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Express Entry News and Canada Immigration Policy Updates
Policy changes and program updates, written from the official announcement. Draw-by-draw results are on the draws page.
Express Entry in September 2026: eight rounds, 11,288 invitations
Three CEC rounds held near 520, two PNP rounds, and category rounds for healthcare, physicians and senior managers.
Aug 4, 2026Ontario replaces eight OINP streams with one Workforce Priority stream
Since June 26, 2026, the Ontario Workforce Priority stream is the only open OINP stream. Its EOI portal opened August 4; no invitation round has been published yet.
Jul 2, 2026Quebec reopens the PEQ until October 31 for people who qualified in 2025
The Quebec Experience Program accepts applications from July 2 to October 31, 2026, only from people who met its criteria on November 19, 2025.
Jul 1, 2026Start-up Visa paused; replacement pilot announced but not launched
IRCC stopped new Start-up Visa applications in 2026 and says a High Impact Start-up Pilot will replace it.
Jun 22, 2026Express Entry categories for 2026: ten in effect, three new Canadian-experience categories
Physicians, senior managers and researchers with Canadian experience now have their own categories; STEM and education have not been drawn in 2026.
Dec 19, 2025Home care worker pilots stay closed in 2026
The 2025 intake filled on day one, and IRCC confirmed there will be no March 2026 reopening.
Dec 8, 2025New federal routes for doctors: an Express Entry category and 5,000 reserved spaces
Physicians with Canadian experience have their own Express Entry category, and provinces can nominate doctors using reserved federal spaces.
Dec 4, 20252026–2028 levels plan: 91,500 provincial nominee admissions in 2026
What the federal levels plan says about provincial programs, and why provinces publish so few allocation numbers.