Canada has conducted a new Express Entry draw aimed at candidates with strong French-language proficiency, issuing 4,500 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) on May 28, 2026. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 409 points — nine points higher than the previous French-language draw on April 29, which issued 4,000 ITAs at a cutoff of 400.
The round ended a 29-day pause in French-language invitations and stands as the largest French-language draw of 2026 so far. The increase of 500 invitations relative to the April 29 round, paired with a nine-point cutoff rise, signals that IRCC is widening the gate on Francophone selection while still drawing from a pool that has thinned of high-scoring French speakers earlier in the year.
The tie-breaking timestamp was April 29, 2026 at 22:20:00 UTC. Candidates with a CRS score of exactly 409 needed to have submitted their Express Entry profile before that moment to receive an invitation.
Why the French-Language Cutoff Climbed to 409
French-language proficiency draws sit inside Canada’s category-based Express Entry selection and target candidates whose Test d’évaluation de français (TEF Canada) or Test de connaissance du français (TCF Canada) results meet or exceed Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in all four abilities — listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Candidates do not need to be in Canada to qualify; the category exists to support the federal target of 8.5% French-speaking permanent-resident admissions outside Quebec in 2026.
Compared with the April 29 round, the nine-point cutoff move reflects two pressures working in the same direction: the highest-scoring Francophone profiles from earlier 2026 draws have already been invited, and the four-week pause allowed the remaining pool’s relative composition to shift toward candidates with provincial nominations, Canadian work experience, or higher language test results. Issuing 4,500 ITAs in a single round pulled deeper into the pool than the April 29 draw, but the available depth was lower.
Express Entry Draws So Far in 2026
With today’s round, Canada has now conducted the following Express Entry draws in 2026:
- 11 Provincial Nominee Program draws
- 9 Canadian Experience Class draws
- 6 French-language proficiency draws
- 1 Healthcare and Social Services occupation draw
- 1 Physicians (Canadian work experience) draw
- 1 Senior Managers (Canadian work experience) draw
- 1 Trades Occupations draw
By comparison, Canada conducted the following Express Entry draws in 2025:
- 24 Provincial Nominee Program draws
- 14 Canadian Experience Class draws
- Eight French-language proficiency draws
- Seven Healthcare and Social Services occupation draws
- Two Education occupation draws
- One Trades occupation draw
Tie-Breaking Rule and Round Number
The tie-breaking rule for this round was April 29, 2026 at 22:20:00 UTC. If more than one candidate held the minimum CRS score of 409, only those who submitted their Express Entry profiles before that date and time received invitations.
This was the 30th round of invitations under Express Entry in 2026 and the 418th overall since the system was launched in January 2015.
Candidates who received an ITA have 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence, which is typically processed within the six-month service standard.
French Draws Are Back — With Larger Rounds and a Higher Cutoff
With May 28, IRCC has now run two PNP-only rounds, one Canadian Experience Class round, and one French-language round in May 2026. The May 28 draw is the second-largest of any kind in 2026 — behind only the May 27 CEC round at 3,000 — and the largest non-CEC, non-PNP draw of the year.
The category-based selection landscape remains uneven. The last Trades Occupations draw was on April 2, and no Healthcare and Social Services round has occurred since the single such draw earlier in 2026. Education and Transport categories have not yet been invoked in 2026. Candidates eligible for those categories should keep their Express Entry profiles active and their supporting documents — language test results, immigration medicals, police certificates — current in case category-based selection resumes through the summer.
What Should Candidates Do Next?
If you held a CRS score between roughly 400 and 420 going into this round and have certified CLB 7 French, the May 28 draw is the clearest signal yet that Francophone selection is active again at a higher cutoff. The fastest way to understand where you stand is to calculate your CRS score with our free Express Entry CRS calculator and compare it against the 409 cutoff. Candidates sitting just below the cutoff should focus on the highest-leverage CRS gains — a higher TEF or TCF result, an English test added on top of French (which unlocks the official-languages combination points), or a confirmed provincial nomination — to move into invitation range before the next French round.
Candidates without certified French at CLB 7 should monitor Provincial Nominee Program activity. A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points and effectively bypasses competition in the Express Entry pool, which is how May’s PNP-only rounds reached candidates with base CRS scores around 200.
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