Canada Rewards High Earners in Express Entry Overhaul

Ottawa is reshaping Express Entry to favour high-wage workers. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced October 16 in Kitchener that, starting November 3, 2026, candidates with job offers or Canadian work experience in 186 higher-paying occupations will earn extra CRS points — up to 100 for a qualifying job offer and up to 70 for Canadian work experience.

The points come through a new CRS section called the Labour Market Integration Factor, with three wage tiers: occupations paying at least double the national median earn the full bonus, with smaller awards at 1.5x and 1.3x the median.

In a major simplification, the LMIA is gone — qualifying job offers no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment under the Federal Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades programs, though IRCC will still verify that offers are genuine.

Already in the pool? Scores recalculate automatically (allow up to two weeks), with draws paused during the transition.

Bottom line: if you work in a high-paying field — engineers, electricians, software developers and the like — your CRS score may be about to jump.