On October 1, IRCC issued 3,500 invitations in a single Express Entry round. The cut-off was 476. The day before, the general round had required 518.
The 42-point gap is not the interesting part. What matters is a requirement this category does not have.
In short: the trades category does not require Canadian work experience. One year of full-time work in the previous three, obtained in any country, is enough. There are 25 occupations, almost all of them in construction and industry.
What happened on October 1
| Round | Date | Invitations | Lowest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| #447 · Trades (Version 3) | October 1 | 3,500 | 476 |
| #446 · Canadian Experience Class | September 29 | 2,000 | 518 |
| #445 · Provincial Nominee Program | September 28 | 733 | 725 |
The requirement this category does not have
The ministerial instructions for the round state that a person belongs to the category if, within the previous three years, they have acquired at least one year of full-time work experience — or the part-time equivalent — in one of the listed occupations, having performed the lead statement and a substantial number of the main duties, including all essential duties, as set out in the National Occupational Classification.
Read it closely: it does not say "in Canada".
That omission is deliberate, and it is what separates this category from others in the same system. The senior managers category, opened on September 16, expressly requires that year of experience to have been acquired in Canada. So does the physicians category. The trades category does not.
The practical consequence is considerable: a carpenter, a welder or an electrician working in Mexico today, who has never set foot in Canada, can meet the category requirement from their own country.
The 25 occupations
Construction Bricklayers (72320) · Carpenters (72310) · Cabinetmakers (72311) · Concrete finishers (73100) · Roofers and shinglers (73110) · Painters and decorators (73112) · Floor covering installers (73113) · Construction managers (70010) · Home building and renovation managers (70011) · Construction estimators (22303)
Installation and maintenance Plumbers (72300) · Gas fitters (72302) · Electricians, except industrial and power system (72200) · Industrial electricians (72201) · Electrical mechanics (72422) · Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics (72402) · Heavy-duty equipment mechanics (72401) · Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
Metal and machining Welders and related machine operators (72106) · Sheet metal workers (72102) · Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors (72100)
Other Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services (82021) · Water well drillers (72501) · Butchers, retail and wholesale (63201) · Other technical trades and related occupations (72999)
Belonging to the category is not the same as being eligible
This is where it pays to slow down, because these are two different rules and they are easy to confuse.
The category — what determines whether you are invited in a round like October 1 — asks for one year of full-time experience in the previous three.
The program — what determines whether you can actually file — asks for considerably more. For the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the natural route for these occupations, IRCC requires:
- At least two years of full-time experience, or 3,120 hours in total, within the five years before you apply. All of it in the same NOC.
- Paid work: volunteering and unpaid internships do not count.
- Experience obtained in a country where you were qualified to practise that trade.
- Having performed the lead statement of the NOC and most of the main duties.
- And one of these two: a valid job offer of full-time employment for at least one year, or a certificate of qualification in your trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority.
That certificate is not obtained by mail: the provincial authority assesses your training and experience to decide whether you may sit the certification exam, and in several cases requires you to attend in the province or to have a Canadian employer provide experience and training.
It should be added that the trades round may also invite candidates eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Canadian Experience Class, each with its own requirements. The right question is therefore not "is my trade on the list?" but "which of the three programs am I eligible for, and with what score?".
It is also worth remembering that the 476 cut-off belongs to that round and to the candidates in the pool that day. It will vary in the next ones.
Who this is useful for
Anyone working in one of the listed trades who believed they needed to be in Canada first. In this category, that is not the case.
What needs checking is whether your experience matches the official description of the occupation, whether you meet the requirements of one of the system's programs, and what your score is today. That assessment is worth doing before investing in language tests and credential assessments.
If you work in one of these trades and want to know where you stand
Annette P. Campos, a regulated immigration consultant (RCIC), can review your profile against the requirements of the category and of the Express Entry programs.
Sources: Ministerial instructions for round #447, October 1, 2026, the official Express Entry rounds table and the Federal Skilled Trades Program requirements, consulted on October 6, 2026. Cut-off scores change with every round and nobody can guarantee the outcome of an application: always verify on canada.ca when you apply.