Canada changes Express Entry points for job offers

It applies from 3 November.

Lena Metlege Diab, federal Minister of Immigration, announced the reform on 16 October in Kitchener, Ontario. It changes the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), the grid of 1,200 points used to rank candidates.

The minister said Canada is looking for people with the skills it needs.

Points for job offers

The points depend on the median wage of the occupation. An offer earns 100 points if that wage is twice the Canadian median, 70 points at 1.5 times and 50 points at 1.3 times.

Eligible work of 12 months in Canada in one of these occupations adds 70, 40 or 20 points.

The two sets do not add up. Candidates keep the higher score, up to 150 points without an accompanying spouse and 140 points with one.

The change reverses a decision of March 2025. In that month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) removed all points linked to a job offer.

The list has 186 codes from the National Occupational Classification, in three levels based on wage data from 2023 to 2025. The wage is the median for the job, not the candidate's own pay.

Petroleum and mining engineers and doctors are at the 100-point level. Civil, mechanical, electrical and computer engineers, software and cybersecurity jobs, and registered nurses are at 70 points.

Chemists, architects, accountants and industrial electricians are at 50 points.

No labour market impact assessment

Until now, Employment and Social Development Canada issued the labour market impact assessment to employers. Since 3 November, it is no longer needed for the new points.

It is also no longer needed for the job offer condition of the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. A temporary public interest policy covers candidates invited from 3 November.

The checks have not changed. An officer must confirm that the company really operates, that the job meets a plausible need and that the employer can keep its commitments.

The officer must also confirm that the candidate has the required qualifications, will probably take the job, and that labour law was respected. A job offer that is withdrawn stops being eligible.

Profiles being recalculated

Candidates' profiles in the pool are recalculated automatically. However, the job offer points assumed that profiles were updated before 3 November.

The recalculation can take two weeks, with no round of invitations during that period. IRCC has not announced a date for the restart.

Quebec is not covered, because it selects its own economic immigrants. In 2025, 2,700 French-speaking Algerians became permanent residents outside Quebec.