Express Entry: CEC cut-off drops to 509 in January 2026 after two large draws
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابCanada’s Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream under Express Entry saw a notable shift at the start of 2026, with lower cut-off scores than late 2025, raising hopes for many in-Canada candidates, including temporary workers and international graduates.
Draw data show that IRCC issued invitations under the CEC on January 7, 2026, with a minimum CRS of 511, followed by a lower cut-off of 509 on January 21, 2026. The two rounds issued 8,000 and 6,000 invitations respectively.
The decline follows a period in late 2025 when CEC cut-offs remained largely steady around 533-534 across multiple consecutive rounds, with 1,000 invitations in each round, according to draw trackers and summaries.
In practice, lower cut-offs often indicate that invitations reached deeper into the candidate pool, especially when combined with higher-volume rounds, as seen in the two January selections
