4,000 ITAs issued in first Express Entry draw for Healthcare occupations in 2026

Key Takeaways

Type of Draw: Healthcare and Social Services Occupations  

Invitations Issued: 4,000

CRS Score: 467

Tie-Breaking Rule: December 09, 2025 at 18:22:06 UTC

Next Draw Prediction: PNP March 2.  Please keep an eye on our When is the next Express Entry draw page for updates. 

Our Analysis of Today’s Draw 

Today’s draw was no surprise as Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced it would happen earlier this week.  

It’s the first draw for healthcare and social services occupations so far this year and the third category-based draw of the year after a French-speaking proficiency draw on February 6 and the first-ever category-based selection draw for physicians with Canadian experience on February 19. 

Comparing this draw to the healthcare and social services draws we saw in 2025, this is most similar to the draw that took place on July 22, 2025, which also saw 4,000 ITAs issued. Interestingly, today’s draw came in at 8 CRS points below the draw on July 22, showing a slight ease in completion amongst this cohort. Although there’s only a marginal decrease in CRS cut off between the two draws, one contributing factor could be the February 19 physicians draw, which removed in-Canada physicians from the broader healthcare pool. That earlier highly targeted round saw 391 ITAs issued to potentially high scoring candidates who would have otherwise been considered in this draw.  

It is a good reminder that with the introduction of the Physicians with Canadian Experience category, healthcare category draws will no longer operate in isolation. Any movement in one could have an impact on the other.  

As such, going into 2026, it’s tough to say how draws will look for this category. Once we have a few more healthcare and physician draws, we may be able to start seeing trends. 

Canada’s Healthcare Shortage and Immigration

Canada is facing an urgent shortage of healthcare professionals and IRCC says it is working hard to fill the gaps. 

However, if we look at Express Entry permanent resident admissions for 2025, just 1,185 were candidates in a professional nursing occupation, and 4,045 were in other professional occupations in health. This seems quite low, but it’s not clear how many healthcare candidate applications are in the backlog, which currently consists of over 75,000 applications to Express Entry-aligned programs.

Still, when Minister Diab announced new Express Entry categories on February 18, she emphasized that IRCC was prioritizing candidates with Canadian Experience. At the same time, we found out that work experience requirements for all occupation-driven category-based draws are increasing from six months to a full year. 

The change could take some candidates out of the running for category-based selection, so it’s possible that draws may be a little smaller going forward if the pool shrinks. 

What Should You Do If You No Longer Qualify for a Healthcare Draw?

A few candidates were likely expecting to receive an ITA in today’s healthcare draw, but due to the change in the work experience requirement, they did not.

In this case, applicants should explore ways in which they can become eligible for the category, or explore other categories, specifically the French language category.

If you’re pursuing more work experience to regain your eligibility, remember that it must be in the same occupation as your initial qualifying six months of experience.

 For more information on Express Entry: 

• Learn more about the latest Express Entry draws. 

• Learn more about the state of the Express Entry pool. 

• Learn when to expect the next Express Entry draw. 

• Learn more about Express Entry healthcare draws. 

And if you’d like to stay in the loop about Canadian immigration and settlement updates, join our email community. We share information and breaking news regularly, so you’re always in the know.