are pursuing a qualifying job offer should ensure their profiles are updated before November 3.
The October 22 confrontation underscores that immigration will remain one of the most contested political battlegrounds heading into the next budget cycle and the upcoming levels plan.
Poilievre’s repeated use of Question Period to press on immigration, combined with Rempel Garner’s policy blueprint and Redekopp’s Express Entry critique, signals a coordinated Conservative strategy.
The Liberals maintain they have taken back control of the immigration system and that their levels plan is sustainable for Canada’s economy.
Whether the 2027–2029 plan will raise, hold, or cut permanent resident targets remains the central open question, along with whether any Conservative demands around provincial involvement, exit tracking, or fraud enforcement will find their way into government policy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Have the Conservatives proposed a specific PR admissions number to replace the current 380,000 target?
Rempel Garner and Poilievre have called for levels to go “way down” but have not committed to a specific figure or published an alternative levels plan. Their position centres on capacity-based targets set in partnership with provinces rather than a single national number decided in Ottawa. For context, annual PR admissions during the 2006–2015 period ranged from approximately 237,000 to 281,000, a span that serves as implicit background for the Conservative stance. Until the Conservatives release a formal alternative or win government, their demand remains directional rather than numerical.
Does the Statistics Canada population revision mean 300,000 people entered Canada without being detected?
The revision reflects updated estimates of how many non-permanent residents were already present in Canada, not an influx of undetected arrivals at the border. Statistics Canada revised its interim figures upward by approximately 300,000 in an annual revision incorporating new adjustments to non-permanent resident estimates. The update was larger than usual and incorporated CBSA entry and exit data alongside improved accounting for permit extensions and maintained status. What had appeared to be a population decline became growth of approximately 189,425 over the year ending July 1, 2026, and Poilievre characterized this gap as the government losing track of people.
Will the Express Entry changes on November 3 allow employers to pay below-market wages as Redekopp claims?
The high-wage classification is set at the occupational level, meaning a role qualifies when its median national wage reaches at least 1.3 times the overall Canadian median. That classification determines eligibility for additional CRS points, but nothing in the rules mandates a minimum salary for the individual job offer to the worker. IRCC still requires offers to be genuine and to meet applicable program requirements, though whether those enforcement mechanisms can prevent wage suppression is a matter of ongoing policy debate. The LMIA removal applies to Express Entry points and program eligibility for qualifying offers only, and employer-sponsored work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program still require one.
Can the Conservatives actually block an increase in PR levels if the Liberals move forward?
The Immigration Levels Plan is tabled as part of the government’s annual immigration report and does not require a parliamentary vote to take effect. The Conservatives can oppose it vocally in Question Period and committee and can use opposition days to force non-binding votes, but they cannot unilaterally block a levels increase while in opposition. Their real leverage comes from political pressure and the possibility that public sentiment on immigration may shift the government’s calculations.
When will the next Immigration Levels Plan be released, and what should applicants expect?
Under Section 94(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the annual report must be tabled in each House by November 1, or within that House’s next 30 sitting days if it is not sitting on that date. The 2027–2029 plan will set the first official 2029 targets for both permanent resident admissions and temporary resident arrivals. Carney and Diab have indicated levels could rise, while the Conservatives are pushing hard in the opposite direction, making the plan’s release a politically charged moment. Existing profiles and applications remain subject to applicable program rules, while admissions targets guide overall intake and processing.
Fact-Checked: All parliamentary quotes cited in this article were checked against the supplied House of Commons closed captioning transcript from October 22, 2026. Conservative policy demands were verified against the original press conference transcript published by Michelle Rempel Garner on October 22, 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Immigration policies and levels targets are subject to change, and readers should consult a qualified immigration professional or review official information on the IRCC website for guidance specific to their situation.
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- Canada’s New Express Entry Changes Expose 5 Major Risks
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is about to roll out the biggest Express Entry overhaul since 2015, and several parts of it do not hold up under scrutiny.
On October 16, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab confirmed that new CRS scoring rules will take effect on November 3, 2026, introducing a Labour Market Integration factor worth up to 150 CRS points, including existing points for the duration of Canadian work experience and additional points for qualifying high-wage occupations.
The reform also eliminates the LMIA requirement for qualifying Express Entry job offers, pauses invitation rounds for up to two weeks during a system-wide CRS recalculation, and redefines which occupations carry the most weight in Canada’s skilled immigration selection.
IRCC published its final consultation report on October 15, drawing from approximately 17,500 survey respondents, and the results showed deeply divided opinion on key proposals.
Yet the department moved ahead anyway, and the speed of implementation, just 18 days between announcement and activation, has left critical questions unanswered.
We examined the announced rules against the consultation findings, IRCC’s own operational instructions and the realities facing candidates on the ground and identified 5 concerns that the department appears to have either overlooked or chosen not to address before going live.
Table of Contents
Job Offer Verification Raises Fraud Concerns
The most glaring gap in the November 3 framework is the relationship between when a job offer boosts a candidate’s CRS score and when IRCC actually verifies that the offer is real.
Beginning November 3, qualifying job offers in designated high-wage occupations can provide 50, 70, or 100 CRS points without requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
IRCC says officers will examine whether an offer is genuine at the permanent residence application stage, meaning after the candidate has already received an invitation based partly on those offer points.
The concern is that a fabricated or exaggerated job offer could push a candidate above the invitation threshold, potentially displacing someone with a legitimate profile, before the offer undergoes the full genuineness assessment conducted at the permanent residence application stage.
By the time an officer catches a questionable offer, the damage to the draw’s integrity is already done.
IRCC’s updated job-offer instructions describe what officers will assess, but the public instructions say nothing about what preliminary screening occurs before offer points are applied to a candidate’s CRS score.
