Express Entry is a system, not a program. It is the online system IRCC uses to manage applications from skilled workers. It is not itself a program you apply to.

Create a profile. If you meet the minimum criteria for at least one of the three programs, IRCC places that profile in the pool and scores it with CRS. IRCC then runs rounds of invitations. A profile is not an e-APR. Glossary: CRS, ITA, eAPR, AOR.

From 3 Nov 2026, eligible Canadian work or a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation can change that CRS score. Invitation rounds pause while IRCC recalculates profiles. The 16 Oct 2026 guide states only what the Canada.ca pages say. Score both rule sets in the CRS calculator. The calculator starts the 3 Nov 2026 rules at midnight in Toronto. That start time is our assumption. IRCC did not state a time.

The three federal programs

• Federal Skilled Worker Program
• Canadian Experience Class
• Federal Skilled Trades Program

A provincial nomination can sit on an Express Entry profile. That is still Express Entry, plus a nomination. See the PNP index.

Category-based selection is a layer

It is not a fourth program. You still need FSW, CEC, or FST to be in the pool. IRCC then invites some people who also meet a category the Minister set. Read the category layer, then score a profile in the CRS calculator and compare official cut-offs on draws.

Related pages people mix with this one

• Work permits sit on the work-permits guide. TFWP detail sits on the LMIA guide.
• Quebec selection is a separate branch.
• The medical doctors page is an orientation, not a fourth Express Entry program. See medical doctors.