IRCC issued 300 ITAs on August 7, 2026 in the first Express Entry draw under its revamped Transport category, at a CRS cutoff of 470.
On August 7, 2026, IRCC ran its first-ever draw under the revamped Transport category — 300 Invitations to Apply at a CRS cutoff of 470. If you work in aviation maintenance, rail, or trucking and have been waiting for this category to actually produce a draw, the wait is over.
IRCC issued 300 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates eligible under the Transport category, requiring a minimum CRS score of 470. Candidates needed to have created their Express Entry profile before 2:55 p.m. UTC on October 11, 2025 — meaning some invited candidates had been sitting in the pool for nearly ten months. This was the 46th Express Entry draw of 2026, arriving the day after the August 6 French-language draw and continuing a week that also included CEC and PNP rounds.
Transport isn't a new name — it's a comeback. IRCC pulled Transport out of category-based selection in February 2025, and it sat unused for over a year. When the category returned in February 2026, IRCC rebuilt the eligible occupation list from scratch, and it took another six months for the first candidates to actually be selected. That's an unusually long runway even by category-based draw standards: the Trades category, by comparison, ran its first 2026 draw within weeks of being confirmed.
The small draw size — 300 ITAs against 3,000-5,000 for CEC or French rounds — tells you the eligible pool for Transport occupations is narrow. That's consistent with a rebuilt category still finding its footing, similar to how Skilled Military Recruits (4 ITAs on July 23) and Physicians with Canadian work experience (391 ITAs in its first round) both started small before settling into a rhythm.
| Category | Draws in 2026 | Total ITAs |
|---|
| Canadian Experience Class | 13 | 48,250 |
| French-Language proficiency | 9 | 45,500 |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 15 | 6,957 |
| Healthcare and social services | 2 | 8,000 |
| Trades | 1 | 3,000 |
| Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience | 2 | 750 |
| Physicians with Canadian work experience | 2 | 662 |
| Transport | 1 | 300 |
| Skilled Military Recruits | 1 | 4 |
With this draw, IRCC has now issued 113,423 ITAs across 46 rounds in 2026 — and Transport becomes the ninth distinct category to run a draw this year.
If you work in aviation, rail, marine, or road transport and your CRS score is 470 or higher: you now have a real data point. A cutoff of 470 sits well below CEC's steady 514-518 band, meaning transport-sector candidates without a year of Canadian work experience have a lane that doesn't require competing against the general pool.
If your CRS is below 470 but you work in an eligible transport occupation: one draw isn't enough to call a trend. With only 300 ITAs issued in this category all year, don't assume the next Transport draw — whenever it happens — will land at a similar cutoff or even happen soon. Small-volume categories can swing sharply between rounds.
If you're not in a transport occupation: this draw doesn't affect your eligibility, but it's a reminder that IRCC continues to add narrow, occupation-specific lanes to Express Entry. Check whether your own NOC code fits Trades, Healthcare, or another active category — see our full breakdown of 2026 categories.
Tip
Category-based draws that are new or recently revived tend to be the most volatile in Express Entry — small pools mean cutoffs can jump 50+ points between rounds with almost no warning. If you're eligible under Transport, don't build your immigration timeline around a repeat of today's 470; treat this first draw as a floor, not a forecast.
You have 60 days from August 7 — until around October 6, 2026 — to submit a complete permanent residence application. You'll need language test results, an ECA if any of your education is foreign, police certificates from every country you've lived in for 6+ months since age 18, an immigration medical exam, and proof of funds if you're not applying under CEC.
IRCC does not publish a draw calendar and gave no signal on when the next Transport draw will happen. Given the ten-month gap between the category's February relaunch and this first draw, and the small 300-ITA size, treat future Transport draws as infrequent and unpredictable rather than part of a regular cycle — unlike CEC or PNP, which have run on a roughly weekly rhythm all year.
Where do you stand? CRS Calculator | All Express Entry Draws | Category-Based Draws Explained | Express Entry Categories 2026
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify information with official IRCC sources and consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or licensed immigration lawyer for advice specific to your situation.