Canada reached a major milestone in immigration with Express Entry Draw #397, selecting physicians with Canadian experience for the very first time under a category-specific round.
Draw Highlights
- Date: February 19, 2026
- Invitations Issued: 391
- Lowest CRS Score: 169
- Category: Physicians with Canadian Work Experience (2026 – Version 1)
- Tie-breaking timestamp: January 3, 2026 at 03:25:14 UTC
This historic round focused entirely on doctors already practicing in Canada, reinforcing the country’s commitment to strengthening its healthcare system. By targeting physicians who are actively serving Canadian communities, the government is prioritizing retention of skilled medical professionals where they are needed most.
A New Dedicated Pathway for Doctors
The newly introduced stream offers a more direct route to permanent residence for internationally trained physicians with qualifying Canadian work experience. It includes a wide range of medical specialties such as family medicine, emergency care, surgical fields, dermatology, psychiatry, and more.
With Canada facing a significant shortfall of family physicians — estimated at around 23,000 nationwide — this targeted initiative aims to close critical service gaps while ensuring stability in patient care.
Another important advantage of this pathway is faster processing for related work permits, with a 14-day expedited timeline to help physicians continue practicing without interruption.
Snapshot of the Express Entry Pool
Before each round of invitations, IRCC publishes updated figures on the number of candidates in the system. As of February 20, 2026, there were 235,695 profiles in the pool across all CRS score ranges.
The largest concentration of candidates remains in the 451–500 range, while a smaller number of applicants hold scores above 600.
This draw represents a strategic shift toward occupation-focused selection, signaling that Canada is aligning immigration more closely with urgent labour market priorities — particularly in healthcare.