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By Stephanie Ford
Updated 5 days ago
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This week’s in-depth coverage of the latest IEC news is made possible by the support of Young Guns.
You can join our community to receive weekly updates covering invitation activity, key information about the IEC pool, and tips to make your season run smoothly.
Track how the top IEC countries are performing week by week. Dive into detailed draw data, invitation numbers, and country-specific insights by selecting a country below.
UK Working Holiday candidates saw the most invitations in the first round for the 2026 IEC season! At over 3,100 invitations, UK working holiday candidates received more than 1,000 more invitations than any other program.
The total number of candidates in the pool dropped from 5,296 last week to 2,671 this week, due to the large draw. Though, this shows that there were still around 500+ new candidates in the pool this week.
IRCC didn’t publish odds of receiving an invitation this week. But we would say that those currently in the pool for the UK do still have excellent odds of receiving an invitation in the coming week(s).
That said, you aren’t guaranteed an invitation in any round — even if odds are excellent for receiving one, or if your quota is not yet full. The best way to improve your odds of receiving an invite is to enter the pool as early as possible.
Australian candidates may still be reeling from the introduction of a quota this year. The quota may actually mean that there will be high competition for spots for Australian working holidaymakers this year — since the quota is much lower than the number of invitations issued to this program in 2025.
Now, for the first round of invitations. Australian candidates received 1,275 invitations — the third highest number out of any program. The pool dropped from 1,486 profiles to 605, so competition isn’t high just yet.
Irish working holiday makers saw their first round of invitations this week. Ireland received the fourth highest number of invitations this week.
IRCC issued 1,074 invitations and there are 526 now profiles in the IEC pool and 2,735 spots for this program for the year. Based on our experience, we would estimate odds for those in the pool receiving an invitation to be ‘Excellent’ – though there have been plenty of changes this year, so we may be surprised here.
If you’re an Irish citizen considering a working holiday in Canada in 2026, it’s worth considering entering the pool as early as possible. With the number of profiles in the pool being around 50% of spots available for the year (before the invitation rounds even begin), we’d predict that competition will be high – particularly later in the season. The earlier you enter, the more draws you’ll participate in.
Unfortunately, New Zealanders hoping to do an IEC working holiday in 2026 will need to wait at least one more week for more information. The quota and the date for the first round of invitations have not yet been released by IRCC for this season.
There are currently 501 profiles in the pool for the 2026 season. For what it’s worth, NZ’s 2025 quota was 2,500 for this program so if that remains in place for 2026, competition may remain low throughout the year. However, we think that the quota may decrease, given that last year’s NZ pool was undersubscribed.
French candidates looking to do a working holiday in Canada in 2026 may have a tough season ahead of them.
IRCC issued 645 invitations on January 23. This is big drop compared the first round of 2025 when 1,340 working holiday invitations were issued.
There are significantly more candidates in the pool then there are spots available for 2026. While IRCC hasn’t released its odds of being selected in the next round, we would estimate them to be low to very low for French working holiday hopefuls.
So, where does that leave you? As French speakers, you do have alternate pathways to live and work in Canada – especially if you choose to live outside Quebec. There are multiple pathways that could offer you a temporary work permit in Canada that are worth considering instead of the working holiday program this year.
Otherwise, it may also be worth looking to see whether you’re eligible for another IEC program – Young Professionals, VIE, or International Co-op.
South Korea’s quota dropped marginally from 2025 but is still one of the most generous quotas we’ve seen for the 2026 IEC season.
IRCC issued 1,995 invitations on January 23, 2026. Looking ahead, South Korean working holiday hopefuls may not experience the same level of high competition for spots that we’re either seeing or expecting to see in many other popular programs (like France or Australia’s working holiday pools).
While this is good news, it doesn’t mean you should delay entering the pool. It’s almost always a good idea to enter as early as possible, especially if you really want to come to Canada in 2026 or early 2027.
Japanese working holiday hopefuls will need to wait at least one more week before we can offer a deeper analysis on the season ahead. Unfortunately, Japan’s quota has not yet been announced and we aren’t sure when the first round of invitations for Japan will take place, just yet. But we keep our community members informed through our weekly IEC newsletter. Join us if you’re keen to learn more about the year ahead, whenever the information is released.
We’ll be publishing a full, data-driven analysis of the 2026 IEC Working Holiday program for Germany once the first rounds of invitation data are released.
Check back soon for detailed draw breakdowns, invitation trends, quota updates, and insights into what the numbers mean for applicants from Germany.
Or, if you’d rather get an email when updates happen – we keep our community members informed through our weekly IEC newsletter. Join us if you’re keen to learn more about the year ahead for German working holiday candidates once that information is released.
Italy’s quota dipped slightly for 2026 (down to 1,850 from 1,915 in 2025). But the good news is: we don’t expect competition to be too high – unless many more Italian citizens are interested in a working holiday in Canada this year compared to last year.
Italian working holiday hopefuls saw the first round of invitations on January 23, with 650 invited. There are just 241 applications currently in the pool.
IRCC’s latest IEC update on January 23 confirms that 12,693 invitations were issued across several countries.
The United Kingdom’s Working Holiday pool saw the biggest movement so far, with 3,129 invitations issued (out of a 9,330 quota). Other large invitation totals include Korea’s Working Holiday (1,995), Australia’s Working Holiday (1,275), and Ireland’s Working Holiday (1,074). France also saw strong early activity across categories, including International Co-op (954), Working Holiday (645), and Young Professionals (434).
IRCC still hasn’t listed official “Chances” of receiving an invitation for most pools, so the best way to guess your chances is to watch how quickly invitations are being issued compared to the quota and how many candidates are currently in the pool.
First round “To be announced” means IRCC hasn’t started invitation rounds for that country/category yet, and no start date has been posted.
These countries’ first invitation round is currently listed for January 26, so they haven’t issued invitations as of yet:
As of January 23, 2026, there were 35,567 candidates in the IEC pools. That’s down from 43,005 candidates reported in the January 16 update – a drop that reflects the first rounds of invitations (and resulting profile removals as people accept, decline, or are no longer eligible) since invitations began rolling out the week of January 19.
The programs with the highest number of candidates in the pool, as of January 23, 2026 are:
Remember: IEC is not a first-come, first-served program, entering the pool early allows you to participate in more invitation rounds, increasing your chances of receiving an invitation. So, don’t let the number of people in the pool already put you off submitting your profile. If anything, it’s more important than ever to get into the IEC pool early.
Here’s what we don’t know, based on this update:
Final quotas for every country and category.
How many spots will be available.
Official “chances of receiving an invitation” – IRCC hasn’t published these yet
Exact start dates for invitation rounds in some countries and categories.
Quotas are still being released in waves. While invitations began rolling out during the week of January 19, several countries with open pools are still waiting for their first invitation rounds.
Updates for 2026 IEC season
Here’s the data from the most recent IRCC update:
Keen to see how the round sizes have been trending over time? Here are all the details:
Many IEC Working Holiday participants may want to start looking for jobs in Canada before they arrive. Thankfully, we have partnered with several Canadian employers who are looking to hire 2026 IEC participants.
Check out the Moving2Canada Jobs Board and join our IEC Talent Pool.
If you’re looking for a physically demanding job with a great crew, we recommend taking a look at our partner, Young Guns Container Crew. They’re hiring labourers to help unload shipping containers in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Cornwall, Ontario (among others!). They love IECers and can offer you a job before you arrive. Apply here — or get more information by watching this video:
Please explore our many resources to help you plan your application. Research is crucial as you plan for success on your Working Holiday Canada permit.
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