The department argues that limiting offer points to high-wage occupations reduces fraud risk because these positions require specialized qualifications.
That is a reasonable safeguard, but it does not answer the core question: why should any CRS points be awarded based on a claim that has not yet been verified?
Removing LMIA Checks Raises Further Risk Of Fraud
A separate and potentially bigger concern is whether restoring substantial job-offer CRS points without requiring an LMIA will create fresh incentives to buy, sell or arrange non-genuine offers.
Under the November 3 framework, a qualifying job offer can carry up to 100 points without the employer obtaining a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
That removes an independent labour-market assessment previously required for offers that were not LMIA-exempt.
Employers, recruiters or intermediaries could seek to exploit that incentive by arranging offers primarily to improve a candidate’s Express Entry ranking rather than to fill genuine vacancies.
An offer might appear credible on paper while the position, hiring intention or working arrangement does not reflect a genuine employment need.
This is a foreseeable risk, not evidence that such activity has already surged under rules that have yet to take effect.
The history makes the concern especially important. IRCC removed arranged-employment CRS points in March 2025 after identifying the buying and selling of LMIAs as an immigration-fraud concern.
Bringing back job-offer points while removing the LMIA requirement for qualifying offers raises a direct question: what prevents a similar market from emerging around the job offers themselves?
An LMIA was never a guarantee against fraud, and IRCC says officers will still assess the genuineness of offers when processing permanent residence applications.
The unresolved issue is whether those checks, together with any screening before invitations, will be sufficient to deter non-genuine offers before they influence CRS rankings.
New Wage-Based CRS Points Raise Fairness Concerns
The second concern goes to the philosophical core of the reform: should an occupation’s national wage be the primary measure of an immigrant’s value to the Canadian economy?
IRCC’s own consultation showed that more respondents opposed this idea than supported it.
Among the approximately 17,500 survey participants, 45.8% opposed awarding additional CRS points for Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation, while 42.3% supported the proposal.
IRCC went ahead with the high-wage points anyway, confirming them through the October 16 official news release, which means the department implemented a scoring mechanism that its own public consultation showed was opposed by a plurality of respondents.
The fundamental issue is how IRCC defines “high-wage.”
The classification is based on an occupation’s national median wage, not an individual candidate’s actual salary and not whether an employer is struggling to fill specific positions.
A personal support worker or early childhood educator in a region facing severe shortages receives zero additional high-wage CRS points, while a candidate in a profession whose national median happens to cross the 1.3-times threshold gets a significant scoring advantage even if that profession faces no shortage at all.
IRCC’s consultation report explicitly records that respondents raised concerns about wage-based scoring disadvantaging certain sectors and younger workers and candidates in occupations experiencing genuine shortages.
The question IRCC has not adequately answered is this: should a high national wage automatically carry more immigration selection weight than demonstrated labour shortages?
Similar Candidates Could Face Dramatically Different CRS Scores
The real-world impact of the wage-based framework becomes stark when you compare two candidates who would have been treated identically before November 3.
Consider two hypothetical candidates, both 32 years old, both holding a Canadian master’s degree, both with CLB 9 across all language abilities and both carrying three years of skilled Canadian work experience.
Before the reform, their CRS scores would be the same.
After November 3, their scores could diverge by up to 100 points based solely on which NOC code each candidate holds.
Factor Candidate A (NOC 21231) Candidate B (non-listed NOC) Occupation Software engineer Marketing coordinator Wage tier 1.5× (listed) Below 1.3× (not listed) New work-experience supplement 40 additional CRS points 0 additional CRS points With a qualifying job offer 70 job-offer points, subject to the higher-of-two-routes rule 0 job-offer points That is a 40-point gap in supplementary work-experience points alone.
A qualifying offer in Candidate A’s occupation is worth 70 points, but IRCC awards whichever Labour Market Integration route produces the higher total.
For these candidates, the existing three-year Canadian work-experience points plus the high-wage supplement would generally exceed the job-offer route.
At the top end, a candidate in a 2×-tier occupation could earn 70 additional work-experience points or 100 job-offer points, while a candidate with an otherwise identical profile in a non-qualifying occupation receives nothing.
A 40- to 100-point occupational differential in that environment is not a gentle nudge; it is a wholesale reshuffling of who receives invitations and who does not.
IRCC has not publicly explained why it believes this degree of disparity between otherwise comparable candidates produces a fairer selection outcome.
National Wage Benchmarks May Overlook Regional Labour Markets
Canada is not one labour market, and IRCC’s decision to classify occupations using a single national wage benchmark ignores that reality.
The department uses three years of Job Bank wage statistics, Labour Force Survey data and Census figures to determine which occupations qualify as high-wage.
That classification is based on the national median for each NOC code not what workers actually earn in Toronto versus Moncton, not whether a specific region is desperate for that occupation, and not what provincial economic development priorities look like on the ground.
An occupation that falls just below the 1.3× national threshold might command wages well above that benchmark in Alberta or British Columbia, where the cost of living and labour-market dynamics differ substantially from the national picture.
Conversely, an occupation that clears the national threshold could be relatively well-supplied in certain provinces while chronically short-staffed in others.
Canada’s immigration levels plan and the Provincial Nominee Program exist precisely because federal immigration policy has historically recognized that different regions face different labour-market conditions.
The new CRS factor ignores that principle entirely by applying a single national yardstick to a country with wildly different regional economies.
Provincial nominee streams like Ontario’s OINP may become even more critical for candidates in occupations that are essential to specific provincial economies but absent from the national high-wage list.
Candidates should check the full list of high-wage occupations effective November 3 to determine whether their specific NOC appears at any tier, and explore provincial pathways if it does not.
What Candidates And Employers Should Do Before November 3
Regardless of where these policy concerns land, the rules take effect in days, and candidates need to act.
