Immigration | October 19, 2026 Express Entry overhaul: points for 186 high-wage occupations, LMIAs no longer required

1. Express Entry to award high-wage points from November 3, LMIA requirement dropped

Source: CIC News

Canada's federal government announced on October 16 that it will prioritize job offers and Canadian work experience in 186 higher-paying occupations under the Express Entry system, and will no longer require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for those job offers. Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced the change at a press conference in Kitchener, Ontario that morning, and the federal government published the news release the same day.

The new rules take effect on November 3, 2026. The extra points are awarded through a new section of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) called the Labour Market Integration Factor (LMIF): up to 100 points for a high-wage job offer and up to 70 points for high-wage Canadian work experience, with candidates receiving whichever is higher rather than both. "High-wage" is measured at 1.3 times, 1.5 times and 2 times the Canada-wide median wage.

Under the published grid, a job offer at 2x the median earns 100 points, 1.5x earns 70 and 1.3x earns 50. Canadian work experience at 2x earns 70 points, 1.5x earns 40 and 1.3x earns 20, and requires at least 12 months of full-time experience, which can be accumulated across one or more occupations. IRCC says all Express Entry invitations will be paused while scores are recalculated, a process that may take up to two weeks, and that candidates who already received an invitation will be assessed against the occupation list in effect on the date it was issued.

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2. Express Entry French-language draw issues 5,000 invitations at CRS 435

Source: CIC News

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 5,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence to French-speaking candidates on October 16, with a CRS cut-off of 435. It was the highest French-language cut-off of 2026 and Canada's 62nd Express Entry draw of the year.

It was the 11th French-language draw of 2026. IRCC figures show French-language draws have issued 55,500 ITAs this year, while Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws have issued 57,250 ITAs across 18 rounds and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws have issued 10,022 ITAs across 20 rounds. With this round, Express Entry has issued 143,467 ITAs so far in 2026.

Invited candidates have 60 days to submit a complete application. Express Entry applicants already living in Canada who have submitted a permanent residence application may be eligible for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP); if their existing work permit expires while the BOWP is being processed, maintained status may allow them to keep working under their previous permit conditions, provided they remain in Canada.

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3. Canadian Experience Class draw issues 2,500 invitations at CRS 519

Source: CIC News

IRCC held a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw on October 15, issuing 2,500 invitations to apply for permanent residence with a CRS cut-off of 519. It was Canada's 61st Express Entry draw of 2026 and the 18th CEC draw of the year.

CEC targets applicants with at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada and is one of the largest categories this year, with 57,250 ITAs issued so far. As of the October 15 round, Express Entry had issued 138,467 ITAs in 2026; the French-language draw the following day lifted the total to 143,467.

Express Entry applicants already in Canada who have submitted a permanent residence application may qualify for a Bridging Open Work Permit so they can keep working while their file is processed. If an existing work permit expires during BOWP processing, maintained status may allow them to continue under their previous conditions as long as they stay in Canada, and eligible family members may also be able to obtain open work permits.

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4. New Brunswick eases Atlantic Immigration Program rules for four retail occupations

Source: Immigration.ca

New Brunswick eased occupation restrictions under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) on October 14, removing four retail occupations from its provincial exclusion list, including retail sales supervisors, retail managers and salespersons. The province's AIP exclusion list shrank from eight occupations to four, the latest step in a gradual loosening of restrictions introduced earlier this year.

The change follows a September 14 decision that lifted a blanket restriction on the accommodation and food services sector, allowing workers in jobs such as chefs, cooks, bakers and hotel front desk clerks back into the endorsement process, though restaurant and food service managers and food service supervisors remain excluded. The October 14 change extends eligibility further into retail and wholesale businesses.

The easing is not a full reopening. New Brunswick still restricts applications involving workers outside Canada to government-led recruitment initiatives in three sectors, and it has paused new employer designation applications until the end of 2026. Occupations classified as TEER 5 remain ineligible under federal rules, so temporary foreign workers already in the province with a job offer from a designated employer stand to benefit most directly.

