Canada has invited 752 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to apply for permanent residence in an Express Entry round held on October 13, 2026. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 772.
This was the 448th Express Entry round overall and the 60th of 2026. At 752 invitations, it is the largest PNP round since the 955 issued on June 22, and the 772 cut-off is the highest for a PNP round since May 25, when the minimum was 805. It is 47 points above the September 28 PNP round, which invited 733 candidates at 725. It is also the first Express Entry round of any kind since the October 1 trades occupations draw.
Full Details of the October 13 Provincial Nominee Program Draw
| Draw detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Round type | Provincial Nominee Program |
| Round number | 448 |
| Date and time | October 13, 2026 at 10:25:58 UTC |
| Number of invitations issued | 752 |
| CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited | 772 |
| Tie-breaking rule | July 15, 2026 at 13:57:33 UTC |
The tie-breaking rule means that candidates with a CRS score of 772 who submitted their Express Entry profile before 13:57:33 UTC on July 15, 2026 received an invitation. Candidates with the same score who entered the pool after that moment did not.
Provincial Nominee Program Express Entry Rounds in 2026
| Date | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| October 13, 2026 | 752 | 772 |
| September 28, 2026 | 733 | 725 |
| September 14, 2026 | 576 | 734 |
| August 31, 2026 | 562 | 697 |
| August 17, 2026 | 442 | 760 |
| August 4, 2026 | 507 | 768 |
| July 20, 2026 | 511 | 744 |
| July 6, 2026 | 534 | 708 |
| June 22, 2026 | 955 | 730 |
| May 25, 2026 | 334 | 805 |
| May 11, 2026 | 380 | 798 |
| April 27, 2026 | 473 | 795 |
| April 13, 2026 | 324 | 786 |
| March 30, 2026 | 356 | 802 |
| March 16, 2026 | 362 | 742 |
| March 2, 2026 | 264 | 710 |
| February 16, 2026 | 279 | 789 |
| February 3, 2026 | 423 | 749 |
| January 20, 2026 | 681 | 746 |
| January 5, 2026 | 574 | 711 |
Across those 20 rounds, IRCC has issued 10,022 invitations to Provincial Nominee Program candidates in 2026.
Express Entry in 2026 So Far
The October 13 round brings the 2026 running total to 135,967 invitations across 60 rounds.
As of October 12, 2026, there were 229,456 candidates in the Express Entry pool, down slightly from 229,904 on September 27. Of those, 749 had a CRS score between 601 and 1,200.
Why PNP Cut-Offs Are So High
A provincial nomination is worth 600 additional CRS points. A candidate invited at 772 in this round therefore held a base CRS score of roughly 172 before the nomination was added. PNP cut-offs are not comparable to Canadian Experience Class or category-based cut-offs for that reason.
To be invited in a PNP round, a candidate must already hold a nomination from a province or territory under the Express Entry-aligned (“enhanced”) portion of that province’s Provincial Nominee Program, and must have accepted the nomination in their Express Entry profile. Quebec does not participate in the Provincial Nominee Program and selects its own skilled workers through the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés.
Full details of each round are published on the Government of Canada’s rounds of invitations page.
If you do not hold a provincial nomination, your route into an Express Entry round is a general or category-based draw, where cut-offs are far lower than in PNP rounds and vary widely by draw type (the September 29 Canadian Experience Class round closed at 518, and the October 1 trades round at 476). Use our free CRS score calculator to work out your Comprehensive Ranking System score, see which draw types you are currently in range for, and identify which factors — language, education or Canadian work experience — would move you closest to an invitation.