Canada PR points: calculators and guides
Canada runs two points systems, and they answer different questions. One decides whether you can enter the Express Entry pool. The other ranks you once you are in it — and it has no pass mark at all.
Which system applies to you
Almost every confusion about Canadian PR points comes from these two being treated as one score. They are measured differently, they are out of different totals, and a number from one tells you nothing about the other.
Comprehensive Ranking System
Ranks you in the pool
Scores your age, education, language ability, work experience, your partner's profile and a set of additional factors. No pass mark. An invitation depends on ranking above the lowest-ranked candidate invited in a round.
Federal Skilled Worker selection grid
Decides if you can enter the pool
Six selection factors assessed under the immigration regulations, with a minimum the Minister fixes and publishes. It is an eligibility threshold, not a ranking — and it applies only to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, not to the other Express Entry programs.
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s 76 (opens in a new tab)
If you have seen a Canadian points figure out of 100, that is the selection grid. If you have seen one out of 1,200, that is the Comprehensive Ranking System. Scoring well on one does not substitute for the other: you need to be eligible for a programme to be in the pool, and you need to rank once you are there.
How Express Entry rounds work
Candidates in the pool are invited in rounds. IRCC decides the type of round, decides how many candidates to invite, and then invites the highest-ranking candidates eligible for that round. There are three kinds, and the difference between them is the single most misread thing about Canadian PR scores.
- General rounds invite the top-ranking candidates eligible for any of the three Express Entry programs.
- Program-specific rounds invite only candidates eligible for one program — the Canadian Experience Class, or the Provincial Nominee Program, for instance.
- Category-based rounds invite candidates who meet a category the Minister has established, such as particular occupations or French-language ability.
Because each kind draws from a different part of the pool, their published cutoffs are not alternatives to one another. In the last twelve months IRCC published 73 rounds across 9 different types, and the lowest score invited ranged from 169 to 855. The highest figures all belong to Provincial Nominee Program rounds, where every candidate invited already held a provincial nomination — so those numbers include points only nominated candidates have. The calculator breaks this down by round type beside your own score.
As at 19 July 2026 there were 231,533 candidates in the pool. IRCC — Rounds of invitations (opens in a new tab)
What changed on 25 March 2025
Job-offer points were removed from the Comprehensive Ranking System. It is the largest change to Canadian PR scoring in years, a great many ranking calculators have not caught up, and the correction has more sides to it than most pages allow — the calculator page sets out all three, including who is unaffected and where a job offer still counts.
Canadian tools and guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Canada have a points system for PR?
Which score do I actually need?
Why do published Express Entry cutoffs vary so much?
Informational only — not immigration advice. Points rules change; always confirm your eligibility against the official source before you act on any result here.