IRCC has explicitly advised candidates who may qualify for job-offer points to review and update their Express Entry profiles before November 3, 2026.
Canadian work-experience scores will be recalculated automatically, but job-offer points depend on IRCC having the necessary offer information already recorded in the profile.
Candidates should verify their five-digit NOC code against the official high-wage occupation list and ensure their work-history and job-offer sections are accurate and complete.
Invitation rounds will be paused during the CRS recalculation, which could last up to two weeks after November 3.
The most recent Express Entry draws in October included a 2,500-invitation CEC round and a 5,000-invitation French-language round, but those pre-recalculation cutoffs will mean little once the new scoring is applied.
Employers with positions in high-wage occupations should prepare documentation demonstrating the legitimacy and genuine nature of each offer, because removing the LMIA step does not remove the officer-led genuineness assessment.
Where Express Entry Goes From Here
The November 3 changes are the first concrete step in what IRCC has signalled will be a broader Express Entry overhaul, potentially merging the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Program into a single Federal High Skilled stream.
The 2026 ministerial category announcement already expanded the list of targeted draw categories, and category-based selection will likely continue to shape who receives invitations alongside the new CRS factor.
But none of that changes the fact that IRCC is implementing a reform its own consultation showed was opposed by a plurality of respondents, with a verification sequence that checks offers after they have already influenced rankings, a non-stacking rule that penalizes the most integrated candidates, and a national wage benchmark that flattens an entire country’s regional labour-market diversity into a single number.
Whether the high-wage framework ultimately delivers the economic outcomes IRCC is projecting will depend on how the department responds to these 5 concerns — not in a future consultation paper, but in the operational reality that begins November 3.
The NOC code a candidate holds and its placement on IRCC’s list will now carry more CRS weight than at any point since Express Entry launched in 2015.
Candidates should treat that as a fundamental shift in how profiles are ranked, not simply a points bonus layered on top of the existing system.
Immigration News Canada will continue tracking draw results, CRS cutoff movements and pool-distribution shifts after the November 3 recalculation is complete and will report on whether these concerns materialize in the data.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can Express Entry candidates receive both job offer points and high-wage work experience points under the November 3 changes?
No, IRCC awards whichever of the two routes produces the higher score under the new Labour Market Integration factor. A candidate whose work-experience route yields 110 points and whose qualifying job offer yields 100 receives 110, not 210. This design treats the two pathways as alternatives, which means candidates who have built both strong Canadian work experience and hold a genuine employer commitment only receive credit for one of those achievements.
Does a high individual salary qualify a candidate for the new high-wage CRS points?
No, IRCC classifies occupations using the national median wage of each five-digit NOC code over a three-year period. The occupation itself must appear on IRCC’s published high-wage list at the 1.3×, 1.5× or 2× threshold. A candidate earning well above the national median in an occupation that falls below the 1.3× benchmark receives zero supplementary points under this factor, regardless of their personal salary.How will IRCC verify job offers now that the LMIA requirement has been removed?
Officers will examine whether an offer is genuine at the permanent residence application stage, after the candidate has already received an invitation to apply. IRCC assesses whether the employer is actively operating, can fulfil the offer and actually needs the worker. However, the publicly available instructions do not describe what preliminary screening occurs before offer points are applied to a candidate’s CRS score, leaving an unanswered question about verification before invitations are issued.Will Express Entry draws stop after November 3, and for how long?
IRCC will pause invitation rounds while it recalculates CRS scores for all candidates under the new rules. The department says the recalculation could take up to two weeks. Draws resume once the system is ready. Existing submitted applications are not affected, and candidates will see their updated CRS scores in their IRCC accounts after the recalculation is complete.
What should candidates in non-high-wage occupations do after November 3?
Candidates whose NOC does not appear on IRCC’s high-wage list will not receive supplementary CRS points, but they still earn standard duration-based experience points and remain eligible for category-based draws and provincial nominee streams. Provincial pathways like Ontario’s OINP may become more important for occupations that are critical to specific regional economies but missing from the national list. Improving language scores, obtaining additional credentials and pursuing provincial nominations remain the most effective ways to increase overall CRS competitiveness.
Fact-Checked: All policy changes, CRS point tiers, non-stacking rules, LMIA exemption details and consultation statistics cited in this article were verified against IRCC’s October 16, 2026 news release and the 2026 Express Entry consultation final report published on Canada.ca.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute immigration or legal advice. Eligibility, occupation classifications and invitation outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Candidates should review the official CRS criteria or consult a qualified immigration professional before making decisions based on these changes.
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- Canada’s New Arrivals Plunge 63%, But Work Permit Holders Rise
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada published a comprehensive update to its key immigration statistics on October 20, 2026, covering application processing, temporary and permanent resident volumes, and asylum claim trends.
The release paints a striking picture of a system undergoing deliberate contraction in temporary migration and targeted acceleration in permanent settlement.
Total student and worker arrivals between January and August 2026 fell by 326,900 compared to the same period in 2024, a decline of 63%.
Meanwhile, 216,600 people received permanent resident status under the Immigration Levels Plan, and two separate one-time initiatives have already processed tens of thousands of additional applicants.
Asylum claims dropped 68% compared to the same period in 2024, and citizenship processing continued at pace with nearly 218,000 new Canadians sworn in through August.
Here is a full breakdown of every category IRCC reported.
Table of Contents
Temporary Resident Arrivals Collapse Across All Categories
IRCC’s student and temporary worker statistics, updated through August 31, 2026, confirm a sharp decline in new arrivals compared with the same period in 2024.
Between January and August 2026, Canada recorded 63% fewer combined student and worker arrivals than during the same months in 2024.
