Canada Updates Express Entry Points for High-Wage Job Offers

Starting November 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is implementing a significant update to the Express Entry system. The government will now award additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points to candidates based on their Canadian work experience and the salary level of their job offers. This policy is designed to prioritize high-skilled, high-earning talent within the immigration pipeline, reflecting Canada's ongoing focus on economic integration.

A key component of this update is the removal of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirement for job offers to count toward these points or eligibility under the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs. Under the new structure, job offers paying at least twice the median wage will earn candidates 100 points, while offers at 1.5 times the median wage earn 70 points, and those at 1.3 times the median wage earn 50 points. This change is intended to streamline the application process for both employers and prospective immigrants.

This policy change directly impacts foreign nationals currently in the Express Entry pool or those planning to apply who hold or are seeking high-wage job offers in Canada. Employers who sponsor or support Express Entry candidates are also affected and must ensure their job offers meet the new high-wage thresholds to maximize their candidates' CRS scores.

Makutet interprets this policy as a strategic pivot toward salary-based immigration selection, which reduces bureaucratic hurdles for employers while ensuring that the most economically impactful candidates rise to the top of the selection pool. We expect this to increase the competitiveness of the Express Entry system and potentially lead to higher cutoff scores for future draws as the pool adjusts to the new point distribution.