Public Consultations on Express Entry Reforms Officially Open

According to IRCC, the purpose behind the potential Express Entry changes is to simplify immigration for federal skilled workers and ensure scores best reflect candidates’ ability to become economically established in Canada.  

If you are in the Express Entry pool, planning to apply for permanent residence, or just interested in Canadian immigration policy, you can share your opinions on the proposed changes with IRCC. 

Key Takeaways 

• IRCC’s public consultation on proposed Express Entry reforms opened on April 23, 2026. You can submit responses till May 24, 2026. 

• The survey covers proposed changes to program eligibility, including replacing three Express Entry programs with one simplified program. 

• It also seeks input on changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), the points-based scoring tool used to rank candidates. 

• Anyone can participate, including people living outside Canada, and no prior knowledge of Express Entry is required. 

The Consultation Process for Express Entry Reforms 

The 2026 consultations on potential Express Entry reforms are based on an IRCC discussion paper, which outlines proposed changes to both Express Entry program eligibility and the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). 

Essentially, IRCC intends to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), which defines economic immigration classes and their minimum eligibility requirements. Public and stakeholder consultations are required as part of the process to amend federal regulations. 

IRCC also wants to bring changes to the CRS scoring factors, to ensure they are aligned with research on strong predictors of economic success.  

The consultation is open from April 23 to May 24, 2026. Anyone, in Canada or abroad, can participate in the consultation process. You do not need prior knowledge of Express Entry or experience with Canada’s immigration programs. 

Input gathered through the consultation process will inform changes to Express Entry programs and CRS scores. Typically, it takes several months (or even over a year) for regulatory changes to be finalized after consultations. Once final, the program changes will be published in the Canada Gazette and implemented. 

It is important to note that, unlike changes to the economic immigration programs, changes to CRS factors or scores do not require regulatory amendments. These changes will be made in Ministerial Instructions. These policy instruments can be amended quickly, with or without stakeholder consultations. This means that IRCC can potentially implement CRS changes sooner. 

IRCC has noted that responses may be published anonymously, in full or in part, in a final report later this year. 

The Express Entry Public Consultation Survey 

The consultation survey covers two themes: proposed changes to Express Entry program eligibility, and proposed changes to the CRS. 

Compared with previous consultations, this year’s survey is less detailed and does not offer much additional insight into what IRCC may be considering beyond the information already made publicly available. Broadly, the survey covers: 

Express Entry Program Eligibility 

IRCC is proposing to replace the three current programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program — with a single unified program. The goal is to reduce duplication and simplify eligibility requirements. 

The proposed minimum requirements to enter the Express Entry pool are:  

• Education: Canadian high school diploma or foreign equivalent 

• Language ability in English or French: CLB/NCLC 6  

• Work experience: One year of skilled work experience at the TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 level of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in the past three years.This can be foreign or Canadian work experience. 

The consultation survey asks for input on whether the FSWP, CEC, and FSTP, should be combined into one program. It also seeks opinions on the three newly defined eligibility thresholds (whether they are just right, too high, or too low). 

Aligning CRS Factors with Economic Outcomes 

IRCC is proposing CRS updates to better reflect the latest research on which factors predict economic success in Canada.  

• The strongest predictors are identified are language skills in English and/or French, and high earnings as a temporary resident.  

• Moderate predictors include Canadian work experience, a Canadian job offer, university-level education, and younger age.  

• Weaker predictors include spousal points (education, language, Canadian experience), having a sibling in Canada, Canadian education, and French bonus points. IRCC proposes reducing or removing scores for these factors. 

The survey asks for your views on how the factors should be weighed. It includes questions on which CRS factors should get more, or less, points relative to other factors. It also asks for input on which factors should be removed from CRS scoring entirely. 

The full list of factors covered includes language ability, French bonus points, education level, bonus points for Canadian education, Canadian work experience, Canadian experience or job offer in a high-wage occupation experience, certificate of qualification in a trade occupation, age, sibling in Canada points, and spousal factors. 

Points for High-Wage Occupations 

IRCC is also proposing to introduce points for Canadian work experience or a job offer in a high-wage occupation. According to the consultation documents, there is evidence that candidates in high-wage occupations have better long-term economic outcomes in Canada. 

Job offer points were previously removed in March 2025, due to an alleged increase in fraud. This proposal will reintroduce job offer points, but only for job offers in high-wage occupations, where IRCC claims it is easier to verify the qualifications of candidates. 

The survey asks whether respondents agree that points for Canadian experience in high-wage occupations should be introduced. It also asks for opinions on whether job offer points should be restricted to high-wage occupations. 

IRCC also clarified that points will not be based on an individual’s wages, but rather the median wages for their occupation relative to overall median wage for Canadians.

Why You Should Participate in the Express Entry Consultation Process

Prospective newcomers or current PR candidates who are directly affected by the changes are often reluctant to participate in regulatory consultations in the immigration space, either due to limited knowledge about the immigration system or because they don’t think their opinion will make a difference.  

As a result, policy changes are largely influenced by immigration consultants, lawyers, employers, and organizations with vested interests. 

However, every response counts. These reforms are shaping up to be the largest overhaul of economic immigration, since Express Entry was introduced in 2015. If you’re in the Express Entry pool, or hoping to enter it in 2026 or 2027, these changes will directly impact your chances of being selected. 

Diverse perspectives will ensure that every opinion is considered by IRCC, before formalizing policy changes. For instance, changing the language threshold to CLB/NCLC 6 might negatively impact program eligibility for someone who previously qualified for the CEC with a CLB 5 score. However, if you previously qualified for the FSWP with a CLB 7, your perspective may be that the new language threshold would increase competition within the pool and lower the quality of candidates. 

The survey questions are not technical and only take a few minutes to complete. You can access the survey on the IRCC consultation page. We encourage everyone to participate in the consultation process and weigh in on the proposed reforms. 

IRCC has also indicated that separate consultations on economic priorities and categories for category-based selection in Express Entry are expected later in 2026.