That translates to 326,900 fewer new student and worker arrivals recorded under IRCC’s immigration statistics during the eight-month period.
International Student Arrivals
The 2026 student arrivals target under the Immigration Levels Plan is 155,000.
Through the end of August, 65,240 students had arrived, leaving a difference of 89,760 between recorded arrivals and the annual target, with four months remaining.
New student arrivals declined 71% compared to January through August 2024, with the drop totaling 156,440 fewer arrivals.
August 2026 recorded 37,090 new student arrivals, the expected seasonal spike ahead of the fall semester.
The total number of study permit holders in Canada stood at 602,115 at the end of August, down from a peak of 1,032,950 in June 2024.
That represents a 42% reduction in the active international student population over roughly two years.
Comparing the same month across years removes the seasonal variation that inflates mid-year peaks and depresses off-season lows.
Period Study Permit Holders August 2024 1,019,545 August 2025 799,665 August 2026 602,115 The August-to-August figures confirm a decline of approximately 41% over two years, demonstrating that the shrinking student population is structural rather than a seasonal artifact.
IRCC has introduced measures including the annual study permit cap in 2024, mandatory acceptance letter verification, higher financial requirements, and an exemption from provincial or territorial attestation letter requirements for eligible master’s and doctoral students at public institutions.
Temporary Worker Arrivals
The 2026 worker arrivals target is 230,000. Through August, 130,095 workers had arrived, placing IRCC at 57% of the annual goal.
Worker arrivals fell 57% compared to the same eight-month stretch in 2024, a reduction of 170,455 people. August 2026 alone recorded 16,850 new worker arrivals.
The population of people holding only a work permit reached 1,550,215 by the end of August, comprising 251,865 under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and 1,298,350 under the International Mobility Program.
IRCC has implemented a 10% limit on low-wage hiring through the TFWP, stopped processing low-wage applications in census metropolitan areas with 6% unemployment or higher, tightened spousal work permit eligibility, and reformed the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.
Existing Work Permit Population Continues To Rise
One of the most striking findings in the October 20 release is the gap between declining new worker arrivals and the size of the existing work permit holder population.
New worker arrivals dropped 57% between January and August 2026 compared with the same months in 2024.
Yet the number of people holding only a work permit rose from approximately 1,432,100 in August 2024 to 1,550,215 in August 2026, an increase of roughly 8.2%.
Arrivals and the existing permit holder population measure fundamentally different things.
Arrival figures count people issued new permits in a given month, while the population total reflects everyone currently holding a valid work permit in Canada regardless of when they arrived.
Period Work-Permit-Only Holders August 2026 1,550,215 August 2025 1,489,370 August 2024 1,432,100 The gap can reflect several factors, including workers remaining in Canada on existing permits, extensions granted to workers already in the country, and the time lag between policy changes and their effects on the existing permit-holder population.
IRCC has acknowledged that the full effects of its new measures will take time to appear in population data because inventories of existing applications continue to be processed under the rules in place when they were submitted.
Asylum Claims Drop 68% Compared To 2024
Canada’s asylum claim volumes have fallen sharply across all submission channels through the end of August 2026.
Between January and August 2026, 68% fewer people submitted an asylum claim compared to the same period in 2024.
Total claims at ports of entry fell from 44,000 in January through August 2024 to just 9,640 during the same window in 2026.
Airport claims declined from 33,445 to 4,735, and land border claims fell from 10,540 to 4,895.
Asylum claims from temporary resident visa holders dropped 73% in August 2026, with 1,990 claims compared to 7,405 in August 2024.
The decline was broad-based across provinces, but the two historically highest-volume jurisdictions illustrate the scale of the shift.
Ontario recorded 2,190 claims in August 2026, down from 7,140 in August 2024, a drop of roughly 69%.
Quebec recorded 1,455 claims in August 2026, down from 3,690 in August 2024, a drop of roughly 61%.
Together, Ontario and Quebec still accounted for the majority of all claims submitted in August 2026, consistent with their historical concentration of asylum volumes.
IRCC credits several policy interventions for the decline, including the partial visa requirement for Mexican nationals, the Additional Protocol to the Safe Third Country Agreement, heightened scrutiny of temporary resident visa applications, and the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12) which took effect March 26, 2026.
The daily average of asylum claims from people crossing between ports of entry has fallen from 165 in March 2023 to 13.
Temporary Residence Application Processing
Between January 1 and August 31, 2026, IRCC finalized 2,076,745 total temporary residence applications, with 365,425 applications still pending at the end of the reporting period.
Category Finalized (Jan–Aug 2026) Not Yet Finalized Study Permits 150,620 28,440 Work Permits 190,995 25,995 Visitor Visas 1,735,130 310,990 IRCC has launched two-week processing for PhD-level study permit applicants under the International Talent Attraction Strategy.
Work permit processing is expedited for employers and skilled workers through the Global Skills Strategy, with 14-day processing available for up to 5,000 licensed doctors nominated through the Provincial Nominee Program.
Permanent Residence Admissions Under the Levels Plan
Canada’s 2026 Immigration Levels Plan targets 380,000 new permanent residents, with separate allocations for economic, family, protection, and humanitarian categories.
Through August 31, 216,600 people had received permanent resident status under the plan, putting IRCC at 57% of the annual target.
PR Category 2026 Target Jan–Aug Admissions % of Target Economic 239,800 127,100 53% Family 84,000 59,100 70% Refugees & Protected 49,300 25,500 52% H&C and Other 6,900 4,900 71% Total (Levels Plan) 380,000 216,600 57% The family class has reached 70% of its target, while the H&C and Other category is at 71%, and the economic class sits at 53% with 112,700 admissions remaining to reach its annual target.
The first eight months produced an average of approximately 27,075 admissions per month under the levels plan.
