First came a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw. Only 1,000 invitations were issued with a cutoff score of 533. Honestly, this wasn’t surprising.
Earlier this year, 27,500 in-Canada spots were shifted to the PNP stream, so smaller draws like this were bound to happen. With over 25,000 people still in the 501–600 CRS range, a draw of just 1,000 barely makes a dent.
Then, just a day later on Oct 29, came the Francophone category draw – a huge one with 6,000 invitations and a score of 416. While it’s great news for French-speaking candidates, the imbalance is hard to ignore.
After already inviting over 30,000 Francophone applicants this year (out of a 41,000 target), it’s clear that the focus is heavily tilted toward this group. The message is obvious – French pays off.
For now, all eyes are on November 4th, when the new Immigration Levels Plan will be announced.
That’s when we’ll truly know whether 2026 will bring balance… or more political optics.
