A quiet change has reshaped Express Entry’s skilled trades category
A vastly different set of foreign nationals is being prioritized for Canadian permanent residence under the Express Entry trade occupations category, which has been identified as a priority category for selection of permanent residents in 2026.
Following the removal of Cooks (63200) on February 18, 2026, we can expect that any draws held under the trade occupations category will invite a substantially different set of candidates, at a significantly different cut-off score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
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We can infer this because according to data released by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), IRCC had determined that if the department were to have issued 2,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence in a trade draw on January 31, 2025, they would have issued 1,121 invitations to cooks—versus only 401 ITAs to workers in twenty hands-on construction trades combined:
| Occupation | Estimated number of ITAs to have been issued |
|---|---|
| Bricklayers – 72320 | 1 |
| Cabinetmakers – 72311 | 13 |
| Carpenters – 72310 | 48 |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics – 72400 | 53 |
| Concrete finishers – 73100 | 8 |
| Electrical mechanics – 72422 | 8 |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) – 72200 | 19 |
| Elevator constructors and mechanics – 72406 | 0 |
| Floor covering installers – 73113 | 5 |
| Gas fitters – 72302 | 3 |
| Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics – 72402 | 6 |
| Industrial electricians – 72201 | 11 |
| Machine fitters – 72405 | 0 |
| Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors – 72100 | 122 |
| Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) – 73112 | 36 |
| Plumbers – 72300 | 7 |
| Residential and commercial installers and servicers – 73200 | 0 |
| Roofers and shinglers – 73110 | 4 |
| Sheet metal workers – 72102 | 4 |
| Welders and related machine operators – 72106 | 53 |
| Total | 401 |
As a whole, Express Entry candidates qualifying for the trade category as cooks had much higher CRS scores: the median CRS score for cooks was 419, versus a median of 399 for all other occupations, according to the same document released by IRCC.
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In the levels plan released in October of 2024, the government had identified trade occupations a priority category for 2025, with the stated purpose of helping to build more housing to increase housing affordability – but the composition of the pool in January of 2025 meant that any trades draws would issue ITAs primarily to workers in food services, while only a handful of ITAs would go to workers in skilled construction trades.
This may explain why IRCC held only a single small trade occupations draw in 2025, in which it issued 1,250 ITAs – only about a third of the 3,600 trade ITAs it had issued in 2024.
IRCC communicated the removal of Cooks from the trades category in an update to its web page on category-based draws on February 18, 2026.
Other changes made to the trade occupations category at this time included the removal of Chefs (62200) and the addition of Butchers (63201), which had been the sole remaining occupation in the now-retired agriculture and agri-food category.
In a press conference at the Canadian Club in Toronto on February 18, 2026, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the changes, focusing in her speech on the creation of the new Express Entry categories of skilled military recruits, transport occupations, senior managers with Canadian work experience, and researchers with Canadian work experience.
In addition to trade occupations, Diab also identified healthcare and social services and French language proficiency as priority categories for 2026.
As part of the same series of changes, for all occupational categories the requirement for skilled work experience was changed from six months of continuous work experience within the past three years, to 12 months of work experience within the past three years.
The jettisoning of the continuous requirement for work experience may quite possibility have benefitted many skilled tradespeople, as workers in construction trades are often subject to layoffs in accordance with the temporary nature of many jobs.
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These quiet changes to the trade occupations category were made as part of what appears to be an annual winter update of Express Entry categories – prior to this year, the last set of major changes to Express Entry categories was announced in February of 2025, at which time IRCC retired the old transport occupations category, renamed and expanded the healthcare category to healthcare and social services, and created a new education category.
Skilled workers who qualify for occupational categories are prioritized as candidates for permanent residence through Canada's Express Entry system.
Express Entry is the federal government's flagship application management system for the three main federal pathways to permanent residence for skilled workers: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
To obtain permanent residence through Express Entry, it is not sufficient for a foreign national simply to meet the minimum requirements of one of the Express Entry-managed programs.
Instead, they must create a candidate profile in the Express Entry system, and then be selected as a top-ranking candidate through a round of invitations, thereby receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence through the Express Entry system.
After having received an ITA, a candidate can respond with a complete application for permanent residence, which is typically processed within six months.
IRCC has not yet held a trade occupations draw in 2026, as of the time of writing.
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