Canada has invited 1,000 candidates through its Express Entry system to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.

The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to the latest ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The department said candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 523 to receive an invitation.

“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the notice stated.

It added that candidates ranked among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group were eligible to receive invitations.

The round was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking rule of August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.

The tie-breaking rule means that “If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.”

The invitations were issued under the Canadian Experience Class, one of the classes managed through Canada’s Express Entry system.

The ministerial instructions, signed by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, in Ottawa on August 18, stated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026.

“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.

Express Entry is Canada’s primary online system for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.

It covers three federal economic immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Candidates create profiles that are ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which awards points for factors including age, education, language ability, work experience, and other human capital attributes.

The highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply in periodic rounds.

The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and wish to become permanent residents. Eligibility generally requires at least one year (1,560 hours) of skilled work experience in Canada within the past three years in occupations under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3, along with minimum language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 jobs, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3).

There is no education requirement and no need to show settlement funds. Applicants must plan to live outside Quebec.

The August 18 draw followed a pattern of frequent CEC-focused rounds in 2026. A previous Canadian Experience Class draw on August 5 issued 3,000 invitations with a lower CRS cut-off of 516.

The latest round’s reduced volume and higher cut-off of 523 mark one of the more selective CEC invitations so far this year.

As of mid-August 2026, IRCC had already issued well over 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with a substantial share going to Canadian Experience Class candidates. (PUNCH)

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