- Canada issued 1,000 invitations through its Express Entry system on August 18, 2026, targeting Canadian Experience Class candidates
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada set a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 523 for the latest draw
- The August 18 round was more selective than the previous CEC draw on August 5, which issued 3,000 invitations at a lower cut-off of 516
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 1,000 invitations to apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry system on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, targeting candidates under the Canadian Experience Class.
The draw, conducted at 10:13:44 UTC, required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 523.
Credit: Novatis
Source: Twitter
According to the ministerial instructions signed in Ottawa by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026.
“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions said.
How the tie-breaking rule works
Where more than one candidate shares the lowest qualifying score, the cut-off is determined by the date and time each applicant submitted their Express Entry profile.
The tie-breaking timestamp for this round was set on August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.
Express Entry manages permanent residence applications across three federal economic programmes: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Programme, and the Federal Skilled Trades Programme.
Candidates are ranked using CRS scores, which factor in age, education, language ability, and work experience.
The highest-ranked candidates receive invitations in periodic rounds.
Who qualifies under the Canadian Experience Class?
The Canadian Experience Class is open to skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.
Applicants generally need at least one year, or 1,560 hours, of skilled work in Canada within the past three years.
Qualifying roles must fall under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3.
Language requirements are set at Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 positions, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3.
There is no education requirement, and applicants are not required to show settlement funds. Those who plan to live in Quebec are not eligible under this stream.
August draw more selective than previous round
The August 18 draw was notably tighter than the previous Canadian Experience Class round held on August 5, 2026, which issued 3,000 invitations at a lower CRS cut-off of 516.
Credit: Novatis
Source: Twitter
The reduction in volume and the higher score threshold make the latest draw one of the more selective CEC rounds so far this year.
IRCC had already issued more than 113,000 invitations through Express Entry as of mid-August 2026, with Canadian Experience Class candidates accounting for a significant share of those draws.
60 in-demand jobs in Canada
Legit.ng earlier reported that Several Canadian provinces have identified occupations considered in demand and created immigration pathways targeting foreign workers with experience in those fields.
According to the information provided, the provinces with listed in-demand occupations include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
The occupations identified across the different provincial programmes include:
Source: Legit.ng