The federal government has taken the first step toward overhauling how it selects skilled workers for permanent residence through Express Entry. A public consultation survey running from August 4 to September 1, 2026, signals that category-based selection (CBS) — the system used to prioritize workers in targeted occupations like healthcare and skilled trades — is about to get a significant refresh.
Canada plans to admit 122,000 permanent residents through Express Entry in 2027. The direction of those invitations is shifting, and the government wants public input on where to direct them.
The four focus areas
IRCC has identified four specific groups that will inform changes to CBS categories starting in 2027:
- United States H-1B visa holders
- Researchers
- Foreign nationals aligned with the International Talent Attraction Strategy (ITAS)
- Foreign nationals aligned with the Global Talent Stream (GTS) of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Each of these areas represents a deliberate pivot toward higher-skilled, more specialized talent pools. The existing CBS framework already includes categories for healthcare workers, trades workers, STEM workers, and French-speaking applicants. These four new focus areas would add a layer of targeting that goes beyond occupation codes alone — they would consider visa history, research credentials, and alignment with specific federal talent strategies.
H-1B visa holders
The inclusion of U.S. H-1B visa holders as a dedicated CBS focus area is the most newsworthy signal in the consultation. The H-1B visa is a work visa issued by the United States to high-skilled workers, most commonly associated with technology and STEM occupations.
IRCC’s survey explicitly asks whether H-1B holders should be prioritized under CBS, clarifying that the focus would be on those “primarily in STEM occupations.” This is not a broad invitation for all H-1B holders — it is a targeted effort to attract workers who are already in the U.S. tech ecosystem but potentially dissatisfied with current conditions.
The political context is important. In September 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney made public comments about Canada’s plans to target tech talent affected by the United States’ H-1B visa fee increase. By November, the federal government had formalized these plans in Budget 2025, describing them as a strategy to “attract top talent in healthcare, research, advanced industries, and other key sectors.”
The H-1B visa fee hikes implemented by the current U.S. administration have made working in the United States significantly more expensive for foreign tech workers. Many H-1B holders face uncertainty about visa renewals, longer processing times, and the threat of sudden policy changes. Canada is positioning itself as an alternative destination for exactly this group — workers who already have U.S.-level skills and experience but are looking for more stable pathways to permanent residence.
What makes this particularly strategic is that H-1B holders are already high-earning, English-speaking (in most cases), and working in occupations that Canada has identified as critical. They do not require language testing, credential assessment, or extensive skills verification. If Canada introduces a CBS category specifically for former or current H-1B holders with STEM backgrounds, these workers could move through Express Entry much faster than through the general pool.
The survey does not specify what threshold would qualify someone for this category — whether it requires a minimum salary, a specific duration of H-1B tenure, or particular NOC codes. That level of detail is still under development.
Researchers
The second focus area — researchers — introduces a new layer of targeting based on academic and scientific credentials rather than occupation codes alone.
IRCC has not provided a clear definition of who qualifies as a “researcher” under CBS. The consultation document references alignment with the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, a suite of programs announced in December 2025. According to the original news release, this initiative targets eight priority areas:
- Advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, cybersecurity)
- Health, including biotechnology
- Clean technology and resource value chains
- Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic
- Food and water security
- Democratic and community resilience
- Manufacturing and advanced materials
- Defence and dual-use technologies
The survey asks whether researchers should be prioritized based on whether they have Canadian work experience or not. This is a notable question because Express Entry already has an existing category for “Researchers with Canadian work experience” — introduced in February 2026 — which covers post-secondary teaching and research assistants (NOC 41201) and university professors and lecturers (NOC 41200).
The introduction of a broader “Researchers” category without the Canadian work experience requirement would significantly expand who qualifies. It would mean that researchers currently working abroad — particularly in the priority areas listed above — could receive priority invitations to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry.
This makes sense from Canada’s competitiveness perspective. Countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany have all introduced researcher-specific immigration pathways in recent years. Canada is attempting to maintain its position as a destination for top-tier academic talent by giving researchers a faster route to permanent residence.
