Canada has announced a new strategy to bring in skilled foreign workers while keeping immigration at manageable levels. Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), announced the 2026 categories under the Express Entry system that will allow foreign workers with the skills and experience needed to fill critical labour gaps in key sectors and occupations to enter Canada and apply for permanent residence.

Express Entry is Canada’s flagship application management system for those seeking to immigrate permanently through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the Canadian Experience Class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.

With increasing global competition for skilled workers, Canada aims to attract and retain highly skilled immigrants through the International Talent Attraction Strategy. The government’s International Talent Attraction Strategy focuses on helping the economy grow and filling important job gaps.

Cooks have been removed from the Trades category. In addition to a new category for foreign medical doctors with Canadian work experience, Canada will introduce new categories for:

Researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience

Candidates with work experience in transport occupations, including pilots, aircraft mechanics and inspectors

Highly skilled foreign military applicants recruited by the Canadian Armed Forces in key roles such as military doctors, nurses and pilots

Further, IRCC Canada will continue holding invitation rounds to select candidates with strong French skills and those with work experience in the following categories that were in place in 2025:

Health care and social services, such as nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and chiropractors

Trades, such as carpenters, plumbers and machinists

Canadian Experience Class draws continued through early 2026 to prioritize candidates already contributing to Canada’s economy. So did draws for the Provincial Nominee Program and French-proficiency category.

The new list under the Express Entry, Category-based selection, will be:

French-language proficiency
Healthcare and social services occupations
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
Trade occupations
Agriculture and agri-food occupations
Education occupations
Physicians with Canadian work experience
Researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience
Candidates with work experience in transport occupations, including pilots, aircraft mechanics and inspectors
Highly skilled foreign military applicants recruited by the Canadian Armed Forces in key roles such as military doctors, nurses and pilots

Express Entry Category for International Doctors

In December 2025, Canada announced the creation of a new Express Entry category for international doctors by making the path to permanent residence simpler for foreign doctors. The invitations to apply for the new ‘physicians with Canadian work experience category’ will be issued in early 2026. Foreign doctors with at least one year of Canadian work experience in an eligible occupation, gained within the last three years, will be eligible under this category.

To be eligible, you must have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 12 months of full-time, continuous work experience or an equal amount of part-time experience, in a single occupation as General practitioners and family physicians or Specialists in surgery or Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine.

Express Entry Category for Managers

Employees working in managerial positions in India and other countries will now get an opportunity to settle in Canada with a permanent residence permit. Canada is offering a permanent residence permit to managerial employees from India and other countries who hold managerial positions.

Canada is considering prioritizing the selection of senior managers. Senior managers are highly skilled workers who oversee the operations of a company or organization and lead a team of employees.