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5. Proof of Canadian citizenship wait hits 34 months as queue falls for the first time

Source: CIC News

IRCC updated its processing times tool on October 9, showing that a new application for proof of Canadian citizenship now takes 34 months, one month more than September's 33 months. It was the smallest monthly increase since the wait began climbing in May 2026, at 3.0 per cent compared with 32.0 per cent a month earlier.

The queue also fell for the first time since Canada expanded its Citizenship Act in December 2025. IRCC counts 130,700 applicants awaiting a decision, down 5,300 from 136,000 in September. Every earlier reading had shown rapid growth, with August adding 22,300 files and September adding 14,200. IRCC has not said what drove the decline.

The longer waits follow the December 15, 2025 removal of the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent, which made anyone able to trace an unbroken line to a Canadian ancestor a citizen and prompted a surge of applications, mostly from Americans; the queue has grown by roughly 90,000 people since the law changed. IRCC says a single reading does not establish a trend and the queue would need to fall again in November to confirm a change in direction.

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6. Atlantic universities say international enrolment has fallen nearly in half since 2024

Source: Global News

The Association of Atlantic Universities said on October 14 that international enrolment at its member universities has dropped by nearly 48 per cent since the federal government imposed new restrictions in 2024. The association said the region's universities have 3,000 fewer international students than last year, and that both schools and communities are feeling the effects.

Association CEO Ava Czapalay said in an interview that the impact is financial as well as social. "There's a financial impact, and there's the impact of having fewer people in our communities to volunteer, to contribute, to buy goods and services, everything," she said. Many international students work and volunteer where they study, she added, so the decline hits small businesses and community organizations, at a time when Atlantic Canada faces an aging workforce and last year recorded its first population decline since 2020.

Czapalay criticized Ottawa's "one-size-fits-all" approach, saying it has produced lower study permit approval rates in Atlantic Canada than elsewhere in the country, and called on the federal government to work with universities on a solution. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said the same day that his province's university needs more international students and that he would press Ottawa on the issue. The federal immigration department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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7. Canada eases study rule for temporary workers, allowing training of six months or less without a permit

Source: Fort Frances Times

Canada has introduced a temporary policy that lets eligible holders of valid work permits take short-term training without applying for a study permit. The change exempts them from the requirement that studies be completed within the period of stay authorized when they entered Canada, so permit holders can finish programs of six months or less beyond their original authorized stay.

IRCC named nurses, laboratory technicians and tradespeople among the workers who could gain in-demand skills while continuing to work. The measure corrects a technical restriction rather than creating a new study stream for temporary workers, and the department says the added flexibility could help some workers obtain short-term licensing, education or training.

Experts say the impact is limited. Marshia Akbar, director of Toronto Metropolitan University's BMO Newcomer Workforce Integration Lab, said six months of study can help with technical training, language instruction and bridging programs, but does not solve registration barriers in regulated professions; internationally educated nurses in Ontario, for example, may need an approved education pathway that includes 400 hours of clinical placement. Professor emeritus John Shields cautioned that cost and the difficulty of studying while working add further obstacles.

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8. Manitoba university college cuts jobs and programs after international enrolment collapses

Source: CBC

Providence University College in Otterburne, Manitoba, is cutting staff and programs after international enrolment fell 80 per cent over the past two years. The century-old Christian college said a quarter of its 115 staff members have been affected through layoffs, reduced workloads, resignations and retirements since March, its revenue has been halved and total enrolment has dropped 62 per cent.

Providence had 1,094 international students at its Otterburne campus and in downtown Winnipeg in the 2024-25 school year; that is down to about 200 this year, most of whom graduate next spring. The loss of tuition revenue forced the school to cut the Junior Pilots program for grades 7 to 12 volleyball and basketball players, shelve plans to expand in downtown Winnipeg and sell much of its property there.

Manitoba's allocation of provincial attestation letters fell 40 per cent to 11,196 for 2026, and private institutions such as Providence receive six per cent of the provincial total. Other schools are shrinking too: the University of Manitoba's international enrolment fell from 6,915 in fall 2023 to 5,805 this term, Red River College Polytechnic has 500 fewer international students, and the University of Winnipeg dropped from 1,677 to 1,343. Canada's auditor general reported that IRCC did not know why approval rates were lower than projected.

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