Reaching 380,000 by December 31 would require approximately 40,850 admissions per month across September through December, roughly 51% higher than the January-to-August pace.
That does not necessarily mean Canada will fall short, because admission volumes can vary across months and the final four months could differ from the pace recorded between January and August.
However, it establishes a clear benchmark against which applicants and observers can evaluate the remaining four months.
A notable shift in the composition of new permanent residents has emerged in 2026.
Former temporary residents accounted for 58% of all new permanent residents between January and August, up from 48% in 2025 and 44% in 2024, according to IRCC’s permanent residence statistics.
This trend connects directly to the temporary worker population data discussed above.
Canada is admitting fewer new temporary residents while granting a growing share of permanent residence to people who entered the country years ago under previous intake rules.
Most of these transitions occur through economic programs such as Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program, which are designed to select candidates with Canadian work experience, education, and language proficiency.
The rising TR-to-PR share also highlights another important factor affecting Canada’s temporary resident population, as some existing permit holders become permanent residents rather than departing Canada.
These transitions reduce the temporary resident population, even as the overall number of work-permit-only holders remains above its August 2024 level.
Express Entry and Economic Processing
Between September 2025 and August 2026, about 76% of applicants in the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class received a decision within the six-month service standard.
Roughly half received a decision in five months or less, confirming that Express Entry processing remains faster than most other permanent residence categories.
The Start-up Visa Program is no longer accepting new applications except from candidates who secured a valid commitment from a designated organization in 2025.
The Self-Employed Persons Program is paused indefinitely, with existing applications continuing to be processed under limited levels plan capacity.
Spousal and Family Processing
Between September 2025 and August 2026, IRCC processed applications for spouses, partners, and children submitted within and outside Canada who intended to live outside Quebec in approximately 15 months.
Of the 167,170 family class applications still pending at the end of August, 58% are actively in processing and 42% are waiting for space under yearly targets.
Demand for the parents and grandparents program continues to exceed available spaces, which directly impacts wait times.
Protection Category
Of the 291,615 protection applications not yet finalized through August, 57% are in processing and 43% are waiting for space.
This category covers protected persons in Canada, government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, and humanitarian and compassionate cases.
Citizenship Processing Continues at Pace
IRCC granted citizenship to 217,960 people between January and August 2026, with 327,125 citizenship grant applications still pending at the end of the reporting period.
On the proof of citizenship side, 38,355 certificates were issued while 135,965 applications remain in the queue.
Combined, IRCC is managing 463,090 pending citizenship applications across grants and proofs.
At the January-to-August processing pace of approximately 32,040 combined finalizations per month, clearing the current inventory without new filings would take roughly 14 months.
In practice, new applications continue to arrive, which means the pending count will fluctuate rather than decline in a straight line.
IRCC has introduced online application processes for citizenship grants, proofs, and searches of citizenship records, along with an online citizenship application tracker and expanded availability of electronic citizenship certificates.
The October 20 release confirms that Canada’s immigration recalibration is producing measurable results on the temporary residence side.
Student arrivals are running well below the annual target, and the active study permit holder population has been cut by more than 40% from its 2024 peak.
Permanent residence admissions face tighter arithmetic, with the levels plan at 57% of target and only four months left to process the remaining 163,400 spaces.
Both one-time initiatives have made significant progress toward their 2026 targets, particularly the protected persons pathway, which recorded its highest monthly admissions in August.
Asylum claims continue their steep decline, and citizenship processing is holding steady despite a large pending inventory.
Three developments from this release are connected and worth watching together over the final four months of 2026.
New temporary resident arrivals have fallen sharply, but the population of existing work-permit-only holders remains above its August 2024 level. The effects of earlier admissions, extensions, departures, and transitions to permanent residence unfold over different periods.
At the same time, Canada is granting a larger share of permanent residences to former temporary residents, which moves people out of the temporary pool and into permanent settlement.
How quickly those transitions reduce the temporary resident population toward the government’s target of less than 5% of Canada’s total population by the end of 2027 will depend on whether arrival restrictions, departures, and TR-to-PR conversions continue at their current pace.
With the next Immigration Levels Plan for 2027 to 2029 expected by November, the August data will serve as a critical baseline for calibrating future targets.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Will Canada reach its 2026 permanent residence target of 380,000?
Through August, IRCC admitted 216,600 permanent residents under the levels plan, covering 57% of the target with four months remaining. Reaching 380,000 requires processing roughly 40,850 admissions per month from September through December, which exceeds the monthly average of approximately 27,075 recorded from January to August. The two one-time initiatives have added a further 46,400 admissions outside the plan, but those are not counted toward the 380,000 figure.
How many international students are currently in Canada in 2026?
There were 602,115 study permit holders in Canada on August 31, 2026, down from a peak of 1,032,950 in June 2024. That represents a 42% decline in the active student population over approximately two years, driven by the annual study permit cap introduced in 2024 and tighter financial proof requirements. The 2026 target allows 155,000 new student arrivals, of which 65,240 had arrived through August.
Why are spousal sponsorship applicants waiting longer than Express Entry applicants?
Between September 2025 and August 2026, approximately 76% of Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class applicants received decisions within the six-month service standard, with about half receiving decisions within five months. IRCC reports that spouse, partner, and child applications destined outside Quebec took approximately 15 months to process during the same period. Across the broader family immigration inventory, 42% of applications are waiting for space under yearly targets. Express Entry applications are also subject to immigration targets, but processing performance varies by program and application category.
What caused the 68% drop in asylum claims between 2024 and 2026?
