Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Express Entry draw on August 4, 2026, issuing 507 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 768 — 24 points higher than the previous PNP-specific round on July 20, which invited 511 candidates at a cutoff of 744.
This was the 15th PNP-specific Express Entry draw of 2026 and the 43rd Express Entry round of the year. With this round, IRCC has now issued 105,123 invitations across all Express Entry draws in 2026.
The round ran at 10:39:04 UTC. The tie-breaking rule was May 15, 2026 at 15:58:19 UTC, meaning candidates sitting exactly on the 768 cutoff were invited only if they had submitted their Express Entry profile before that date and time.
First Round in 12 Days
The August 4 draw was IRCC’s first invitation round in 12 days, and the first of August. The previous draw was the July 23 Skilled Military Recruits round — a first-of-its-kind category-based selection that issued just four ITAs. Before that pause, IRCC ran an unusually dense sequence, holding four rounds between July 20 and July 23 across PNP, Canadian Experience Class, French-language proficiency and the new military category.
Why the CRS Cutoff for PNP Draws Is So High
A cutoff of 768 looks steep next to general or category-based rounds, but it is normal for PNP-specific draws. A provincial or territorial nomination automatically adds 600 points to a candidate’s CRS score, so candidates invited in a PNP round almost always carry totals far above those seen in other draw types — even when their underlying base score, before the nomination, is modest. A candidate invited at the 768 cutoff would have held a base score of roughly 168 before the nomination bonus was applied.
The Nominated Cohort Is Running Thin
IRCC’s CRS score distribution for the Express Entry pool as of August 3, 2026 — the day before the draw — showed 500 candidates in the 601–1,200 band, the range where nominated candidates almost always sit. IRCC then issued 507 invitations the following day.
Because IRCC publishes these figures in rounded bands, and because profiles enter and leave the pool daily, the two numbers should not be read as an exact match. They do, however, point to a round that reached close to the full depth of the nominated cohort. That helps explain both the 24-point rise in the cutoff and why PNP round sizes have stayed near 500 since early July: IRCC appears to be inviting nominated candidates about as fast as provinces are producing them.
Who Was Eligible
To be invited on August 4, a candidate needed a valid nomination from a province or territory through an Express Entry-aligned (enhanced) PNP stream, an active Express Entry profile, and a CRS score of at least 768. Candidates who received an ITA have 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence, which IRCC aims to process within its six-month service standard.
Express Entry Pool and 2026 Activity
As of August 3, 2026, the Express Entry pool held 229,100 profiles, down from 231,533 in mid-July. Roughly 19,700 candidates sat in the 501–600 range and about 73,100 in the 451–500 band — the territory where most competitive Canadian Experience Class and category-based candidates are found.
Recent rounds ahead of the August 4 draw were the July 23 Skilled Military Recruits round (4 ITAs, CRS 368), the July 22 French-language proficiency round (5,000 ITAs, CRS 399), the July 21 Canadian Experience Class round (2,000 ITAs, CRS 516), and the July 20 PNP round (511 ITAs, CRS 744).
What Should Candidates Do Next?
If your goal is an invitation through a PNP round, the single most valuable step is securing a provincial nomination — the 600-point boost is what carries candidates over cutoffs like 768. Candidates without a nomination should focus on the CRS factors within their control: language test results, education credential assessments, and Canadian work experience.
To see exactly where you stand against the August 4 cutoff, calculate your score with our free Express Entry CRS calculator and compare your total — with and without a provincial nomination — against the 768 threshold.
Resources
- Express Entry Draws 2026 — full archive
- Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) calculator
- Express Entry: Rounds of invitations (Canada.ca)