Ottawa extends express immigration entry to researchers, military applicants

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Lena Diab is adding three new permanent residency streams to Canada’s express entry program that cover a variety of professions, including military ones.

The new streams are also open to researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience and are part of what Diab calls a federal strategy to attract “top talent” to the country.

The new streams are meant to compliment the government’s $1.7 billion strategy to attract researchers to Canadian institutions.

In a speech to the Canadian Club Toronto on Wednesday, Diab said the government’s broader immigration strategy is to attract “the best and brightest” while reducing the number of permanent and temporary residents being admitted to Canada annually.

The transport sector is also being targeted with express entry for pilots, aircraft mechanics and inspectors.

“We’ve identified these sectors as areas in critical need. Strengthening those helps us move goods across the country and to new markets, supporting trade, supply chains and economic resilience,” Diab said during her address.

Ottawa is also introducing a new express entry stream for foreign military applicants who have been recruited by the Canadian Armed Forces to serve as doctors, nurses and pilots.

Diab said this will support the government’s $6.6 billion defence industrial strategy, announced Tuesday.

The new streams are in addition to one for foreign medical doctors with at least one year of Canadian experience in the last three years, which was announced in the federal budget.

These new streams are being added to existing express entry categories for nurses, dentists, pharmacists, carpenters, plumbers and others in the skilled trades.

Strong French language skills will also continue to be an advantage in the express entry system, as Canada looks to increase the number of francophone immigrants outside of Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press