Labour market integration replaces Canadian work experience
IRCC compares the points you could get from your Canadian work experience with the points for a qualifying job offer, and gives you whichever is higher. “You can only receive points for Canadian work experience or an eligible job offer, not both.” IRCC: 2026 changes
The Canadian work option starts with work-length points, which are the same as the old Canadian work experience factor:
| Canadian work experience | No accompanying spouse or partner | With an accompanying spouse or partner |
|---|---|---|
| None, or less than a year | 0 | 0 |
| 1 year | 40 | 35 |
| 2 years | 53 | 46 |
| 3 years | 64 | 56 |
| 4 years | 72 | 63 |
| 5 years or more | 80 | 70 |
On top of work length, 12 months of qualifying Canadian work in high-wage occupations adds 20, 40 or 70 points. The job offer option pays 50, 70 or 100 points. Both depend on the occupation’s level on IRCC’s list:
| Occupation level on IRCC’s list | 12 months of Canadian work in it | A qualifying job offer in it | Occupations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2×: at least twice the average median wage | +70 on top of work length | 100 | 31 |
| 1.5×: at least 1.5 times, but less than twice, the average median wage | +40 on top of work length | 70 | 89 |
| 1.3×: at least 1.3 times, but less than 1.5 times, the average median wage | +20 on top of work length | 50 | 66 |
With five years of work in a 2× occupation, the Canadian work option reaches the maximum: 80 + 70 = 150 without a partner, or 70 + 70 = 140 with one. A job offer is worth the same with or without a partner.
What counts as a high-wage occupation
A job is a high-wage occupation if the median wage of everyone in Canada working in that NOC is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the Canadian workforce. The level belongs to the occupation, not to you: it is “not determined based on a person’s specific job position or salary.” IRCC: high-wage occupations
- The list in force from November 3, 2026 has 186 NOCs: 31 at the 2× level, 89 at 1.5× and 66 at 1.3×. It is based on wage data from 2023 to 2025.
- High-wage work points need at least 1 year (12 months or 1,560 hours) of qualifying Canadian work in one or more listed occupations. It can be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time, and combined across jobs.
- If the list changes after you are invited to apply, IRCC keeps using the level that applied on the date of your invitation.
Check your own NOC on the full list of high-wage occupations, by code and level.
Job offers: points again, and no LMIA
IRCC reintroduced job offer points. To earn them, an offer must be valid under Express Entry and be for a position in an eligible high-wage occupation. Since November 3, 2026:
- a job offer does not need an LMIA to count for program eligibility or CRS points, and having an LMIA gives no extra points or priority;
- offers may be for an existing or a new position, with an existing or a new employer;
- an officer assesses whether the offer is genuine when you apply for permanent residence.
Program eligibility is a separate question. For the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs, a qualifying offer can be in any eligible TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job, so an offer may count for eligibility but earn no CRS points.
IRCC says its online profile system does not yet reflect the change and may still ask for LMIA details. Follow IRCC’s instructions for entering a job offer without an LMIA exactly when you update your profile.
Before and after: six worked examples
Each profile below is the same person, single, 30, with a bachelor’s degree and CLB 9 in all four abilities, scored twice by the TrackMyPR CRS calculator. The “before” score uses work length alone in place of labour market integration, which is what the old factor paid; job offers had earned no CRS points since March 25, 2025.
| Profile | Before | From Nov 3, 2026 | Change | Labour market integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years of Canadian work as a software developer (NOC 21232, 1.5× level) | 463 | 503 | +40 | Work length 64 + high-wage 40 |
| 5 years of Canadian work as a computer and information systems manager (NOC 20012, 2× level) | 479 | 549 | +70 | Work length 80 + high-wage 70 |
| No Canadian work; 3 years abroad and a job offer as a family physician (NOC 31102, 2× level) | 424 | 524 | +100 | Job offer 100, higher than Canadian work 0 |
| 1 year of Canadian work outside the list, and a job offer as a web developer (NOC 21234, 1.3× level) | 427 | 437 | +10 | Job offer 50, higher than Canadian work 40 |
| With an accompanying partner who adds no points of their own: 2 years of Canadian work as a registered nurse (NOC 31301, 1.5× level) | 419 | 459 | +40 | Work length 46 + high-wage 40 |
| 3 years of Canadian work in an occupation that is not on the high-wage list | 463 | 463 | none | Work length 64 only |
The last row shows that Canadian work outside the list scores exactly what it did before. In the fourth, the job offer counts because it beats one year of Canadian work; the two are not added together. These are illustrations with stated assumptions, not predictions of an invitation.
What did not change
Age, education, first and second official language, the spouse or partner factors and every additional factor (provincial nomination, French, Canadian study, a sibling in Canada) are scored as before. Skill transferability still uses years of Canadian work only, not high-wage points or a job offer. The maximums:
| Part of the score | Before Nov 3, 2026 | From Nov 3, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Core factors, no accompanying partner | 500 | 570 |
| Core factors, with an accompanying partner | 460 | 530 |
| Canadian work (now labour market integration), no partner | 80 | 150 |
| Canadian work (now labour market integration), with a partner | 70 | 140 |
| Spouse or partner factors | 40 | 40 |
| Skill transferability | 100 | 100 |
| Additional points | 600 | 600 |
| Maximum CRS score | 1,200 | 1,270 |
What it means for draws
When the rules changed, IRCC began recalculating the scores of profiles already in the pool, which it said could take up to 2 weeks, and paused invitation rounds until the recalculation is complete. Cut-offs from draws held before November 3, 2026 were set under the old grid, so compare them with care. See the latest Express Entry draw and when draws resume.
Extra points do not guarantee an invitation: invitations still depend on each round’s requirements and cut-off.
Sources
- IRCC: 2026 changes to points for Canadian work experience and job offers
- IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) criteria
- IRCC: High-wage occupations and how we assess them
- Ministerial Instructions Amending the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Express Entry System, 2026-1
- IRCC backgrounder: Changes to Express Entry for high-wage occupations
- IRCC news release: Canada refocusing Express Entry on top talent (October 16, 2026)