Express Entry Transport Category

The Express Entry Transport Category is one of Canada’s more specialized category-based selection pathways, built for aviation professionals and heavy-duty equipment mechanics. If you have at least twelve months of qualifying experience in one of the ten eligible occupations, earned anywhere in the world, you may become eligible for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) even though the category was rebuilt from scratch in 2025. Here, ImmigCanada will walk you through what changed, which occupations still qualify, historical CRS cutoffs, and the alternative pathways worth exploring if your occupation was dropped from the list.

The short version: the transport category that existed between 2023 and early 2025 (informally called Version 1) was retired in February 2025 and replaced with a new, narrower list of ten occupations focused on aviation and heavy-duty mechanical trades. Truck drivers, delivery drivers, and transit operators, who made up the bulk of applicants under the old rules, are no longer part of this category at all. If any of that describes your background, keep reading, because the sections below explain both the new eligibility list and the alternative routes still open to you.

Even after this overhaul, the category still sits within Express Entry Category-Based Selection, one of the more specialized lanes inside the wider Express Entry system.

What Changed in the Transport Category for 2026?

The category now in effect, which we refer to as Transport v2, shares almost nothing with its predecessor. The original version ran three draws between September 2023 and September 2024, inviting close to 2,645 candidates, most of whom were truck drivers under NOC 73300. When that version was retired in February 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rebuilt the category from scratch around a different labour market gap: aviation professionals and heavy-duty equipment mechanics.

There is effectively zero overlap between the old list and the new one. If your work experience falls under a retired code, it will not count toward this category any longer, even if you were building toward an application under the previous rules. The table below sets out the core facts of the current version.

Which occupations qualify under the 2026 Transport category?

Ten occupations make up the current list, and they cluster into two groups: aviation roles and heavy-duty or specialized mechanical trades. Before you go any further with an application, check your own NOC code carefully against the table below, since eligibility hinges entirely on matching one of these ten codes.

Matching your NOC code correctly is essential groundwork before you can rely on Express Entry Category-Based Selection as part of your plan to Immigrate to Canada through Express Entry.

Check if your NOC code still qualifies.

Not sure which NOC code matches your job history, or whether your duties line up closely enough with one of the ten codes above? A quick review with a regulated consultant can save you months of wasted effort on an application that was never going to qualify.

Which Occupations Lost Eligibility, and Why Does It Matter?

The occupations dropped from the retired v1 category were almost entirely driving and transit roles rather than mechanical or aviation trades. This is the detail that trips people up most often, because these were the highest-volume occupations under the old rules, and a lot of candidates assume the category still applies to them.

If you held one of these retired codes, none of that experience counts toward Transport v2, even if you also have qualifying experience elsewhere. The distinction matters because it changes which pathway you should be building your Express Entry strategy around.

What Did Draws Look Like Under the Old Transport Category?

This is useful context rather than a prediction, since no draws have taken place under the new criteria yet. Under the retired version, IRCC ran three rounds of invitations over an eighteen month span, and the cutoff scores swung fairly widely from one draw to the next, which is fairly typical for a smaller, occupation-specific category.

This kind of historical swing is common across Express Entry Draws, and it is exactly why candidates track Express Entry Category-Based Selection trends rather than one-off cutoffs.

What CRS Sore Should You Expect to Need in 2026?

Since Transport v2 has not held a draw as of this writing, nobody can give you a guaranteed number. What we can do is apply the historical pattern from v1, which suggests a working range of roughly 350 to 430, with aviation candidates potentially pulling the average up given that pilots and avionics technicians tend to score somewhat higher on the core human capital factors than trades candidates do.

To make this concrete, here are two realistic profiles and how their CRS points typically stack up.

Example: A Truck and Bus Mechanic With Five Years of Experience in India, CLB 7

A score around 350 would have placed this candidate right at the lowest v1 cutoff, so it sits within the range we would expect a 2026 draw to reach, though it leaves little room for error.

Example: An Aircraft Mechanic With Four Years of Experience in the Philippines, CLB 8

This profile also lands comfortably within the projected range, and the stronger language score gives it a bit more of a buffer than the first example.

Both profiles illustrate how a modest Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score can still work within Express Entry Category-Based Selection when the eligible pool is small.

Find Out Where Your CRS Score Stands

How Can You Raise Your CRS Score Before the Next Draw?

For most trades and aviation candidates, a handful of specific actions move the needle far more than general profile tweaks. Here is what tends to have the biggest impact, roughly in order of how much it typically adds.

If You Were a Truck Driver, What Options Do You Still Have?

Losing eligibility under the federal category is frustrating, but it is not the end of the road. Several provincial and employer-driven programs still have room for driving and transport occupations, and some routes eventually lead back into Express Entry through the Canadian Experience Class once you have a year of local work under your belt.

What Other Pathways Make Sense for the Newly Eligible Aviation and Mechanics Occupations?

If your occupation is on the current list of ten, Express Entry is not your only option, and in some cases it is not even the fastest one. Depending on how specialized your role is and whether you already have a Canadian employer interested in you, one of the alternatives below might get you to Canada sooner.

Staying flexible across occupations and provinces is often the smartest way to keep progressing toward Express Entry Category-Based Selection, even when the federal Express Entry system moves slowly.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Transport Category

Immigration rules shift quickly, and the Transport category is proof of just how much a single policy update can change your options overnight. Rather than guessing which pathway fits your background, speak directly with Eivy Joy Quito, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) licensed with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, who can review your NOC, your CRS score, and your full profile to build a realistic, personalized plan for your move to Canada. Book a one-on-one consultation with ImmigCanada today and get clarity before you invest another month in guesswork.

This kind of policy shift is a reminder that Express Entry Category-Based Selection and its underlying Express Entry Draws can change quickly, so it pays to keep your options current.