The survey also asks respondents whether the researcher category should be limited to specific fields or remain broad. This suggests IRCC is still weighing whether a narrow, targeted approach (limited to the eight priority areas) or a broader approach (any published researcher with sufficient CRS points) would be more effective.
International Talent Attraction Strategy (ITAS)
The third focus area — alignment with ITAS — is the most abstract of the four. According to a February 2026 backgrounder, ITAS refers to page 99 of Budget 2025, which references “a targeted, one-time initiative to recruit over a thousand highly qualified researchers to Canada.”
Three types of researchers are mentioned under ITAS:
- Research chairs (established professors)
- Doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows (early career researchers)
- International assistant professors (generally early career researchers)
The 2027 Express Entry categories consultation webpage indicates that changes to CBS informed by the ITAS focus area may relate to emerging technologies, healthcare, and/or skilled trades. This suggests that ITAS alignment would be used as a supplementary criterion — workers who are part of federally supported research programs or who have been recruited through ITAS channels would receive additional priority in CBS draws.
This approach mirrors how Canada already treats foreign nationals who have Canadian job offers or Canadian educational credentials — it rewards individuals who have already demonstrated a connection to Canada’s economy and research ecosystem.
Global Talent Stream (GTS) of the TFWP
The fourth focus area — alignment with the Global Talent Stream — is the most concrete and already overlaps significantly with existing Express Entry categories.
The GTS is a fast-track stream under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program that allows employers to hire foreign workers in as little as 10 days, exempt from usual Labour Market Impact Assessment advertising requirements. To qualify, workers must meet either Category A (unique and specialized position, minimum $80,000/year, advanced industry knowledge) or Category B (one of 22 eligible occupations, mostly STEM-heavy, particularly computer science and IT).
The consultation survey associates the GTS with highly skilled AI professionals. In a June 2026 press release, the federal government signaled intentions to establish an expedited work permit pathway under the GTS for AI professionals as part of its National AI Strategy, noting that this would be accompanied by additional measures to support transition to permanent residence.
Currently, there is an existing CBS category for STEM occupations that overlaps with GTS Category B on approximately four occupations. If Canada introduces a dedicated CBS category for GTS-aligned workers, it would effectively create a fast track from temporary work permit to permanent residence for the most in-demand tech talent.
What changes are being considered
The public consultation survey asks participants to rank the importance of each focus area, from “Great need” to “Don’t know/not sure.” Respondents can also identify specific occupations, sectors, or types of talent that they believe should be prioritized.
For each focus area, the survey asks whether priority should focus on foreign nationals within Canada, outside Canada, or both equally. This is significant because it determines whether the new categories would primarily benefit people already in Canada (who may be on temporary work permits) or whether they would also target talent abroad.
IRCC is also considering narrowing the number of CBS categories for 2027. The survey asks whether Canada should continue selecting skilled workers across all occupations facing shortages or narrow the focus to a smaller, more targeted set of occupations. Of the 10 existing Express Entry categories, all but two have seen draws in 2026: STEM (which hasn’t been used since 2024) and Researchers with Canadian work experience (introduced in February 2026).
Certain categories have been drawn far less frequently than others. The Trades, Transport, and Skilled Military Recruits categories have each been drawn only once in 2026. This suggests that IRCC may consolidate CBS into fewer, higher-impact categories rather than maintaining the current broad spread.
Broader Express Entry reforms
Category-based selection changes are only part of a larger overhaul of the Express Entry system. In April 2026, IRCC proposed sweeping changes that would eliminate the three current Express Entry programs (Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Trades Program) and replace them with a single streamlined program.
The proposed system would award bonus points based on wage levels — three tiers of bonus points for occupations paying at least 2x, 1.5x, and 1.3x the national median wage. This represents a fundamental shift from the current CRS model, which prioritizes youth, education, and language proficiency above all else.
Consultations for these broader reforms concluded in May 2026, and input is currently being analyzed. IRCC has set a 12- to 18-month window for complete rollout, but officials have indicated that some changes — including the high-wage occupation factor and CRS updates — could be introduced much sooner.
