March 2026 Madness – Updates
In March, we saw a string of developments affecting applicants and employers. We have summarized some of the key developments below.
Express Entry Canadian Experience Class Senior Manager Draw
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted its first Express Entry draw under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) for senior managers on March 5, 2026 with a cut-off score of 429. This score is significantly lower than the cut-off scores of regular CEC draws, with the latest CEC draw on March 17th having a cut-off of 507. Those with at least one year of Canadian work experience in a senior managerial NOC code beginning with “000” may be eligible. This continued measure could provide relief to senior managers and executives who are comparatively older and may not receive many, if any, points due to their age.
Increase in the Low-Wage Temporary Foreign Worker Cap Rural Regions – 10% to 15%
As a result of requests from the provinces and territories, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is now allowing employers in rural regions, where labour shortages are often felt more acutely than in urban areas, to employ low-wage temporary foreign workers (TFWs) as up to 15% of their workforce. ESDC is also allowing the current numbers of low-wage TFWs at these rural employers to be retained. The government has announced that this temporary public policy is to be implemented shortly, as early as April 1, 2026, and will remain in place until March 31, 2027.
This policy will not affect current sector-specific exemptions such as the 20% low-wage TFW cap on employers in health care, construction, and food processing. Seasonal sectors such as fish and seafood processing and tourism will continue to be exempt from the TFW program cap exemption for seasonal positions.
Reminder of PGWP Language Requirement
We would like to remind recently-graduated or soon-to-graduate international students that to apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), they must submit language test results showing that they meet language requirements of CLB 7 for English or NCLC 7 for French on all four language abilities if they graduated with a bachelor’s master’s or doctoral degree. If they graduated from a college program or non-university program that does not result in a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, they must achieve CLB 5 or NCLC 5 on all four abilities.
An upload slot for language is not available in the IRCC portal when applying for work permits. Therefore, applicants should use an alternative slot such as the “Client Information” slot. Failure to provide language test results with the application is very likely to result in a refusal. Applicants negatively impacted by this should engage counsel to seek reconsideration.
Changes to How the Income Calculation for Parent & Grandparent Super Visas
As of March 31, 2026, those applying for super visas for their parents or grandparents can now meet the income requirement, listed here, in two alternative ways if they cannot show that their base income is enough:
- Extending the income assessment period: Hosts and their co-signer (if applicable) may meet or exceed the income requirement in either one of the two taxation years preceding the time of application. Previously, IRCC assessed only the year before.
- Allowing the income of the visiting parent or grandparent to be added: If the hosts and their co-signer (if applicable) meet the required minimum percentage of income, the income of the visiting parents and grandparents can be added to cover the remaining amount.
New Québec Work Permit Category for PR Applicants
IRCC has implemented a temporary public policy allowing the issuance of work permits to PR applicants in Québec. This public policy will allow applicants to continue working for their current employer for up to 12 additional months while the provincial government reviews their eligibility to apply for a Certificat de selection du Québec (CSQ). Eligible applicants must be working in Québec and seeking to extend their work permit with the same employer, have an offer of employment for a position in Québec, and provide confirmation that they have both been invited to apply under the Programme de selection des travailleurs qualifies du Québec (PTSQ) and have submitted a Demande de Sélection Permanente (DSP).
Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence Pathway
As reported by the Toronto Star on March 6, 2026, the Minister of IRCC, Lena Diab, said that the program to transition 33,000 foreign workers to permanent residence had been “soft launched”. However, the government has not yet provided details on who is eligible and there is no official word from IRCC that this program has in fact been launched. The government had previously announced that it would target workers with established roots in their communities, who are paying taxes, and who are helping to build Canada’s economy, which could be the targeting of specific priority economic sectors. Once there is an official announcement and details are provided by IRCC, we will provide an update, in the meantime applicants should be wary of unscrupulous persons suggesting that a program exists already and taking money to prepare an application for a program that is not officially launched.
New OINP Streams to be Launched
The government of Ontario has announced that it will launch new Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) streams and that it is redesigning the OINP. The provincial government is passing regulatory changes to allow the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development to do so. Last year, we saw changes to the OINP submission process, and these further updates to streams and the redesign of the system may result in even more changes. We will update as we learn more.
Eligibility for Iranian Foreign Workers in Canada to Extend their Work Permits
Due to the expansion of military hostilities in the Middle East between the United States and Israel and Iran, the Canadian government has extended to March 31, 2027, temporary measures allowing Iranian nationals to extend their work permits. Iranian nationals are eligible under this temporary policy if they are in Canada with a valid work permit when they apply for the extension and when a decision is made on the application, the work permit was issued no later than February 28, 2025, they haven’t already been issued a work permit under this policy. They must still meet general admissibility requirements regarding security, health, not being criminally inadmissible, having enough money to cover expenses, and showing that they will leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay.
Temporary Halt on Removals to Lebanon, Israel, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar
The expansion of hostilities in the Middle East has resulted in the Canadian government adding Lebanon, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar to the list of countries where an Administrative Deferral of Removal (ADR) is in place. Individuals who have an enforceable removal order will not be removed to countries in which an ADR is currently in force. An ADR is meant to be a temporary measure to immediately respond to situations of humanitarian crisis. Locations where an ADR is in place include: certain regions of Somalia, (Middle Shabelle, Afgoye, and Mogadishu), the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Venezuela, Haiti, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon, Israel, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
Additionally, Temporary Suspensions of Removal (TSRs), in which removals will not be carried out to a country where there is a general risk to the entire population, such as armed conflict or an environmental disaster, is in place for Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Iraq.
Navigating constantly changing Canadian immigration programs, processes, criteria, and understanding one’s best options for permanent or temporary residence is challenging. If you, an employee, or your employer have any questions about any aspect of Canadian immigration, you can reach out to us for assistance. Our Canadian immigration legal professionals can be reached by phone (416-368-1111) or via email: caruso@cilf.ca; bonisteel@cilf.ca; ali@cilf.ca; mukherjee@cilf.ca; garciafialdini@cilf.ca; traister@cilf.ca.
