CEC
Live from IRCC Federal program

Canadian Experience Class Express Entry Draws 2026 - Live CRS Cut-Offs

The latest Canadian Experience Class draw was held on Sep 15, 2026. IRCC invited 2,000 candidates at a CRS cut-off of 519.

Last updated: September 20, 2026 IRCC Express Entry rounds of invitations (Canadian Experience Class category)

69 Total draws
16 Draws in 2026
482 Average CRS cut-off
5 Days since last draw
Canadian Experience Class Express Entry draws for skilled workers with Canadian work experience

CEC Express Entry draws are program-specific rounds rather than category-based ones. IRCC invites candidates in the pool who are eligible under the Canadian Experience Class, ranked by CRS score, and leaves everyone else out of that round.

The Canadian Experience Class is built for people who are already working in Canada: typically on a post-graduation work permit or another temporary work permit, and want to move from temporary status to permanent residence.

Since these rounds began, IRCC has held 69 Canadian Experience Class draws, issuing 250,317 invitations in total.

All Canadian Experience Class draw results

Draw #DateCategoryCRS Cut-offInvitations
Draw #443 Sep 15, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 519 2,000
Draw #439 Sep 1, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 521 2,000
Draw #436 Aug 18, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 523 1,000
Draw #432 Aug 5, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 516 3,000
Draw #428 Jul 21, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 516 2,000
Draw #424 Jul 7, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 517 2,000
Draw #420 Jun 23, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 516 4,000
Draw #417 May 27, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 518 3,000
Draw #413 Apr 28, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 514 2,000
Draw #410 Apr 14, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 515 2,000
Draw #407 Mar 31, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 509 2,250
Draw #404 Mar 17, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 507 4,000
Draw #400 Mar 3, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 508 4,000
Draw #396 Feb 17, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 508 6,000
Draw #392 Jan 21, 2026 Canadian Experience Class 509 6,000

Showing 1–15 of 16 draws

When is the next Canadian Experience Class draw?

IRCC has not announced a date. Across the last 6 rounds (Jul 7, 2026 – Sep 15, 2026) the gap has been about 14 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 late September 2026, which is a window rather than a date: the last round was 5 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.

Canadian Experience Class draw history by year

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

YearDrawsInvitationsLowest CRSHighest CRSAverage CRS
20261653,250507523514
20251535,850515547529
20241026,500507547524
20211799,65375462387
20201034,215431467449
20151849808808808

What changed for Canadian Experience Class draws

Nothing about Canadian Experience Class eligibility changed for 2026. It is a program, not a category, so it is not re-versioned each year. What has changed is the competition. CEC rounds remain among the most frequent rounds IRCC runs, but the pool of people already working in Canada has grown as post-graduation work permits expire in volume, and cut-offs reflect that.

IRCC category labelIn useRoundsInvitationsCRS range
Canadian Experience Class Feb 2015 - Sep 202669250,317 75 - 808
Every version IRCC has run this round under, read from its published rounds of invitations.

Is a Canadian Experience Class draw your route?

  • You have at least a year of skilled Canadian work experience in the last three years, gained with authorization.
  • You are moving from a post-graduation or other temporary work permit to permanent residence.
  • Your experience spans more than one job or NOC, that is allowed here, unlike in a category round.
  • Not you: someone whose Canadian year was worked while studying full-time, which does not count.

Who qualifies for Canadian Experience Class draws?

CEC rounds are among the most frequent program-specific rounds IRCC runs, because the pool of people already working in Canada is large and turns over quickly. Cut-offs in these rounds tend to sit below all-program rounds but well above most category-based rounds.

  • At least 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada within the last 3 years, gained with proper authorization while temporarily residing in Canada.
  • That experience must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation under NOC 2021. It can be spread across more than one NOC, unlike a category-based round, which needs the whole 12 months in a single listed occupation.
  • Language results of CLB 7 or higher for TEER 0 or TEER 1 jobs, or CLB 5 or higher for TEER 2 or TEER 3 jobs.
  • A plan to live outside the province of Quebec, which runs its own selection system.

There is no minimum education requirement for the Canadian Experience Class itself, though education still earns CRS points and can lift you above a round's cut-off. Experience gained without authorization does not count, and neither does self-employment, with one exception: a temporary IRCC public policy lets certain foreign-national physicians count publicly funded medical work in Canada that would otherwise be treated as self-employment. Work done while you were a full-time student does not count either. Experience gained while living in Quebec does count, as long as you do not plan to settle there.

How to be considered in a Canadian Experience Class draw

  1. Count your Canadian skilled experience

    You need at least 1 year of authorized skilled work in Canada within the last 3 years. Part-time work counts if it adds up to the same number of hours.

  2. Check the TEER level of your job

    The work has to fall in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 under NOC 2021. Work done while you were a full-time student does not count.

  3. Meet the language threshold for your TEER

    CLB 7 for TEER 0 and TEER 1 roles, or CLB 5 for TEER 2 and TEER 3 roles.

  4. Create your Express Entry profile

    If you meet the criteria, IRCC marks you eligible for the Canadian Experience Class automatically and you are included in CEC rounds.

  5. Compare your score with recent cut-offs

    The table on this page shows what CEC rounds have actually required. If you are below it, adding language points is usually the fastest lever.

Canadian Experience Class Express Entry Draws - Frequently Asked Questions

CEC Express Entry draws are program-specific rounds rather than category-based ones. IRCC invites candidates in the pool who are eligible under the Canadian Experience Class, ranked by CRS score, and leaves everyone else out of that round.
Recently a new round in this group has landed roughly every 14 days, averaged across the last 6 rounds (Jul 7, 2026 – Sep 15, 2026) — not all 69 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 75 to 808 CRS, averaging about 482, and the most recent round came in at 519. 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 6 rounds (Jul 7, 2026 – Sep 15, 2026) the gap has been about 14 days, and the most recent one was held on September 15, 2026. Treat that as historical context rather than a forecast, because IRCC has paused round types before without warning.
250,317 invitations across 69 rounds on record, including 53,250 so far in 2026. Those totals are recalculated every time this page loads.
No. The Canadian Experience Class counts only skilled work performed in Canada with authorization, within the 3 years before you apply. Foreign experience can still earn CRS points and can qualify you under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, but it does not make you eligible for a CEC round.
Yes. IRCC states that Canadian Experience Class work experience can be in more than one NOC, so switching jobs or occupations does not reset your year: the months add up as long as each role is TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 and was worked with authorization. This is the opposite of a category-based round, where the full 12 months has to sit in a single listed occupation.
Yes. Work done while living in Quebec counts towards the Canadian Experience Class, provided you can show you do not plan to settle in Quebec: the province selects its own skilled workers through a separate system, outside Express Entry.
No. Work performed while you were a full-time student, such as on-campus or co-op work, does not count towards the one year of Canadian experience. Self-employment does not count either, apart from one narrow case: a temporary IRCC public policy lets certain foreign-national physicians count publicly funded medical services provided in Canada, even though that work would normally be treated as self-employment.
Only if you were physically in Canada, authorised to work, while you did it. The Canadian Experience Class counts work performed in Canada; who pays you and where the employer sits is not what decides it. Work done for a Canadian employer while you were living abroad does not count.
No. There is no minimum education requirement for Canadian Experience Class eligibility, unlike the Federal Skilled Worker Program. A credential, with an educational credential assessment for anything earned outside Canada, still earns CRS points and lifts you up the ranking, but it is not part of the eligibility test.
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.