Canada Just Gave Us a Big Clue About Who Gets PR Next

The uncomfortable truth about Canada immigration is that it's confusing on purpose. By June, Canada had admitted only about 41% of the permanent residents it had planned to admit for the entire year. That's approximately 155,000 people out of the target of 380,000. So you would think that Canada was falling behind. But then, in August alone, Canada issued over 15,000 invitations for permanent residency through various immigration programs. So what's actually happening? That's what I want to break down in this video. I'm going through the major immigration draws for August, the provinces that invited candidates, what happened with Express Entry, and some of the announcements that could affect your plans to move to Canada or obtain permanent residency. And pay very close attention to what happened with the French language this month. Pay attention, because if you only look at the headline numbers, you could completely misunderstand what Canada is actually doing. So let's go through August 2026, one update at a time. I need to be honest with you about August because it was not an ordinary month. IRCC has confirmed once again that they have a backlog of 1.5 million applications, of which 705,000 are permanent resident applications. Yes, they are sending out invitations, but they're also sitting on a mountain of files. Why? We'll discuss that soon, but let's begin with the most urgent update I have for you. If you are from Hong Kong or you know someone who is, this is very important. The special Hong Kong PR pathways, Stream A and Stream B, closed on August 31st at 11:59 PM. After that, IRCC will no longer accept any further applications. And that pathway has been enormous. As of June 30th, they had received over 30,000 applications covering more than 48,000 individuals, and over 13,000 people have become permanent residents through this program. I know you'll say, actually, I'm not from Hong Kong, so this doesn't concern me. My dear, it affects you more than you realize. Now listen closely, because when one major pathway closes, it reveals the direction Canada is heading. They are closing down the broad humanitarian corridors and replacing them with highly targeted ones. Keep that in mind because on August 26th, IRCC quietly reopened the Francophone minority communities student pilot. But there are only 2,970 spots available for the entire period until August 25th of next year. So do you see the pattern? Major generic pathways are closing while specific targeted pathways are opening. Like this one, it's specifically for French-speaking students who wish to study outside Quebec. It's enormous. And by the way, you know that Ebola-related travel restriction we had for the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan? It has officially ended. So if you are from these countries, there are no more travel restrictions for you. Alright, let's talk about the biggest headline of the month. Express Entry IRCC issued approximately 15,249 invitations in August across seven draws. On August 4th, they conducted a PNP draw and invited 507 people with a CRS cutoff of 768. On August 5th, a Canadian Express Entry draw invited 3,000 individuals with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 516. Then on August 6th, there was a French draw that invited 5,000 people with a CRS of 391. On August 7th, they held a draw for transport professionals and invited 300 people with a CRS of 470. And then nothing happened for ten days. Then on August 17th, they held another PNP draw and invited 442 people with a CRS score of 760. And on August 18th, another Canadian Experience Class draw took place, inviting 1,000 individuals with a CRS score of 523. Then on August 19th, another French draw took place, inviting 5,000 people with a CRS score as low as 382. Now, did you notice something? Out of those 15,000 invitations, 10,000 of them—about two-thirds—were sent exclusively to French speakers. And what was their CRS score? 382 and 391. While the Canadian experience class, which is where most of you inside Canada are competing, was 516 and 523. That is a gap of more than 130 points. And this has been happening month after month after month. Let me give you a relatable example. Just imagine two people. Let's call them Amaka and Tunde. Both of them hold a master's degree. Both are 29 years old. In English, Amaka doesn't know French. Her CRS score is approximately 470. She's sitting there, waiting, refreshing her profile every day, praying for a general draw. Tunde added French. He got a NCLC 7, which isn't even perfect French. Just intermediate. And that single addition alone pushes him past 560. And he is selected in that August 19th draw with a score of 382. Even though, without the French, he has the same profile as Amaka. They are the same age, have the same education, and the same English scores. But one receives a counterfeit, while the other does not. Just because of French. That is not a minor detail. That is the complete strategy for 2026. IRCC has told us clearly. French is the cheat code right now. 10,000 invites in the month