Details have trickled out about plans, including to scrap the French-outside-Quebec criteria as a consideration in the core economic immigration program, but it would remain in place for category selection immigration programs.

BY PETER MAZEREEUW April 29, 2026

The government is planning a big shakeup to its economic immigration programs to simplify the application process, and change the criteria for evaluating applicants. 

On the way in: higher scores for applicants who have—or are likely to get—a job in a high-paying field.

On the way out: bonus points for having siblings in Canada, for studying here, for years of low-wage work in this country, for spousal qualifications, and for French proficiency among applicants not destined for Quebec.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) would scrap the French-outside-Quebec criteria as a consideration in the core economic immigration program, but it would remain in place for category selection immigration programs. The government would still aim to recruit francophones who want to settle outside of Quebec, but through separate program streams.

The details of this immigration policy overhaul have trickled out over the past month or so. The government published notices of plans to change the regulations for several immigration streams on its website in early April, and the Toronto Star‘s Nicholas Keung reported on the plan shortly after. Officials at IRCC revealed more details in documents that were shared with immigration lawyers and consultants as part of an early consultation on the change, and The Hill Times obtained those documents. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, N.S.) confirmed some of the details in a statement to The Hill Times.

Knowledge of at least one official language will remain a priority criteria for applicants in the core economic immigration program, but extra points will no longer be awarded for French proficiency in particular.

Fluency in an official language and earnings as a temporary resident in Canada are the two strongest predictors of economic success for immigrants in Canada, according to one of the consultation documents that was circulated among immigration lawyers and consultants. The document cites an internal analysis of immigration data.

Moderate predictors of such success include Canadian work experience, a job offer in Canada, level of education, and age, according to that document. 

At present, neither earnings as a temporary resident nor job offers are counted in the Comprehensive Ranking System.

Spousal attributes, experience studying in Canada, having a sibling in this country, and French proficiency are weak predictors of success, according to that document. 

“We are considering changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System’s Ministerial Instructions to select those candidates most likely to drive economic growth,” said Taous Ait, a spokesperson for Diab.

The government is not planning to dig into how much applicants for permanent residence have been earning personally. Instead, it is considering creating a system in which different occupations are grouped based on median wages, with more points awarded for applicants with experience in occupations where the median worker earns more than the national median wage. 

The government is also considering narrowing the list of qualification certificates that score applicants extra points to Red Seal trades, and awarding extra points for trade apprenticeship work.

Merging three core economic immigration programs

The government is also planning to merge its three different core economic immigration programs, all of which then funnel into the Express Entry program. Express Entry allows the government to choose the strongest applicants and bring them to the front of the queue. 

Those three baseline programs are the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program. The plan is to merge them into a single program under Express Entry.

The goal of the merger is to make it simpler for applicants to navigate the system, and easier for the government to identify the best candidates, according to Ait.

The three economic streams that are being merged collectively accounted for more than 42 per cent of Canada’s economic immigration target last year. Regional nominee programs accounted for a larger share.

IRCC is planning to launch a public and stakeholder consultation on the new program some time this spring. 

The three skilled worker programs facing the axe will continue to function until the regulatory review process is concluded. 

New system could still be vulnerable to fraud, says immigration lawyer

Immigration lawyer Ravi Jain applauded the decision to stop awarding extra points for French-language proficiency.

“It’s a political goal,” he said, rather than a predictor of economic success, and should be dealt with through a separate immigration stream, as IRCC is proposing.

Jain has long called for greater restrictions on immigration consultants in Canada, some of whom have been involved in schemes to defraud the immigration system to the benefit of their clients. He said he is concerned that the new criteria will continue to be vulnerable to fraud schemes—for example, laundering phony job experience credentials to get the extra points for high-earning temporary residents.

“As long as you’re not dealing with the fraud and the fraudsters, you’re not dealing with the problem,” he said.

https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/04/29/feds-overhauling-economic-immigrant-programs-giving-higher-scores-for-applicants-in-high-paying-fields/501296/