IRCC identifies several measures associated with the decline. Following the partial visa requirement for Mexican nationals, airport asylum claims from that country fell by 97% between February and March 2024. The Additional Protocol to the Safe Third Country Agreement was followed by a decline in claims from people crossing between official ports of entry, from an average of 165 daily claims in March 2023 to 13 per day. Heightened scrutiny of temporary resident visa applications was accompanied by a 73% drop in asylum claims from visa holders. The Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12), which came into force on March 26, 2026, introduced new eligibility requirements. Total port-of-entry claims fell from 44,000 in the first eight months of 2024 to 9,640 in the same period of 2026.
Fact-Checked: All statistics cited in this article were verified against the official IRCC application processing system page, the student and temporary worker statistics page, the permanent residence numbers page, and the asylum statistics page on Canada.ca, all carrying a page modification date of October 20, 2026, with data through August 31, 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration or legal advice. Readers should consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or qualified immigration lawyer, or review the official IRCC website at canada.ca/immigration for guidance specific to their circumstances.
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- New Express Entry High-Wage Occupations Full List Effective November 3
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has published the official list of high-wage occupations that will reshape how Express Entry candidates are ranked starting November 3, 2026.
The list covers 186 National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes organized across three wage tiers, each tied to a specific number of additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for eligible Canadian work experience and qualifying job offers.
These occupations span medicine, engineering, technology, skilled trades, education, finance, law enforcement, natural resources, and transportation, making the overhaul one of the most wide-reaching structural changes to Express Entry scoring since the system launched in 2015.
Candidates already in the Express Entry pool will have their CRS scores automatically recalculated once the new Express Entry changes take effect, but anyone seeking job-offer points must update their profile before that date.
Table of Contents
How IRCC Defines A High-Wage Occupation Under Express Entry
Under the updated rules, a job qualifies as a high-wage occupation when the median wage of everyone in Canada performing that work under the same NOC code is at least 1.3 times higher than the average median wage of the overall Canadian workforce.
The classification is determined at the occupation level using data from Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey, and the Census of Population collected over the most recent three-year window (currently 2023 to 2025).
Individual salary or specific job position does not determine the tier placement for a given NOC code.
IRCC assigns each eligible NOC code to the highest wage tier it reached during any of the three measured years, which provides a degree of stability for occupations that might fluctuate year to year.
3 Wage Tiers And Extra CRS Points
The 186 eligible occupations are divided into three tiers based on how far their median wage exceeds the national average median wage.
Each tier awards a different number of CRS points depending on whether the candidate is claiming points for Canadian work experience or for a qualifying job offer.
High-Wage Occupation Level Work Experience Points Job Offer Points At least twice the average median wage 70 100 At least 1.5 times but less than twice 40 70 At least 1.3 times but less than 1.5 times 20 50 Below the high-wage threshold 0 0 A candidate with at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian work experience in one or more eligible high-wage occupations may receive these additional work-experience points.
A candidate with a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation may receive the corresponding job-offer points instead.
The two types of points (work experience and job offer) cannot be combined; the system awards whichever is higher.
Crucially, from November 3, a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) will no longer be required for a qualifying job offer to earn these Express Entry CRS points, which is one of the most significant policy shifts announced alongside the high-wage occupation list.
Full List Of Occupations With A Wage At Least Twice The Median Wage
The top tier carries 70 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 100 points for a qualifying job offer.
It includes 31 NOC codes concentrated in senior management, medicine, engineering management, law, and public protection leadership.
Physicians, surgeons, and nurse practitioners feature prominently in this tier, reflecting Canada’s ongoing healthcare workforce priorities.
NOC Code Occupation 00011 Senior government managers and officials 00012 Senior managers – financial, communications and other business services 00013 Senior managers – health, education, social and community services and membership organizations 10010 Financial managers 10011 Human resources managers 10012 Purchasing managers 10020 Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers 10021 Banking, credit and other investment managers 20010 Engineering managers 20011 Architecture and science managers 20012 Computer and information systems managers 21330 Mining engineers 21332 Petroleum engineers 31100 Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine 31101 Specialists in surgery 31102 General practitioners and family physicians 31103 Veterinarians 31302 Nurse practitioners 31303 Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals 40010 Government managers – health and social policy development and program administration 40011 Government managers – economic analysis, policy development and program administration 40012 Government managers – education policy development and program administration 40019 Other managers in public administration 40040 Commissioned police officers and related occupations in public protection services 40041 Fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers 41100 Judges 41101 Lawyers and Quebec notaries 41200 University professors and lecturers 60010 Corporate sales managers 80010 Managers in natural resources production and fishing 90011 Utilities managers Full List Of Occupations With A Wage At Least 1.5 Times But Less Than Twice The Average
The middle tier awards 40 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 70 points for a qualifying job offer.
This is the largest group by far, with 89 NOC codes covering a wide cross-section of professions.
Software developers, registered nurses, civil engineers, pharmacists, secondary school teachers, police officers, and firefighters are all included in this tier.
Several skilled trades occupations also appear here, including boilermakers, power system electricians, elevator constructors, steamfitters, and air pilots occupations that overlap with the certificate of qualification occupations list used for skill transferability factor points.
