Canada invites French-speaking candidates to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued more invitations to apply (ITA) through the Express Entry system.

The immigration department issued 5,000 ITAs in a draw for candidates with French language proficiency.

To be considered in this draw, candidates needed to have:

• A minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 420; and
• Created an Express Entry candidate profile before 8:04 a.m., Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on May 15, 2026.

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is

Summary of Express Entry draws in 2026

Date	Draw Type	CRS cut-off score	ITAs issued
July 9	French-Language proficiency	420	5,000
July 7	Canadian Experience Class	517	2,000
July 6	Provincial Nominee Program	708	534
June 25	Healthcare and social services	475	4,000
June 24	Physicians with Canadian Work Experience	223	271
June 23	Canadian Experience Class	516	4,000
June 22	Provincial Nominee Program	730	955
May 28	French-Language proficiency	409	4,500
May 27	Canadian Experience Class	518	3,000
May 25	Provincial Nominee Program	805	334
May 11	Provincial Nominee Program	798	380
April 29	French-Language proficiency	400	4,000
April 28	Canadian Experience Class	514	2,000
April 27	Provincial Nominee Program	795	473
April 15	French-Language proficiency	419	4,000
April 14	Canadian Experience Class	515	2,000
April 13	Provincial Nominee Program	786	324
April 2	Trades	477	3,000
March 31	Canadian Experience Class	509	2,250
March 30	Provincial Nominee Program	802	356
March 18	French-Language proficiency	393	4,000
March 17	Canadian Experience Class	507	4,000
March 16	Provincial Nominee Program	742	362
March 5	Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	429	250
March 4	French-Language proficiency	397	5,500
March 3	Canadian Experience Class	508	4,000
March 2	Provincial Nominee Program	710	264
February 20	Healthcare and social services	467	4,000
February 19	Physicians with Canadian work experience	169	391
February 17	Canadian Experience Class	508	6,000
February 16	Provincial Nominee Program	789	279
February 6	French-Language proficiency	400	8,500
February 3	Provincial Nominee Program	749	423
January 21	Canadian Experience Class	509	6,000
January 20	Provincial Nominee Program	746	681
January 7	Canadian Experience Class	511	8,000
January 5	Provincial Nominee Program	711	574

IRCC has now conducted 37 Express Entry draws over the course of 2026. This latest draw marks the highest number of ITAs issued in a French-language draw since March 4 of this year, and the highest cutoff for this draw type since October 6, 2025.

Generally, the draws held by IRCC this year have targeted Express Entry candidates with Canadian work experience or provincial nominations.

Draw Type	Number of Draws
Provincial Nominee Program	13
Canadian Experience Class	11
French-Language proficiency	7
Physicians with Canadian work experience	2
Healthcare and social services	2
Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	1
Trades	1

Over the course of 2026, IRCC has issued 96,601 ITAs across the following draw types:

Draw type	ITAs Issued
Canadian Experience Class	43,250
French-Language proficiency	35,500
Provincial Nominee Program	5,939
Healthcare and social services	8,000
Trades	3,000
Physicians with Canadian work experience	662
Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	250

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is