What Lies Ahead For IRCC: Express Entry Reforms, Budget Cuts, and More

For the most part, the plan is consistent with IRCC’s immigration levels plans and recent policy announcements around reducing temporary resident numbers and prioritizing economic immigration. 

But it also proposes meaningful changes to Express Entry, including bringing back CRS points for job offers. Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations and certifications for regulated occupations could soon earn CRS points as well. 

Here’s what the plan says, and what it means for you. 

Key Takeaways 

• IRCC plans to add CRS points in Express Entry for job offers, Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations, and certifications for regulated occupations. 

• There’s increased focus on attracting and retaining newcomers who are already contributing to the economy or can do so quickly. 

• Focus on compliance in temporary residence programs, with targets to reduce asylum claims. 

• Focus on Francophone candidates remains strong, for both temporary and permanent residence. 

• IRCC to cut costs by 15% over three years, with reductions to settlement services, interim federal health and housing programs. 

Express Entry Reforms: Changes to CRS Points  

IRCC’s plan confirms that upcoming reforms for the Express Entry system. Although no details are included on when these will be implemented, three areas of potential reform are mentioned: 

Addition of Points for Job Offers 

Until March 2025, most Express Entry candidates with LMIA-backed job offers received 50 extra CRS points. Candidates with senior managerial experience (NOC 00) were eligible for 200 CRS points. 

IRCC “temporarily” removed these points citing an increase in LMIA-related fraud. As a side-effect, experienced senior managers and executives, who typically score low on age, lost a key advantage in the pool. 

IRCC hasn’t clarified when job offer points will be reinstated, or whether points will remain the same as before. But the fact that job offer points are still on IRCC’s agenda is good news for many Express Entry candidates. 

Points for Canadian Experience in High-Wage Occupations 

The plan mentions high-wage Canadian work experience as a factor that could earn more CRS points. But IRCC has not defined what wage threshold would apply.  

The term “high wage” is used differently across programs. For instance, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the high-wage threshold currently ranges from $30 per hour ($62,000 annually) in Atlantic Canada to $48 per hour ($99,840 annually) in Northwest Territories. Under the Global Talent Stream, wages for a “unique and specialized position” must be at least $80,000 per year. On the other hand, BC PNP draws under the Skills Immigration category, which select candidates who will create high economic impact in British Columbia, have had minimum income thresholds ranging between $125,000 and $175,000 per year in the last six months. 

It remains to be seen what this change will look like in practice. But it aligns with IRCC’s efforts to prioritize in-Canada applicants already contributing to the economy. 

Rewarding Regulated Occupation Certifications 

IRCC is also considering rewarding candidates who are certified in regulated occupations, including medicine, nursing, education, and trades. Getting licenced in Canada is often a lengthy process, and many professionals arrive in Canada before they are certified. 

Regulated sectors like healthcare, education, and trades are also where Canada faces its most persistent labour shortages. Adding CRS points for certification would create an incentive to complete that process before applying for PR. In practice, this will reduce the time is takes newcomers in regulated occupations to enter the labour market. 

This is not an entirely new concept. Under the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), candidates with a certificate of qualification already receive 50 CRS points under skills transferability. 

IRCC has not released any information on this proposed change. What remains to be seen is which regulated occupations will be covered and how many points a licence would be worth. 

Canada’s Talent Attraction Strategy 

The plan confirms that category-based selection categories will be updated for 2026 to address labour gaps and retain those already working in Canada. This is consistent with how the program has been managed since category-based draws were introduced. 

IRCC’s plan also brings some positive news for entrepreneurs. The department plans to launch a new Start-Up Visa pilot. IRCC had stopped accepting applications under the old Start-Up Visa program in December 2025 after processing times ballooned to over ten years. 

The new pilot will focus on “elite” entrepreneurs. The eligibility criteria and program elements will address the issues that came up in the previous program. No other information on this pilot has been released yet. 

Stronger Focus on Retention and Integration 

IRCC wants economic immigrants to be employed at a rate 9.5 percentage points above the national average, two years after landing. This is an ambitious target. In 2025, the unemployment rate among newcomers who had been in Canada for less than five years was 10.6%, compared to 6.2% for people born in Canada. 

Closing that gap means selecting people who can enter the labour market quickly. This means selecting and retaining high-skilled people with job offers and certifications. Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants have historically had the highest entry earnings among all admission categories, which explains the continued push to prioritize people already working in Canada. 

