September 3, 2026 Express Entry Draw: 229 Physician Invitations, CRS 198

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada held a new Express Entry draw on September 3, 2026. This round issued 229 invitations to apply for permanent residence. The draw targeted candidates in the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score was 198.

Latest round details

Here are the exact figures for the September 3, 2026 draw. The CRS score distribution of candidates in the pool is current as of August 30, 2026.

What a category-based round is

Express Entry runs three types of invitation rounds. These include general, program-specific, and category-based rounds.

In a category-based round, the Minister sets a specific category to meet an economic goal. Only candidates who meet the category requirements receive an invitation.

Candidates must also be eligible for one of the three main Express Entry programs. This specific round targeted the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category.

Who the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category is for

This new category (2026, Version 1) targets medical professionals. It selects physicians who have Canadian work experience in the healthcare sector.

The government created this pathway to help meet Canada's demand for doctors. It aims to retain foreign-trained medical professionals already working in Canada.

Why the CRS cut-off is 198

A CRS score of 198 is significantly lower than average. Category-based rounds select candidates from a small, specialized pool.

When a draw targets a narrow group like physicians, the cut-off reflects those specific candidates. It can fall far below the scores seen in general or program-specific draws.

A low cut-off here does not mean general draws will drop to similar levels.

What the tie-breaking rule means

The tie-breaking rule applies if multiple candidates share the lowest CRS score of 198. The system uses the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.

Anyone with a score of 198 who submitted before August 6, 2026 at 19:40:38 UTC received an invitation. Those who submitted after this exact timestamp did not.

What happens next for invited candidates

The 229 invited candidates received an Invitation to Apply (ITA). This gives them a limited window to submit a complete permanent residence application.

Candidates must gather their supporting documents quickly. They must submit their final application before the deadline expires.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Readers should consult a licensed immigration consultant or lawyer about their own specific situation.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/rounds-invitations.html

What This Data Tells Us

A cut-off of 198 is the lowest figure in the 2026 data, and it says almost nothing about competition. In a category this narrow, the number reflects how few physicians were in the pool rather than how difficult it was to be selected.

That is the defining feature of category-based selection. Once IRCC opens a category, eligibility replaces score as the deciding factor, and a profile that would never clear a general round becomes competitive immediately.

The contrast with the same week makes the point. A CEC round on September 1 required 521 and a PNP round on August 31 required 697, while this one required 198. What separated them was which door IRCC opened.

Targeting physicians already working in Canada also reveals the intent. This is a retention measure aimed at doctors the health system already depends on, not a recruitment drive abroad.

For candidates in other fields, the lesson is not that scores are falling. It is that identifying which category your background fits is worth more than points added inside the general pool.