How many candidates ranked above the cut-off in draw #418?

On May 24, 2026, the Express Entry pool held 238,847 candidates. 147,806 of them sat in score bands entirely at or above the 409 cut-off. A further 11,782 sat in the 401-410 band, which the cut-off runs through — IRCC does not publish scores at a finer resolution than these bands, so how many of that group cleared 409 is not knowable from the data.

French-language proficiency · 28 May 2026

Express Entry draw #418

Q: What was the CRS cut-off for Express Entry draw #418?

The cut-off for round #418, held on 28 May 2026, was 409. It was a French-language proficiency round and it issued 4,500 invitations to apply, 9 points above the previous French-language proficiency round 4 weeks earlier. Candidates who tied at 409 were ranked by the date they entered the pool, with the cut-off timestamp set at April 29, 2026 at 22:20:00 UTC.

On 28 May 2026, IRCC issued 4,500 invitations to apply in the French-language proficiency category. The lowest-ranked candidate invited scored 409 on the Comprehensive Ranking System, 9 points above the previous French-language proficiency round 4 weeks earlier. That was the 7th lowest of the 12 French-language proficiency rounds held in the year to that date, which together issued 60,000 invitations at cut-offs between 393 and 481.

Read and checked by Jay Sharma, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant R710507, licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Round #418 is reproduced from IRCC's official rounds feed and has not been edited.

Minimum CRS score

409

French-language proficiency

Previous French-language proficiency round: #414 on 29 Apr 2026 at 400 (+9)

4,500
Invitations issued: #418
Round: 28 May 2026
Date: April 29, 2026
Tie-break

Programs eligible

Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades Program

Candidates tied on 409 were separated by how long they had been in the pool. The tie-break was set at April 29, 2026 at 22:20:00 UTC — a profile submitted before that moment was invited, one submitted after it was not.

The pool that week

Where 409 fell through the pool

IRCC published the Express Entry pool’s shape alongside this round. On May 24, 2026 it held 238,847 candidates, and the cut-off ran through them here.

Express Entry candidates by CRS range on May 24, 2026, against the 409 cut-off of round #418
CRS range	Candidates	Share of pool	Against the cut-off
601–1200	332	0.1%	All invited
501–600	17,945	7.5%	All invited
451–500	75,348	31.5%	All invited
Cut-off — CRS 409
401–450	65,963	27.6%	Split by the cut-off
351–400	52,581	22.0%	Below the cut-off
301–350	18,375	7.7%	Below the cut-off
0–300	8,303	3.5%	Below the cut-off

147,806 candidates sat in bands entirely at or above 409 — 61.9% of the pool.

A further 11,782 sat in the 401–410 band, which 409 falls inside. IRCC does not publish scores more finely than this, so how many of them cleared 409 is not knowable from the data.

In context

French-language proficiency rounds in the year to 28 May 2026

A cut-off means little on its own. Against its own category’s previous twelve months, this one was the 7th lowest of 12.

409

393
Lowest cut-off: 481
Highest cut-off: 12
Rounds: 60,000
Invitations

Reading this today

This is a record, not the current bar

Round #418 was held on 28 May 2026. IRCC has run 20 rounds since, and the current cut-off for this category is not 409.

The latest draw and the current pool All 438 rounds

Free CRS assessment

Would this round have taken you?

The table above says where 409 fell through the pool. Whether your own score reaches a category, and what would move it — a language retake, a provincial nomination, a spouse’s credentials — is a different question, and it is the one worth answering.

Data: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Round #418, 28 May 2026; pool as published on May 24, 2026.

Three fields · about 30 seconds