SM
Live from IRCC New for 2026

Senior Manager Express Entry Draws 2026 - Live CRS Cut-Offs

The latest Senior Manager draw was held on Sep 16, 2026. IRCC invited 250 candidates at a CRS cut-off of 389.

Last updated: September 20, 2026 IRCC Express Entry rounds of invitations (senior manager category)

3 Total draws
3 Draws in 2026
403 Average CRS cut-off
4 Days since last draw
Senior Managers Express Entry draws for executives with Canadian work experience

Senior-manager draws are a 2026 category-based round for executives who have already been working in Canada. IRCC narrows the pool to candidates with recent Canadian experience in one of four senior-management NOC codes, then invites the highest-ranked among them.

These are not ordinary manager roles. IRCC is targeting NOC Major Group 00: people who manage other managers and set organisational direction. Experience as a mid-level manager, or the same title earned abroad, does not put you in this group.

Since these rounds began, IRCC has held 3 senior-manager draws, issuing 1,000 invitations in total.

All Senior Manager draw results

Draw #DateCategoryCRS Cut-offInvitations
Draw #444 Sep 16, 2026 Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 389 250
Draw #426 Jul 10, 2026 Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 392 500
Draw #402 Mar 5, 2026 Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 429 250

Showing 1–3 of 3 draws

When is the next Senior Manager draw?

IRCC has not announced a date. Across the last 3 rounds (Mar 5, 2026 – Sep 16, 2026) the gap has been about 98 days. That is a historical pattern, not a schedule.

Projection from past rounds, not an IRCC dateCarrying that gap forward from the last round points to the second half of December 2026, which is a window rather than a date: the last round was 4 days ago. The arithmetic does not mean IRCC will hold a round then. IRCC does not commit to a schedule and has paused round types without warning before.

Senior Manager draw history by year

Rounds held, invitations issued, and the range of CRS cut-offs within each year.

YearDrawsInvitationsLowest CRSHighest CRSAverage CRS
202631,000389429403

What changed for Senior Manager draws

Also new for 2026, and also built on Canadian work experience rather than foreign. It is one of the least-used categories IRCC has introduced, so there is very little history to read patterns from yet: the page will get more useful with each round held.

IRCC category labelIn useRoundsInvitationsCRS range
Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 Mar 2026 - Sep 202631,000 389 - 429
Every version IRCC has run this round under, read from its published rounds of invitations.

Is a Senior Manager draw your route?

  • You have Canadian work experience in a senior management occupation.
  • You are comfortable targeting a category with a short track record and unpredictable timing.
  • Not you: a manager whose experience is entirely outside Canada.
  • Worth knowing: with so few rounds held, past cut-offs here are a weak guide to the next one.

Who qualifies for Senior Manager draws?

IRCC added this category in February 2026 as one of three built around Canadian work experience rather than foreign experience. Early rounds have been small, which is why cut-offs can look unusually low next to a healthcare or CEC round.

  • At least 12 months of full-time work experience (or the part-time equivalent) in Canada within the past 3 years, in one of the four senior-manager occupations listed below.
  • The experience has to be Canadian. Senior-management experience gained abroad does not qualify for this category.
  • An Express Entry profile in the pool, and eligibility for at least one of the three federal programs.
  • A CRS score at or above the cut-off published for that specific round.

This category is new. Treat the cut-offs on this page as early signals rather than an established pattern. A job offer does not add CRS points (those were removed on 25 March 2025).

The 4 occupations eligible for Senior Manager draws

IRCC lists four senior-manager occupations. Twelve months in one of these codes is enough, and it does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile, but the year has to have been worked in Canada.

NOC 2021Occupation
00012Senior managers - financial, communications and other business services
00013Senior managers - health, education, social and community services and membership organizations
00014Senior managers - trade, broadcasting and other services
00015Senior managers - construction, transportation, production and utilities

Not sure which code describes your job? Try the NOC Finder. Occupation list published by IRCC - Express Entry category-based selection.

How to be considered in a Senior Manager draw

  1. Check that your Canadian role is on the list

    These categories only count experience gained in Canada. Match your duties to the NOC, not the job title.

  2. Confirm you have 12 months in Canada

    You need 12 months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, in one of the four senior-manager occupations within the last 3 years. The year does not have to be continuous, but it does have to have been worked in Canada. It does not have to be your primary NOC.

