Working Holiday Canada News, IEC Pools and Invitations

This page is for International Experience Canada (IEC) applicants waiting for an invitation to apply or planning their next steps. On this page, you can track all key IEC updates in one place.

Latest Updates on the 2026 IEC Pools and Rounds of Invitations

• The 2026 IEC season opened on December 19, 2025, and invitations began the week of January 19, 2026.
• As of September 18, IRCC has issued a total of 91,087 invitations (out of an overall quota of 61,339). Since not every invitation results in an approved work permit, IRCC has only 3,531 spots remaining.
• In the latest update published on September 18, only 578 invitations were issued since the previous round on September 11.
• This week, the IEC quota for 2026 increased from 61,189 to 61,339.

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.

IEC Rounds of Invitations 2026: Top Countries Week-by-Week

Follow the latest IEC rounds of invitations for 2026 and see how each country is performing inside the Canada IEC pool.

This table breaks down weekly invitation numbers, total invites issued, current IEC pools size, quotas, and your odds of being selected in the next round.

Select a country below to track draw history and monitor your chances in real time.

Latest Update on IEC Rounds of Invitations 2026

Date of the latest update: September 18, 2026

Invitations issued since last update: 578

Total IEC applicants invited so far: 91,087

IRCC’s latest IEC update, published on September 18, 2026, confirms that since the previous update on September 11, only 578 additional invitations were issued across all countries.

The total is now 91,087 invitations issued since January 19.

Invitations across most pools continue to slow. The United Kingdom’s Working Holiday program still has the highest number of invitations issued, at 14,465 (out of a 9,213 quota), although applicants have a very low chance of receiving an invitation next week.

This week, the overall program quota increased by 150 spots, from 61,189 to 61,339, all going to the Japan Working Holiday program.

Highest Number of Invitations This Week

• Korea Working Holiday – 207
• France Young Professionals – 62
• Australia Working Holiday – 30
• France Co-op – 28
• United Kingdom Young Professionals – 23
• New Zealand Working Holiday – 20

IEC Chances of Receiving an Invitation 

IRCC has also now announced the chances of receiving an invitation in the next round for many countries.

At the moment, many IEC programs still show “Excellent” chances of receiving an invitation, although most of these are Young Professionals or International Co-op pools rather than Working Holiday pools.

The following programs have lower chances of receiving an invitation (New changes since last week are shown in bold):

Very low chances: Australia (Working Holiday), Austria (Working Holiday), Belgium (Working Holiday), Chile (Working Holiday), Chile (Young Professionals), Costa Rica (Working Holiday), Costa Rica (Young Professionals), Croatia (Working Holiday), Czech Republic (Working Holiday), Denmark (Working Holiday), Finland (Working Holiday), France (Working Holiday), Germany (Working Holiday), Greece (Working Holiday), Ireland (Working Holiday), Italy (Working Holiday), Japan (Working Holiday), Latvia (Working Holiday), Netherlands (Working Holiday), Netherlands (Young Professionals), New Zealand (Working Holiday), Poland (Working Holiday), Portugal (Working Holiday), Slovenia (Working Holiday),S lovakia (Working Holiday), Spain (Working Holiday), Sweden (Working Holiday), Taiwan (Working Holiday), United Kingdom (Working Holiday).

Canada IEC Pools in 2026

Date of the IEC Pools update: September 18, 2026

Total number of candidates in the IEC Pools: 49,384

As of September 18, the IEC pools have 49,384 candidates, up from 47,722 last week.

These 49,384 candidates are competing for just 3,531 spots, and many Working Holiday pools now have very low chances of receiving an invitation. Competition is particularly high in some of the largest pools, where candidate numbers far exceed the spots remaining.

For example, the French Working Holiday pool has over 20,000 candidates, while the Chilean Working Holiday pool has over 8,000. Together, those two pools account for over 28,000 of the 49,384 candidates currently in the system.

In-Demand Programs for IEC 2026

The programs with the highest number of candidates in the pool, as of September 4, 2026, are:

• France Working Holiday: 20,621
• Chile Working Holiday: 8,572
• United Kingdom Working Holiday: 5,282
• Taiwan Working Holiday: 2,647
• Costa Rica Working Holiday: 2,362

Remember that selection from the IEC pool is not first-come, first-served, so don’t let the number of people in the pool put you off.

Everything You Need for Your IEC Adventure

IEC Pools distribution per country

Here’s the data from the most recent IRCC update. To check your country’s odds for receiving an invitation, check out our IEC tracker.

IEC Rounds of Invitations: Running Tally of Invitations for 2026

Keen to see how the round sizes have been trending over time? Here are all the details:

Finding a job for the 2026 IEC season

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.

Young Guns Container Crew

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:

Further Resources for IEC Candidates

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.

• Health insurance is a mandatory requirement for IEC — compare prices for IEC health insurance options with a free quote comparison from BestQuote
• Check your real-time odds of receiving an Invitation to Apply for IEC. 
• Increase your chances by applying for the best IEC program for your profile. Read our article about  Which IEC Category is Right for me?

Facebook

• Join our IEC Working Holiday group on Facebook
• Get updates on our Moving2Canada Facebook page

Employment tips

• For construction and engineering jobs, visit our Outpost Recruitment agency
• How to adapt to the resume format in Canada (or ‘CV’)

Canada IEC Pools and Rounds of invitations FAQs

What is an IEC pool?

An IEC pool is a group of candidates who have submitted a profile for the International Experience Canada (IEC) program and are waiting to receive an invitation to apply for a work permit. Each country and category, such as Working Holiday or Young Professionals, has its own separate pool. During each IEC round of invitations, candidates are randomly selected from the pool until the quota for that round is filled.