Canada to Change Express Entry Points on November 3, Giving High-Wage Occupations Greater Weight
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Canada will introduce significant changes to its Express Entry immigration system on November 3, 2026, giving greater weight to eligible Canadian work experience and qualifying job offers in high-wage occupations. The reforms will also remove a key Labour Market Impact Assessment requirement for eligible job offers, changing how some skilled workers are ranked for permanent residence.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the measures on October 16 in Kitchener, Ontario. The government says the changes are intended to strengthen economic immigration by giving priority to qualifications and employment experience associated with successful labour market outcomes. Some engineering and skilled trade occupations, including electricians, are among the fields identified in the announcement.
The revised Comprehensive Ranking System will introduce a Labour Market Integration factor, awarding points through one of two pathways: eligible Canadian work experience, including bonuses for high-wage occupations, or a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation. Candidates who qualify under both pathways will receive whichever produces the higher score, rather than combining the two.
Under the new rules, applicants with at least one year of qualifying Canadian experience in a high-wage occupation may receive 20, 40 or 70 additional points, depending on their occupation's national wage classification. These are added to existing points for the duration of Canadian work experience. The total available under the new factor can reach 150 points for candidates without an accompanying spouse or partner, or 140 for those with one. Those totals include existing work-experience points and should not be interpreted as entirely new bonus points.
Qualifying job offers in eligible high-wage occupations will receive 50, 70 or 100 points according to the occupation's assigned wage level. Importantly, the classification is based on national occupational wage data rather than an applicant's individual salary or the wage stated in a particular offer. Job offers must continue to satisfy federal immigration requirements.
The reforms will also eliminate the LMIA requirement for job offers used to obtain the new Express Entry points. A temporary public policy will extend related exemptions to qualifying job offers used to establish eligibility under the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs, subject to specified conditions. Immigration officers will continue examining whether offers are genuine, whether employers are operating legitimate businesses and whether applicants are qualified for the positions offered.
Existing Express Entry profiles will be recalculated automatically when the changes take effect. IRCC says the process could take up to two weeks, during which invitation rounds will be temporarily suspended. Applicants with potentially qualifying job offers have been advised to ensure that their profile information is complete and accurate before November 3.
The department has emphasized that additional ranking points do not guarantee an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Candidates will still need to meet the eligibility criteria and minimum ranking scores applicable to each invitation round.
