ca The biggest changes to Canada’s Express Entry in 2026

The Express Entry system, the Canadian government’s most important method for managing immigration applications for skilled workers, is set to undergo significant changes in 2026.

In 2026, the federal government will continue to focus on attracting skilled workers from Targeted occupational groups to compensate for the shortages in the labor market. In the following, we review the most important changes of Express Entry in 2026.

start New lotteries for doctors with Canadian experience

On December 8, Canada‘s Immigration Minister Lena Diab introduced a new Express Entry category: “Physicians with Canadian experience” This new category has important differences with the “health and social services category”:

Differences:

• Need to At least one year of work experience To be eligible (whereas the health category requires only 6 months)

• This is a year of experience Must be in Canada be (in the health category, foreign work experience is also accepted)

All applicants in this category must still meet the requirements of one of the three main Express Entry programs.

Doctors who think they are qualified can Create or update your Express Entry profile. Lotteries of this category Early 2026 It begins.

“Batch-based lotteries,” starting in 2023, will allow immigration to target workers with the skills needed by the Canadian labor market. These categories are reviewed every year and adjusted according to the economic needs of the country.

The possibility of introducing new categories in 2026

The federal government has proposed adding three new job categories to Express Entry in 2026:

1. Senior Management (Leadership)

Targeting highly skilled senior managers who are responsible for leading teams and managing operations of organizations.

2. Research & Innovation

Focused on researchers and scientists who can lead to innovation, economic growth and productivity improvement.

3. National Security & Defense

To support the Canadian Armed Forces through the recruitment of military specialists from partner countries.

These categories are still tentative and final details will be announced after the government’s assessment is completed and new guidelines are issued.