of August prove it. So let me ask you again. If you are serious about this journey. And you have 6 to 12 months before you plan to apply for PR. What are you doing about French? Honestly, because waiting and hoping that your English will carry you again. Honestly, it's getting riskier every month. And for those of you in transportation occupations. Like pilots, truck drivers, mechanics. That 300% draw on August 7th at a 470 CRS score was your own window. It was a small draw, but it happened. That means they are still conducting draws based on categories. Not just French and PNP drawings. Now, the provinces were also busy in the month of August. They quietly invited over 2,300 people this August. Let me give it to you province by province, very quickly. Alberta invited 743 people. However, 534 of them were through the Alberta Opportunity Stream. With a CRS of just 58. But these were people already working in Alberta. Manitoba, which is my favorite among many of you in the trades. On August 27th, they sent out 741 invitations. And 600 of those were for individuals in transportation, natural gas, production, and construction. The score was 731. But this is not the CRS score. It's Manitoba's very own scoring system. If you're a tradesperson in Manitoba, this was your month. British Columbia invited 504 people on August 20th. But BC also did something veryosexual in August. They established a new salary benchmark. If you are going through their high-impact, high-wage stream. You now need to earn $55 an hour. About $110,000 per year. So apparently BC is saying we don't just want anyone. We want high earners. Let's move to PI. PI invited 181 people. And this was only for people who were already working there through labor or express entry. There were no new external invitations. Newfoundland and Labrador invited 140 people together with the Atlantic Immigration Program. 46 of them were through the Atlantic Immigration Program. And that was their biggest AIP draw since March. Ontario had no draws in August. Since they shut down their entire system on June 25th. And created a new workforce priority stream. They have not invited anyone. They say their expression of interest will come later this summer. And summer ends in a few days. So we'll just wait and see what happens in September. Now Nova Scotia. Their PNP is currently free. But starting September 1st, they will begin charging fees. Well done to Nova Scotia, as it was the last province where you could apply for free. That was all that happened with the draws in August 2026. So let me ask you this question. Which province are you actually targeting? Comment on the province name below. Batam, Manitoba, BC, PI, or any other one. I read all your comments, and they help me know which provinces to cover next. At the beginning of this video. I mentioned that as of June 30th. Halfway through the year. Canada had invited only about 155,000 people. That's only 41% of the annual target. So as to hit their own target. They need to admit approximately 224,000 more people between July and December. And that number exceeds what they did in the first six months of the year. So how will they do it? Well, in my opinion, there are only two possible ways. Either they are going to make extremely large draws in the next four months to catch up. Or they will miss their own target by a wide margin. But remember the backlog I told you about. 1.5 million applications awaiting processing. So apparently, they don't need any more applications to reach their target. They need to actually process the ones they already have. But that also means that if you submit a new messy incomplete application right now. You are joining a queue of 705,000 unprocessed PR files. So my dear, document precision has never mattered more. Because you can imagine if your application is being delayed for so long. And then it is returned to you or rejected due to a minor error. God forbid. And this is one of the reasons I created the Canada Express Entry Masterclass. It's a step-by-step express entry guide that will take you by the hand and help you apply for your PR application step-by-step. You don't need to hire an expensive consultant. This is all you need to apply for PR. I left the details in the description and the pinned comments. Go take a look. And if you use it, you will almost certainly be submitting an application that will not be rejected. As I said before, God forbid your application takes much longer. And it still comes back to you either rejected or they are requesting a review. They will simply send you back to the beginning of the queue. And you don't want that. And for my people who are applying from Nigeria. I saw this in the updates and felt it for you. The processing times have changed once more. The study permit processing time has increased from 8 weeks to 9 weeks. The visitor visa has been extended from 72 days to 76 days. I know it's not huge, but it's getting longer, not shorter. So if you plan to travel for the winter intake, you need to apply earlier than you think. This one next is my personal favorite among the most underrated stories of the