NOC Code Occupation 00014 Senior managers – trade, broadcasting and other services 00015 Senior managers – construction, transportation, production and utilities 10019 Other administrative services managers 10022 Advertising, marketing and public relations managers 10029 Other business services managers 10030 Telecommunication carriers managers 11103 Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers 11201 Professional occupations in business management consulting 21100 Physicists and astronomers 21102 Geoscientists and oceanographers 21103 Meteorologists and climatologists 21109 Other professional occupations in physical sciences 21111 Forestry professionals 21120 Public and environmental health and safety professionals 21202 Urban and land use planners 21210 Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries 21211 Data scientists 21220 Cybersecurity specialists 21221 Business systems specialists 21222 Information systems specialists 21223 Database analysts and data administrators 21230 Computer systems developers and programmers 21231 Software engineers and designers 21232 Software developers and programmers 21300 Civil engineers 21301 Mechanical engineers 21310 Electrical and electronics engineers 21311 Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) 21320 Chemical engineers 21321 Industrial and manufacturing engineers 21322 Metallurgical and materials engineers 21331 Geological engineers 21390 Aerospace engineers 21399 Other professional engineers 22231 Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers 22312 Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics 30010 Managers in health care 31110 Dentists 31112 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists 31120 Pharmacists 31200 Psychologists 31202 Physiotherapists 31203 Occupational therapists 31300 Nursing coordinators and supervisors 31301 Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses 32111 Dental hygienists and dental therapists 40020 Administrators – post-secondary education and vocational training 40021 School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education 40030 Managers in social, community and correctional services 40042 Commissioned officers of the Canadian Armed Forces 41210 College and other vocational instructors 41220 Secondary school teachers 41221 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers 41310 Police investigators and other investigative occupations 41311 Probation and parole officers 41320 Educational counsellors 41401 Economists and economic policy researchers and analysts 41402 Business development officers and market researchers and analysts 41404 Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers 41407 Program officers unique to government 42100 Police officers (except commissioned) 42101 Firefighters 50010 Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers 50011 Managers – publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts 51100 Librarians 70010 Construction managers 70012 Facility operation and maintenance managers 70020 Managers in transportation 70021 Postal and courier services managers 72011 Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations 72012 Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades 72023 Supervisors, railway transport operations 72103 Boilermakers 72202 Power system electricians 72203 Electrical power line and cable workers 72301 Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers 72406 Elevator constructors and mechanics 72600 Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors 72601 Air traffic controllers and related occupations 72604 Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators 73310 Railway and yard locomotive engineers 82020 Supervisors, mining and quarrying 82021 Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services 83101 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers 90010 Manufacturing managers 92011 Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities 92100 Power engineers and power systems operators 93100 Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing 93101 Central control and process operators, petroleum, gas and chemical processing Full List Of Occupations With A Median Wage At Least 1.3 Times But Less Than 1.5 Times The Average
The entry-level high-wage tier provides 20 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 50 points for a qualifying job offer.
It contains 66 NOC codes and includes a mix of professional and skilled trade occupations.
Financial auditors and accountants, architects, social workers, web developers, paramedics, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, crane operators, and industrial electricians are among the occupations at this level.
Candidates in these roles may see a meaningful boost to their profiles, particularly those who already hold Canadian work experience and were previously not earning any additional points for it.
NOC Code Occupation 00010 Legislators 11100 Financial auditors and accountants 11101 Financial and investment analysts 11102 Financial advisors 11109 Other financial officers 11200 Human resources professionals 12201 Insurance adjusters and claims examiners 12203 Assessors, business valuators and appraisers 21101 Chemists 21110 Biologists and related scientists 21112 Agricultural representatives, consultants and specialists 21200 Architects 21201 Landscape architects 21203 Land surveyors 21234 Web developers and programmers 22214 Technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology 22232 Occupational health and safety specialists 22233 Construction inspectors 22310 Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians 22313 Aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors 31121 Dietitians and nutritionists 32102 Paramedical occupations 32103 Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists 32120 Medical laboratory technologists 32121 Medical radiation technologists 32122 Medical sonographers 41300 Social workers 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers 41403 Social policy researchers, consultants and program officers 41405 Education policy researchers, consultants and program officers 41409 Other professional occupations in social science 43201 Correctional service officers 43203 Border services, customs, and immigration officers 50012 Recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors 51101 Conservators and curators 51102 Archivists 51111 Authors and writers (except technical) 51112 Technical writers 51120 Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations 52112 Broadcast technicians 60020 Retail and wholesale trade managers 60031 Accommodation service managers 60040 Managers in customer and personal services 72010 Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations 72013 Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades 72014 Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers 72020 Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades 72021 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews 72102 Sheet metal workers 72105 Ironworkers 72201 Industrial electricians 72302 Gas fitters 72320 Bricklayers 72321 Insulators 72401 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics 72403 Railway carmen/women 72404 Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors 72500 Crane operators 72602 Deck officers, water transport 72603 Engineer officers, water transport 73311 Railway conductors and brakemen/women 82010 Supervisors, logging and forestry 83100 Underground production and development miners 83120 Fishing masters and officers 92010 Supervisors, mineral and metal processing 93102 Pulping, papermaking and coating control operators What Happens If The List Changes After You Receive An ITA?
IRCC has confirmed that if the high-wage occupation list is updated after a candidate receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA), the department will continue using the tier level that was in effect on the date the invitation was issued.
This protection applies whether the candidate’s occupation moves to a different tier, is removed from the list entirely, or is newly added after their invitation date.
The safeguard is particularly relevant for candidates in resource-sector occupations or specialized trades where median wages can shift from one measurement period to the next.
Which Sectors Benefit The Most From The High-Wage Occupation List
Healthcare dominates the upper tiers of the list, with physicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists, registered nurses, and physiotherapists all qualifying for the top two wage levels.
Technology professionals are heavily represented in the middle tier, where software engineers and designers, software developers and programmers, cybersecurity specialists, data scientists, and computer systems developers all appear.
Engineering occupations span all three tiers, with petroleum and mining engineers at the top, civil and mechanical engineers in the middle, and construction inspectors in the entry tier.
Skilled trades — an area that has received growing attention through recent Express Entry draws targeting trade occupations — are scattered across the middle and entry tiers, covering everything from elevator mechanics and power system electricians to crane operators and heavy-duty equipment mechanics.
Education professionals are represented across the upper two tiers, with university professors and lecturers in the highest tier, while secondary school teachers and elementary school teachers fall in the middle tier.
