1. Draw details: highest PNP cut-off of 2026

The May 25 round was the 28th Express Entry draw of 2026 and the second of May, targeting Provincial Nominee Program candidates. To be considered, candidates needed to meet two conditions:

• Hold a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 805; and
• Have created an Express Entry profile before 18:16 (UTC) on October 16, 2025.

At 805, the cut-off rose seven points from the previous PNP draw earlier in May (798), signalling continued intense competition among high-scoring provincial nominees in the pool. Because a valid provincial nomination automatically adds 600 CRS points, the effective base-score threshold — excluding the nomination bonus — sits at roughly 200 points, still indicative of a relatively well-qualified applicant cohort.

The 334 ITAs issued represent the smallest PNP draw since February 16 (279 ITAs) and a clear step down from the several PNP rounds earlier in the year that issued anywhere from 300 to nearly 500 invitations.

2. 2026 draw composition: provincial nominees and in-Canada streams dominate

Across the year, IRCC has stuck with a consistent rhythm — alternating PNP-only rounds with CEC and targeted category-based draws — and channeling selection toward candidates already in Canada or holding provincial backing. As of May 25, the 28 Express Entry rounds of 2026 break down as follows:

PNP has been the most frequently used category in 2026 with 11 rounds, followed by the Canadian Experience Class with 8 — together accounting for nearly seven in every ten draws. By contrast, the pure Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) stream, which is dominated by overseas candidates, has not yet received a dedicated draw of its own in 2026.

3. Year-to-date ITAs cross 72,000, with CEC and French taking more than 80%

By ITA volume, IRCC has issued 72,341 invitations in 2026 so far, distributed as follows:

The CEC and French-language streams alone account for 60,250 ITAs, or about 83.3% of the year-to-date total. The composition tracks closely with IRCC's broader pivot toward "in-Canada conversion" — drawing permanent residents from temporary work-permit holders, Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) graduates and French-speaking talent. It is worth noting that although PNP has hosted the most draws, individual round sizes tend to be small, leaving the program third in cumulative ITAs across the seven categories — roughly one-eighth of the CEC total.

4. Policy backdrop: PNP target raised, overall PR levels held steady

The pace and sizing of recent draws should be read against the broader recalibration of Canada's immigration plans. Under the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, the federal government has raised the PNP permanent residence target to 91,500 in 2026 — up from 55,000 in the previous 2025–2027 plan, a roughly 66% increase — with the three-year range holding between 91,500 and 92,500. IRCC has framed the increase as a way to support regional labour market needs and "nation-building" projects.

At the same time, total annual permanent resident admissions are being held essentially flat at around 380,000 a year through 2026–2028, while temporary resident volumes (study permits, work permits) are being tightened more sharply. Within this framework, Budget 2025 explicitly calls for about 33,000 temporary residents already in Canada to be transitioned to permanent residence during 2026 — turning the PNP and CEC streams into the two principal channels for that "in-Canada conversion" objective, and helping to explain why IRCC has continued to favour candidates with provincial nominations or Canadian work experience in its 2026 Express Entry rounds.

5. What it means for applicants: provincial nominations remain the surest path, but thresholds keep rising

For applicants preparing for or already in the Express Entry pool, the latest draw sends two reasonably clear signals. First, a provincial nomination remains the most reliable route into a PNP draw: the automatic 600-point CRS bonus tied to a valid nomination means that even candidates with modest base scores are virtually assured an ITA in a PNP-only round. Second, the PNP threshold is steadily climbing — the two May PNP draws settled at 798 and 805 respectively, with round sizes between 300 and 500 ITAs — meaning that even nominated candidates should pay attention to their time in the pool and overall scoring, particularly language results (English/French), age and Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

Multiple immigration practitioners reading the 2026 trend have noted that IRCC is leaning more heavily on category-precise selection than on simply widening the pool. Combined with the tightening of temporary resident volumes, the difficulty for overseas-only FSW candidates of being invited through Express Entry directly is likely to remain elevated for some time. For applicants targeting Canadian permanent residence (PR) through Express Entry, building a flexible strategy that combines a provincial nomination, CEC eligibility and category-based draws is increasingly the practical playbook for navigating the current invitation cadence.