The combination of CBS category changes and broader Express Entry reforms suggests that 2027 will be a transformative year for skilled immigration to Canada. The direction is clear: higher wages, specialized skills, and strategic talent acquisition will matter more than ever.
Historical context and international comparison
To understand the significance of these changes, it helps to look at Canada’s Express Entry history and how other countries are approaching skilled immigration.
Express Entry launched in January 2015 as a points-based system designed to select economic immigrants based on human capital factors — age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and adaptability. For the first nine years, the system primarily awarded points through the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), with relatively few targeted draws.
Category-based selection was introduced in June 2023 as a way to supplement the general CRS pool with occupation-targeted invitations. Since then, IRCC has conducted numerous CBS rounds targeting healthcare workers, French speakers, STEM occupations, trades workers, and other groups.
By 2026, CBS had become a significant portion of Express Entry activity — with 18 category-based rounds alone in the first eight months of the year, resulting in over 58,000 invitations. This represents a fundamental shift from the system’s original design, where category-based draws were meant to be occasional supplements rather than the primary selection mechanism.
The proposed move toward wage-based CRS points represents an even more dramatic change. Currently, the maximum CRS score is 1,200 (600 for profile matching + 600 for core human capital). A wage-based system would add a new dimension: not just what you can do, but how much you earn. This directly rewards higher-earning professionals who contribute more to Canada’s tax base and economy.
Internationally, Canada faces increasing competition for skilled talent. The United States has implemented significant changes to H-1B visa fees and processing, making it less attractive for some foreign workers. The United Kingdom introduced a points-based immigration system in 2021 that prioritizes salary thresholds and skills shortages. Australia has consistently updated its skilled occupation lists in response to labour market needs. Germany introduced the EU Blue Card reform in 2024, lowering salary thresholds and expanding eligible occupations.
Canada’s four-pronged approach represents an attempt to stay competitive by targeting specific talent pools that align with national economic priorities. Whether this approach will be effective depends on implementation — particularly how the categories are defined, what thresholds are set, and how quickly changes can be rolled out.
Understanding the consultation process
The public consultation survey is an important step in Canada’s policy development process. IRCC uses these consultations to gather input from stakeholders, including immigration professionals, employers, and potential immigrants themselves.
The survey is available online and asks respondents to provide feedback on each of the four focus areas. Participants are asked to rank the importance of each group and explain their reasoning. They can also suggest specific occupations or sectors that should be prioritized.
This type of consultation typically takes six to eight weeks and is followed by analysis of the responses. The results are used to inform final policy decisions, which are then implemented through changes to the CBS selection framework.
While consultation results are not always publicly released, IRCC has indicated that changes informed by this survey could take effect as early as 2027. This means that the input provided during this consultation period could directly shape who receives invitations to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry in the coming year.
For immigration professionals and potential applicants, this consultation represents an opportunity to advocate for specific categories or occupations that they believe should be prioritized. It also provides valuable insight into the government’s thinking about future immigration policy direction.
What this means for applicants
If you are a skilled worker currently in or considering Express Entry, here is what to watch:
- **H-1B holders**: If you are an H-1B visa holder working in STEM, monitor CBS draw results closely. A dedicated category could dramatically improve your chances of receiving an invitation.
- **Researchers**: If you have published research in priority areas (AI, biotech, clean tech, etc.), your profile may become significantly more competitive when a new researcher category launches.
- **GTS workers**: If you are in Canada on a GTS work permit, particularly in AI or computer science, watch for announcements about expedited PR pathways.
- **ITAS-aligned workers**: If you have been recruited through federal research programs, your connection to ITAS could become a significant advantage in CBS draws.
- **High earners**: Under the proposed wage-based CRS reforms, higher-paying jobs will receive substantially more points. If your occupation pays above the national median, you should position yourself to benefit from these changes.
The consultation period closes on September 1, 2026. IRCC has not yet announced when it will release the results or what specific CBS category changes will be implemented for 2027. But the direction of travel is unmistakable — Canada is sharpening its focus on strategic, high-value talent.