Public safety roles such as police officers, firefighters, and correctional service officers are distributed between the middle and entry tiers.
Natural resources and energy occupations, from oil and gas well drillers to power engineers and pulping control operators, appear primarily in the middle tier.
What This Means For Candidates Currently In The Express Entry Pool
IRCC will automatically recalculate CRS scores for candidates already in the pool to include any eligible high-wage work-experience points once the November 3 changes take effect.
Candidates do not need to withdraw and resubmit their profiles to receive the work-experience recalculation.
Candidates who want job-offer points, however, must ensure all required job-offer details are entered into their Express Entry profiles before November 3.
IRCC has also confirmed that invitation rounds will be paused starting November 3 while scores are being recalculated, with draws expected to resume within approximately two weeks.
The recalculation could significantly reshuffle rankings inside the pool, potentially lifting candidates with strong Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations above those who previously held higher raw human-capital scores.
Steps Candidates Should Take Before November 3
Verify that the NOC code listed in your Express Entry profile matches the actual duties of your current or most recent Canadian employment — IRCC evaluates work experience against NOC descriptions by examining duties performed, not job titles.
Confirm that at least 12 months of cumulative eligible Canadian work experience is accurately recorded in your profile if you plan to claim high-wage work-experience points.
If you have a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation, enter all required job-offer details into your profile before November 3, since IRCC will not automatically detect offers that have not been submitted through the system.
Important: IRCC has confirmed that its Express Entry online system will not immediately reflect the new LMIA rules on November 3.
Candidates with qualifying job offers without an LMIA will temporarily need to select “Yes” when asked whether a positive LMIA was issued and enter the placeholder LMIA number 00000, issuance date January 1, 2026, and expiry date January 1, 2029, as instructed by IRCC.
Check whether your occupation appears on the official high-wage occupations list published by IRCC and note which tier it falls under to understand the potential CRS increase.
Review the current Express Entry processing fees ($990 processing per adult, $270 per dependent child, $600 RPRF per adult) that apply to applications submitted after April 30, 2026.
The 186-occupation high-wage list represents one of the most targeted structural adjustments ever applied to the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System.
By tying additional CRS points directly to occupation-level wage data, IRCC is signalling a clear preference for candidates whose Canadian work experience or employment prospects align with occupations that contribute at higher economic value to the Canadian labour market.
Combined with the removal of the LMIA requirement for qualifying job offers, these changes could meaningfully alter which candidates receive invitations to apply for permanent residence in the months ahead.
The pause in invitation rounds during the CRS recalculation underscores how significant the pool reshuffling is expected to be.
Candidates who have been building Canadian work experience in qualifying occupations without seeing corresponding CRS recognition may find November 3 to be a turning point in their immigration journey.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can a candidate earn high-wage CRS points for work experience gained in more than one eligible occupation?
Yes, IRCC allows eligible Canadian work experience to be combined across more than one high-wage occupation when calculating the additional CRS points. The 12-month minimum applies to total cumulative work experience in eligible high-wage occupations, not 12 months in a single NOC code. The points depend on how much qualifying experience the candidate accumulated at each wage level. For example, eight months in a tier-2 occupation and four months in a tier-3 occupation would qualify for 20 additional CRS points, not 40, because the candidate has not completed 12 months in occupations at or above the 1.5-times wage threshold.
Will the November 3 recalculation affect candidates who received an ITA before that date?
No, candidates who already received an Invitation to Apply before November 3 will have their applications assessed under the rules and CRS scoring that were in effect on the date their ITA was issued. The high-wage tier assigned at the time of invitation is locked in even if the occupation later moves tiers or is removed from the list entirely. Candidates with an outstanding ITA should continue preparing their permanent residence application using the 60-day submission deadline that applies under current rules.
Does a qualifying high-wage job offer still need to meet Express Entry program requirements beyond the wage threshold?
Yes, the job offer must meet IRCC’s validity requirements to qualify for CRS job-offer points. Separately, applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker Program or Federal Skilled Trades Program may use qualifying job offers to meet program eligibility requirements, even when those jobs are not on the high-wage occupation list. The offer must be for continuous, paid, full-time work (at least 30 hours per week) in a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation, and the employer must meet all applicable standards. Meeting the high-wage threshold adds CRS points but does not waive any of the underlying program eligibility conditions.
How often does IRCC plan to update the high-wage occupation list?
IRCC has not published a fixed update schedule for the high-wage occupation list, but the department has indicated it will refresh the list as new labour market data from Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey, and the Census of Population becomes available. Given that the list uses a three-year rolling data window (currently 2023 to 2025), the next major data refresh would likely incorporate 2024-to-2026 figures once 2026 data is fully compiled. Candidates should monitor the official IRCC page for any interim adjustments, especially following each new Census or Labour Force Survey release.
If my occupation is not on the high-wage list, can I still receive an Express Entry invitation?
Yes, the high-wage occupation list adds supplemental CRS points to eligible candidates but does not replace or override the existing Express Entry selection mechanisms. General draws, Canadian Experience Class draws, Provincial Nominee Program draws, and category-based draws for healthcare, trades, STEM, French-language proficiency, and other categories continue to operate independently of the high-wage scoring. A candidate whose occupation falls outside the high-wage list can still receive an invitation through any of these draw types based on their overall CRS score, provincial nomination, or category-based eligibility.
Fact-Checked: All high-wage occupation tiers, NOC codes, and CRS point values cited in this article were verified against the official IRCC high-wage occupations page and the 2026 changes to Express Entry points page as published on Canada.ca with a page date of October 16, 2026.
Disclaimer: Immigration rules and eligibility criteria can change at any time. Readers should consult a qualified immigration professional or review the official Express Entry program page on Canada.ca before making decisions based on the information in this article.
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