French-language Express Entry draw sees CRS cutoff dip below 400

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 abilities.

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

• A minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 399; and
• Created an Express Entry candidate profile before 9:21 p.m., Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on November 19, 2025.

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is

Date	Draw Type	CRS cut-off score	ITAs issued
July 22	French-Language proficiency	399	5,000
July 21	Canadian Experience Class	516	2,000
July 20	Provincial Nominee Program	744	511
July 10	Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	392	500
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

The French-Language proficiency draw held today features the lowest CRS cutoff for this draw type since March 2026.

IRCC has now conducted 41 Express Entry selection rounds in 2026. Candidates with Canadian work experience or provincial nominations have remained a major focus of selections this year.

Draw Type	Number of Draws
Provincial Nominee Program	14
Canadian Experience Class	12
French-Language proficiency	8
Physicians with Canadian work experience	2
Healthcare and social services	2
Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	2
Trades	1

Over the course of 2026, IRCC has issued 104,612 ITAs across the following draw types:

Draw type	ITAs Issued
Canadian Experience Class	45,250
French-Language proficiency	40,500
Provincial Nominee Program	6,450
Healthcare and social services	8,000
Trades	3,000
Physicians with Canadian work experience	662
Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience	750

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is