Express Entry competition continues to ease

Top-scoring profiles in Canada’s Express Entry pool continue to drop to their lowest levels in recent years, as larger, consistent draws help ease overall competition among candidates.

Based on recent pool composition data and the run of draws that have taken place between March 2 and 5, the number of profiles in the 501-600 scoring range may be as low as 10,000, a level not reported since 2024.

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This continues the downward trajectory in the number of top-scoring profiles observed on February 15, 2026—during the previous round of Express Entry draws.

This article will delve into these changes in the Express Entry pool over the last two weeks, the potential impact of uncounted draws on the pool composition, and how current candidates stack up against each other.

What changes occurred in the Express Entry pool over the last two weeks?

Between February 15 and March 1 (the most recent data available), a net total of 3,161 profiles exited the Express Entry pool. Of these, 80% (2,528) profiles came from the 501-600 score range.

Other notable decreases came from the 471-480 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score range, which saw a net decrease of 1,116 profiles.

In total, seven score ranges experienced reductions of varying degrees, with the remaining eight gaining profiles:

Note: The pool composition data published on March 1 does not account for the Express Entry draws that have taken place between March 2 and 5, issuing more than 10,000 ITAs. This is discussed in further detail below.

CRS score range	February 15	March 1	Difference (March 1 - February 15)
0–300	8,283	8,276	-7
301–350	19,009	18,694	-315
351–400	53,650	53,727	77
401–410	11,316	11,796	480
411–420	12,183	12,511	328
421–430	12,425	12,746	321
431–440	14,239	14,481	242
441–450	14,142	14,334	192
451–460	14,900	15,167	267
461–470	15,426	15,099	-327
471–480	16,531	15,415	-1,116
481–490	13,248	12,678	-570
491–500	13,504	13,321	-183
501–600	16,559	14,031	-2,528
601–1200	280	258	-22
Total	235,695	232,534	-3,161

The current composition of the Express Entry pool (as of March 1), as compared to the February 15 composition, has also been graphed below for easier visualization:

Which draws have not been accounted for in the March 1 distribution?

As noted, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) latest Express Entry data does not consider the most recent run of draws that occurred between March 2 and 5—totalling 10,014 ITAs:

Date	Round type	Invitations issued	CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited
March 5	Senior Managers with Canadian work experience	250	429
March 4	French-Language proficiency	5,500	397
March 3	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	508
March 2	Provincial Nominee Program	264	710

Based on these invitation results, these draws could correspond to significant changes in the candidate pool composition, to a minimum of:

• 5,500 fewer profiles between the 351-400 score range and above;
• 4,000 fewer profiles between the 501-600 score range and above;
• 264 fewer profiles between the 601-1200 score range (effectively inviting the totality of candidates in this group); and
• 250 fewer profiles between the 421-430 score range and above.

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CEC and French draws have consistently invited large numbers of candidates through their draws, contributing to falling CRS cut-off scores for both draw-types:

What accounted for the decrease in Express Entry profiles between February 15 and March 1?

Apart from those who were aged out of the pool or who withdrew their profiles, most of the reduction in candidates in the Express Entry pool can be attributed to the four Express Entry draws that occurred in the last two weeks.

These draws cumulatively issued 10,670 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) across four different draw types, including the first draws for Express Entry’s new Physicians category:

Date	Round type	Invitations issued	CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited
February 20	Healthcare and Social Services Occupations	4,000	467
February 19	Physicians with Canadian Work Experience	391	169
February 17	Canadian Experience Class	6,000	508
February 16	Provincial Nominee Program	279	789

Notably, since each ITA should correspond to at least one candidate exiting the Express Entry pool, much of the reduction expected from these ITAs was offset by new candidate profiles that entered the Expression of Interest (EOI) system.

How competitive is the Express Entry pool now?

The following table breaks down the competitiveness of the Express Entry pool, comparing the percentage makeup and the percentile scoring of candidates at the edges of each score range.

March 1 data is used to compute these scores:

CRS score range	Number of candidates	Cumulative	Percentile	Percentage
0-300	8,276	8,276	0.00%–3.56%	3.56%
301-350	18,694	26,970	3.56%–11.60%	8.04%
351-400	53,727	80,697	11.60%–34.70%	23.11%
401-410	11,796	92,493	34.70%–39.78%	5.07%
411-420	12,511	105,004	39.78%–45.16%	5.38%
421-430	12,746	117,750	45.16%–50.64%	5.48%
431-440	14,481	132,231	50.64%–56.87%	6.23%
441-450	14,334	146,565	56.87%–63.03%	6.16%
451-460	15,167	161,732	63.03%–69.55%	6.52%
461-470	15,099	176,831	69.55%–76.05%	6.49%
471-480	15,415	192,246	76.05%–82.67%	6.63%
481-490	12,678	204,924	82.67%–88.13%	5.45%
491-500	13,321	218,245	88.13%–93.86%	5.73%
501-600	14,031	232,276	93.86%–99.89%	6.03%
601-1200	258	232,534	99.89%–100.00%	0.11%

The percentile figures in the table represent the share of Express Entry candidates whose CRS scores are at or below the upper bound of each score range.

To make the results easier to interpret, the percentiles are displayed as ranges, meaning candidates within a given CRS bracket fall between the two percentile values shown.

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