Canada Express Entry 2026 opens PR for aviation, military, senior managers

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab says Canada will actively recruit researchers, health workers, pilots and skilled military recruits for PR

Canada introduced new immigration priority categories under its Express Entry system on Wednesday, widening the net to recruit skilled workers in research, health care, aviation and even certain military roles.

 

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the expansion during a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto, saying the country would take a more active approach to recruitment.

 

“Our Express Entry system is at the core of our approach for attracting and retaining the skilled workers Canada needs,” Diab said in Toronto.

 

“We're not waiting for the right people to find us. We will go out into the world to recruit the people our country needs, to connect them with Canadian employers and to highlight why Canada is the place, the best place, in the world to build their careers and lives,” she said.

   

New categories for 2026

 

Under the updated Express Entry framework, priority will be given to:

 

11. Researchers and senior managers

2. Pilots, aircraft mechanics and inspectors

3. Skilled military recruits

 

Those who qualify and receive an invitation will be placed on a fast-track pathway towards permanent residency.

 

Researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience will now be invited onto a pathway to permanent residency as part of a plan to drive innovation and economic growth.

 

Existing streams to continue

 

Diab said the new categories would sit alongside existing streams, which remain open to candidates with French language skills and relevant work experience.

 

Eligible health-care workers include:

 

Nurse practitioners

Dentists

Pharmacists

Psychologists

Chiropractors

 

Skilled trades that continue to be targeted include:

 

Carpenters

Plumbers

Machinists

 

Workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics also remain eligible under Express Entry, as part of Canada’s effort to support innovation and economic growth.

 

Aviation and armed forces recruitment

 

The government is also targeting aviation professionals, including pilots and aircraft mechanics, as part of a broader effort to strengthen supply chains and support economic resilience.

 

Diab said skilled military recruits would need a job offer from the Canadian Armed Forces to qualify under the new category.

 

Workers being considered for the Forces include doctors, nurses and pilots, among other roles.

 

“They'll be subject to the same security and all military requirements,” Diab said in Toronto. “This new category will support our government's commitment to strengthen our armed forces, to defend our sovereignty, and to keep Canadians safe.”

 

She added that the dedicated category for military members aligns with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new defence industrial strategy announced on Tuesday.

 

Attracting global researchers

 

The inclusion of senior managers and researchers is intended to bring leading talent to Canada, Diab said, describing it as part of a broader push to support domestic research and development.

 

In December, she announced plans to fast-track permanent residency for up to 5,000 doctors, over and above existing immigration levels, starting this year.

 

The physician pathway is open to doctors with at least one year of Canadian work experience in the past three years who currently hold a job offer. It is focused on primary care doctors as well as specialists in surgery, clinical medicine and laboratory medicine.

 

Balancing growth and capacity

 

According to Diab, both economic growth and public confidence in the immigration system were affected during the pandemic, when the federal government relied on immigration to fill urgent labour shortages.

 

“Unfortunately, it also grew our population faster than many Canadian communities could absorb, also putting pressure on housing, on infrastructure and on social services,” she said.

 

She said Canada has since reduced the number of new permanent residents to less than one per cent of the population. Non-permanent residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers, are being reduced to below five per cent of the population by 2027.

 

Monthly data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that new student arrivals in December fell below 10,000, compared with more than 90,000 in December 2023.

 

The number of temporary workers arriving in December also dropped to below 10,000, down from just over 30,000 in December 2023.