IRCC will also accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 temporary workers to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. Earlier this month, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced that the TR-to-PR program has already started, but no details have been released yet.  

Francophone Immigration 

The Immigration Levels Plan set a Francophone target for permanent residents outside Quebec at 9% for 2026, growing to 10.5% by 2028. To this end, IRCC is exploring TR-to-PR pathways specifically for French-speakers. It will also continue the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot for communities outside Quebec. 

IRCC’s plan also sets a retention target. At least 82% of these French-speaking permanent residents should still be living outside Quebec after three years. 

Temporary Residents: Lower Volumes and Tighter Scrutiny 

The 2026-2028 Levels Plan targets 385,000 new temporary residents in 2026, down from 673,650 in 2025. Targets for 2027 and 2028 sit at 370,000 each year. Canada still wants students and workers, but there’s more effort to control the number and quality of temporary residents. 

Cracking Down on Misuse and Fraud 

A recurring theme in the plan is program integrity and facilitating the entry of genuine temporary residents. IRCC wants temporary residents to leave Canada before their visitor visas, work or study permits expire. To that end, one of IRCC’s targets is to keep asylum claims among work permit and study permit holders to 1% or less. 

IRCC will take several steps to improve program integrity, including: 

• Using AI to detect altered or fraudulent documents 

• Continuing verification of letters of acceptance from DLIs. 

• Increasing consequences for non-compliance among employers of temporary workers 

• Introducing a new authority for language testing under the International Mobility Program (IMP) 

• Enhancing automated information sharing for electronic travel authorization (eTA) applicants 

To increase transparency and reduce Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests, IRCC plans to release officer decision notes with refusal letters for temporary resident visas, visitor records, study permits, and work permits. 

Refining Temporary Residence Programs 

The plan mentions upcoming labour mobility pathways for entrepreneurs and highly skilled workers. Details for these pathways have not been confirmed yet. A new foreign labour stream for agriculture and fish processing is also being developed with ESDC. 

Meanwhile, the department will continue monitoring outcomes of the new rules for Post-Graduation Work Permits and Spousal Open Work Permits. Eligibility criteria for both these streams were tightened in 2024-2025. IRCC’s plan suggests more changes may be required to meet labour market needs and temporary residence targets. 

Growing Focus on Francophone Temporary Residents 

IRCC is renewing the Francophone Mobility stream to improve economic outcomes for francophone workers. It will also continue the Francophone Minority Community Student Pilot for students who want to study in francophone communities outside Quebec. 

Budget Cuts to Impact Some IRCC Programs 

As part of the 2025 Federal Budget, all federal departments, including IRCC, were required to cut operating costs by 15% over three years. To meet that target, IRCC has outlined several specific measures: 

• Reducing funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program, in line with fewer asylum claimants 

• Moving employer compliance inspections under the IMP to Employment and Social Development Canada 

• Introducing co-payments for prescription medication and dental care under the Interim Federal Health Program 

• Limiting settlement services for economic class permanent residents who arrived five or six years ago. 

What to Watch for Next 

The Departmental Plan is only a roadmap. The details, including how Express Entry points for job offers and Canadian work experience will be structured, haven’t been published yet. 

That said, if you’re planning to apply for PR in the coming year, the plan gives you direction on how to improve your chances: 

• Getting a job offer may be beneficial again. Although it is unclear how many points a job offer will be worth, starting your job search before applying for PR is a good idea. 

• If you’re in a regulated occupation, start your licensing process now. Not only will this shorten your job search process but may also lead to more CRS points. 

• If you’re already in Canada, pivoting towards a high-wage occupation may help increase your likelihood of selection. 

Join the Moving2Canada community to get the latest immigration updates delivered to your inbox. 

What to Watch for Next 

The Departmental Plan is only a roadmap. The details, including how Express Entry points for job offers and Canadian work experience will be structured, haven’t been published yet. 

That said, if you’re planning to apply for PR in the coming year, the plan gives you direction on how to improve your chances: 

• Getting a job offer may be beneficial again. Although it is unclear how many points a job offer will be worth, starting your job search before applying for PR is a good idea. 

• If you’re in a regulated occupation, start your licensing process now. Not only will this shorten your job search process but may also lead to more CRS points. 

• If you’re already in Canada, pivoting towards a high-wage occupation may help increase your likelihood of selection. 

Join the Moving2Canada community to get the latest immigration updates delivered to your inbox.