On October 16, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced changes to Express Entry that take effect on November 3, 2026. The same week, IRCC’s application status tracker is back online, and Thunder Bay is hosting a newcomer welcome afternoon on October 28.
What changes on November 3
The October 16 news release and the backgrounder describe a new Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) factor called labour market integration. It replaces the old arranged-employment points. You can receive points for either:
- eligible Canadian work experience, based on how long you worked, with extra points when that experience is in a high-wage occupation, or
- a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation.
If you qualify for both, IRCC uses whichever option gives more points. The two are not added together. The maximum under this factor is 150 CRS points without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner (up to 80 for length of Canadian work experience plus up to 70 for high-wage experience) and 140 with an accompanying spouse or partner.
A high-wage occupation is one whose median wage across Canada is at least 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. IRCC says this is based on the typical earnings of the occupation in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), not on your own salary and not on how far an offered wage sits above a regional median. The backgrounder sets three levels:
- Job-offer points: 100 at 2 times the median, 70 at 1.5 times, and 50 at 1.3 times.
- Extra points for Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation: 70, 40, or 20 at those same levels, on top of the points you already get for how long you have worked in Canada.
Northern Ontario candidates should check the occupation list IRCC publishes, because a job in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, or Timmins is scored on the national occupation median, not on a separate Northern Ontario wage grid. IRCC says the list is built from Job Bank, Labour Force Survey, and Census wage data.
LMIA no longer required for a qualifying offer
Starting November 3, 2026, a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) is not required for a qualifying job offer to earn the new points, or to meet the job-offer rules for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. IRCC says officers will still check that the offer is genuine. A revoked offer no longer qualifies. Read the backgrounder before you rely on an offer.
Update your profile before November 3
People already in the pool will have Canadian work-experience points recalculated automatically. Invitation rounds pause for up to about two weeks from November 3 while that recalculation runs, then draws start again.
Job-offer points are different. The news release says candidates who want points for a qualifying job offer must update their Express Entry profile with the required job-offer information before November 3. The backgrounder tells candidates to review the profile and confirm that the job-offer information is complete and accurate. This is not a guarantee of an invitation. Cut-off scores still depend on each round.
This site does not tell you how to fill in the profile. A regulated immigration consultant, a Canadian lawyer, or a free settlement worker can help. In Thunder Bay, start with the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association or our settlement services guide.
The application status tracker is back
IRCC’s Application Status Tracker has been relaunched. The tracker page says you can use it after you receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR), and that the information in the account is updated daily. It currently covers spouse, partner, or dependent-child sponsorship; Express Entry (Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominee Program, Federal Skilled Workers, and Federal Skilled Trades); study permits; work permits; and visitor visas.
IRCC’s help-centre answer, What does my status mean in the application status tracker?, says the account shows four sections:
- Eligibility
- Medical exam
- Background verification
- Biometrics
Each section can read Not started, Waiting on you, In progress, Completed, or Exempted. “Waiting on you” means IRCC needs more information or documents. The same page says the “Your next steps” area is where IRCC tells you what to send, such as police certificates, passports, fees, or biometrics. Check that area, and your IRCC messages, as soon as a section says “Waiting on you.” The check-status page explains the other ways to look up a file, including the daily Client Application Status tool for paper applications.
The tracker page says the relaunched tool went live for applicants to sign in with a bank partner or GCKey, using an application number and a unique client identifier (UCI). Sign-in problems are described on that same page. The tool was taken offline on May 14, 2026, according to IRCC’s May 28, 2026 committee note, and the public tracker page now says it has been relaunched.
Stay in the Bay 3.0 — October 28
The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association lists Stay in the Bay 3.0 — Newcomer Welcome Day on its events page:
- When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Where: Italian Cultural Centre, 132 Algoma St S, Thunder Bay
Confirm the listing on TBMA’s events page before you go. Details can change.
Where to read it yourself
- News release, October 16, 2026
- Backgrounder on high-wage occupation points
- Application Status Tracker
- What the tracker statuses mean
- TBMA events
If a line on this page and a canada.ca page disagree, use canada.ca. For the Rural Community Immigration Pilot in Northern Ontario’s five participating cities, see our RCIP fall 2026 update.
Last reviewed: October 27, 2026.