  3. Confirm you are eligible for a federal program

    A category is a filter applied to the pool, not a way into it. You still need to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class.

  4. Create or update your Express Entry profile

    Enter the Canadian work history that evidences the category. There is no separate category application.

  5. Keep language results valid

    Language results expire after two years. If they lapse while you wait, your profile can fall out of the pool entirely.

Senior Manager Express Entry Draws - Frequently Asked Questions

Senior-manager draws are a 2026 category-based round for executives who have already been working in Canada. IRCC narrows the pool to candidates with recent Canadian experience in one of four senior-management NOC codes, then invites the highest-ranked among them.
Recently a new round in this group has landed roughly every 98 days, averaged across the last 3 rounds (Mar 5, 2026 – Sep 16, 2026) — not all 3 rounds on record. IRCC publishes no fixed schedule, so the gap moves around and long pauses happen without any announcement. Being on the annual category list is not a promise that a round will run.
There is no fixed pass mark: the cut-off is simply the score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited in that round. Historically this group has ranged from 389 to 429 CRS, averaging about 403, and the most recent round came in at 389. Treat the recent rounds in the table as your guide rather than the all-time low. If more than one person had that lowest score, IRCC ranked them by the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profile.
IRCC does not announce rounds of invitations in advance and publishes no schedule for them. All that can be read from the record is the pattern: across the last 3 rounds (Mar 5, 2026 – Sep 16, 2026) the gap has been about 98 days, and the most recent one was held on September 16, 2026. Treat that as historical context rather than a forecast, because IRCC has paused round types before without warning.
1,000 invitations across 3 rounds on record, including 1,000 so far in 2026. Those totals are recalculated every time this page loads.
IRCC lists 4 eligible occupations for the Senior Manager category, each tied to a specific NOC 2021 code. The full list is on this page. Twelve months in a single listed code is enough. It does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile, and IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties, not your job title. You cannot combine two different codes to make up the year.
At least 12 months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, in one of the four senior-manager occupations, worked in Canada within the past 3 years. It does not have to be continuous. This category was new in 2026, so the 12-month Canadian-experience rule is the current rule, not a change from an earlier six-month version of this category.
Yes, for this category. The 12 months has to have been worked in Canada within the past 3 years. The same occupation performed abroad does not put you in this group, though it may still count under a wider occupation category (healthcare for doctors, education is not the same as researchers).
Probably not. IRCC is targeting NOC Major Group 00: senior managers who set organisational direction and typically manage other managers. Mid-level managers, supervisors and team leads sit in different NOC codes and are not on this list. The qualifying year also has to have been worked in Canada.
This category does not itself require a job offer. You must still qualify for an Express Entry program: the Federal Skilled Trades Program requires either a qualifying job offer or a certificate of qualification. Job offers no longer add CRS points, but may still matter for federal-program or provincial-stream eligibility. The separate skilled military recruits category does require an offer from the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group.
No, and there is no box to tick. IRCC works out which categories you fall into from the information already in your Express Entry profile at the moment it runs a round. That is why keeping your work history, NOC code and test results accurate and current matters more than any application step.
IRCC lists a small set of senior-manager NOCs, and the experience has to have been gained in Canada. Middle-management roles generally do not qualify, so match your duties against the specific codes rather than your job title.
Not very. This category is new for 2026 and has been used only rarely, so there is little history to read a pattern from. The table on this page shows every round held rather than an expected schedule.
Draw figures are copied from IRCC's published rounds. They were last updated from that feed on Sep 20, 2026. Nothing on these tables is entered by hand. The figures are IRCC's own published rounds of invitations, the same record behind our full Express Entry draw history. This is not an official IRCC tool. Always confirm your own eligibility and score in your Express Entry profile, or with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or immigration lawyer.

Official IRCC sources

Eligibility rules on this page were last checked against IRCC on September 15, 2026. Draw figures come from IRCC's published rounds and are not part of that review. This is not an official IRCC page.

Draw figures were last updated from IRCC on Sep 20, 2026.

Every Express Entry draw type we track

IRCC runs several different kinds of round. Each one below has its own cut-off history, its own rhythm, and its own rules about who is even in the running.