month. Nobody is talking about this one. But I think it matters a great deal. On August 6th, IRCC quietly corrected its instructions for reciprocal employment work permits. Now here's what happened. An earlier version of the instructions had been posted. That would have required certain workers to already be employed outside Canada. Before they could use this work permit route. IRCC stated that the restriction had been posted in error. It was a version control issue on their end. So the corrected instructions removed that restriction. So if you read something in early August about needing outside employment for your reciprocal work permit. Forget it. It was never meant to be there. Now still talking about work permits. If your plan is to bring Canada Peer through the LMIA pathway. Then I need you to pay close attention to this section. Because something changed on that route in August. The federal government continued tightening the temporary foreign worker program in August. The official LMIE materials have been updated. Including the requirements for the low-income stream. Basically, most employers can have only a small percentage of their staff as temporary foreign workers in low-wage jobs. It is normally capped at 10%. But now, if you're a rural employer in certain provinces, Canada is allowing you to go up to 15% instead. In simple terms, rural businesses have now been given more flexibility to hire temporary foreign workers without reaching the usual limits as quickly as they did before. And on top of that, on August 7th, IRCC updated its employer compliance inspection instructions. The update clarified how inspections are connected to the Emergencies Act and the Quarantine Act. And they moved those instructions under the temporary workers program. I know inspection instructions don't sound exciting. This isn't as flashy as an Express Entry draw with a large numerical figure attached to it. But if you're working in Canada under a employer-specific work permit. Or you're an employer hiring foreign workers. Compliance with rules like this one makes the difference between a smooth work permit renewal and a serious issue. The honest truth is that the LMIA to PR pathway is becoming more complicated, not less. If that's your plan, don't improvise. Seek genuine guidance before you dedicate years of your life to a path that seems to be constantly shifting. That concludes all the major updates for August 2026 Canada Immigration. If you enjoy this kind of analysis, please do me a favor. Hit the subscribe button. Because I do this every single month. And I don't just read the names. I translate it into what you should do next and what you can understand. And if you know someone who is waiting for Ontario or keeps saying I don't need French. Please share this video with them. You might save them a year of endless waiting. Based on what happened in August, this is what I propose. Depending on where you are. If you are outside Canada and do not have French. Your priority is not to keep checking the draws every week and feeling discouraged. Your priority is to ask. And I will start French in September and aim to reach NCLC 7 by next summer. Because the math is clear. See, 382 CRS score versus 516. Even if you don't want to live in a French-speaking community. The student pilot I mentioned, 2970 spots. Is there another French-related pathway that has just opened? If you are inside Canada on a work permit or a study permit. Look at provinces in a different way. Don't be stuck on Ontario. Look where you can actually receive a low score invitation. Alberta, Manitoba, or any of those other places. And if you're in BC, know that $55 an hour is now the benchmark. So you need to negotiate your salary or consider other provinces. Your pathway might not be federal. It might be provincial. And for everyone, make sure you get your documents right the first time. With over 700,000 PRFIs pending. You don't have time to wait for IRCC to ask you for the wrong documents. Or for misplaced documents or for missing documents. You don't want that. One mistake now means you get placed at the back of an extremely long line. You don't have that time to waste. So tell me in the comments, what’s your next move? Is it to learn French? Is it to switch provinces? Is it to come and study? Is it to change provinces? Is it to obtain an LMIA? Just let me know in the comments. And I'm going to respond with my own opinion. And I'll give you some pointers as well. So tell me what you thought of the month of August. Do you think IRCC has just been going through the same trends? Or do you think things change in the month of August? Also, let me know what you think IRCC will do in the next six months. to catch up with the number of people they need to invite. I would like to hear your thoughts in the comments. Once again, thank you so much for watching. But before you go, make sure you check out this video on the screen. That explains all the major ways to obtain permanent residence in Canada this year. I'll see you over there. Make sure you check it out. My name is Sheyi Obasi, and this is the Canadian Dream. Goodbye.