I went back through every RCIP community’s official page this week, the same way I did in July when I built this site. A lot has moved. Three communities are closed or out of room for the rest of the year, Timmins now turns away anything under 79 points, and Pictou County threw out its old scoring grid. Below is everything that changed, community by community, with links to the official pages so you can check my reading.
The short version: if you’re hoping for a recommendation in 2026, your options are narrower than they were in the summer, and the scores that actually get selected are now in the 90s almost everywhere that publishes them.
Closed or full for 2026
West Kootenay (BC) finished its year early. The September intake was its last of 2026. It received 259 new applications, added 108 left over from June, and reviewed from a preliminary score of 93 to hand out its final 77 recommendations. New employer designations are closed too. The next intake is in 2027, and dates haven’t been announced. (official site)
Sault Ste. Marie (ON) ran its last 2026 intake from August 17 to 23. On September 1 the office posted that it had received another flood of applications and that working through them will take several months. Even complete files submitted in August are in for a wait. (official site)
Peace Liard (Northeast BC) issued 56 of its 60 recommendations for 2026 by June, almost all through its April intake. Its final committee meeting in August was for discretionary candidates only. The community says a second intake this fall could happen only if IRCC hands out extra allocations, and it expects that decision around October. I’d treat it as full unless you hear otherwise from the community itself. (official site)
Timmins now needs 79 points too
Until this summer, Greater Sudbury was the only community with an entry score above the federal 50. As of July 30, Timmins joined it: applications under 79 points are no longer placed in the pool. Anyone already in the pool below 79 stays until their withdrawal month.
Timmins changed several other things around the same time:
- Each employer can submit at most four applications per intake, and if an employer sends more, all of them are rejected. There’s no longer an overall cap on applications per intake.
- Each employer can receive at most five recommendations in 2026 (in place since May 21).
- Administrative assistants (13110) and health information management workers (12111) came off the priority list in June. Railway yard and track maintenance workers (74200) and nursery and greenhouse labourers (85103) were added, both worth 5 occupation points.
- Bookkeepers (12200) now need a degree or diploma in accounting or bookkeeping.
The only intake left this year runs October 13 to 16. (official site)
Pictou County rewrote its grid
This is the biggest scoring change of the year. Pictou’s original 2026 grid gave every sector 5 points and let occupations carry the job offer, with tech and trades roles worth 20. From the August intake onward:
- Every priority sector is worth 15 points.
- Occupation points now run from 2 to 10. Data scientists, cyber security specialists, mechanical engineers and pharmacists get 10. Most trades and technician roles get 5. Bookkeepers get 3. Cooks, bakers, pharmacy assistants, retail managers and material handlers get 2.
- Software developers (21232), business systems specialists (21221) and construction labourers (75110) were removed. Plasterers and drywall installers (73102), material handlers (75101) and wood-products assemblers (94211) were added.
What this means in practice: the gap between a top-priority job and an ordinary one shrank. A cook’s job offer used to score 15 (5 + 10) against 25 for a data scientist (5 + 20). Now it’s 17 against 25. Your language, education and experience matter more in Pictou than they did in July. Two intakes are left: October 1 to 15 and November 1 to 15. (official site)
What people are actually getting selected with
The federal minimum is still 50. Here’s what the communities that publish results say about the real bar:
| Community | Latest published result |
|---|---|
| Greater Sudbury | Lowest score selected: 90 (August 24 to 28 draw, 70 recommended) |
| North Okanagan-Shuswap | Cut-off 94 (May to June intake), up from 91 in January |
| West Kootenay | Reviewed from 93 in September; 91 was the lowest assessed in June |
| North Bay | Average successful score 97 in August (highest 115) |
| Thunder Bay | Average 89.34 across 338 recommendations to August (highest 116) |
Sudbury shows the trend best. Its lowest selected score went 88, 87, 87, 88, 89, 90 across this year’s six draws. It isn’t jumping, it’s creeping up. If you’re sitting in the low 80s in a points community, the fixes in my guide to raising your RCIP score are worth doing before you count on a draw.
Smaller changes worth knowing
- Moose Jaw: cooks (63200) and retail supervisors (62010) hit their 2026 maximum, so applications for those jobs aren’t accepted this year. Employers now need a Saskatchewan Certificate of Registration. Remaining intakes: October 12 to 16 and November 16 to 20.
- Steinbach: early childhood educators have no spots left for 2026, and accounting clerks aren’t available. Health occupations are exempt from the one-per-month, two-per-year NOC limits. The next intake opens October 1.
- Thunder Bay: since August 1, an occupation in a priority sector that isn’t on the list can be considered case by case for TEER 0 to 3 roles, if the candidate has already worked that job for the employer for at least six months. Gas stations, convenience stores, and fast-food and counter-service restaurants remain excluded.
- North Bay: 157 recommendations issued by the end of August, 98 left for the year. Remaining intakes: October 18 to 24 and November 15 to 21. The community also warned that it won’t issue a second recommendation to anyone whose first one expires.
- Sudbury: heavy equipment operators (10 points), construction labourers (5) and labourers in metal processing (2) are now on the scoring grid. Remaining intakes: September 28 to October 2 and November 2 to 6.
- North Okanagan-Shuswap: every job must pay at least $22 an hour, with higher floors for some occupations. Intake 4 closed September 20 with decisions due October 19; the last intake runs November 8 to 15.
- Claresholm: now issues about three recommendations a month out of its 30 for the year, and added stone saw operators (94103) to its manufacturing list on July 1.
- Visitor status: Sudbury, Timmins, Steinbach and Moose Jaw now say plainly that candidates on a visitor permit, or without valid status in Canada, can’t be recommended.
Altona/Rhineland and Brandon haven’t announced changes, and both are still taking applications first come, first served. The federal settlement funds table hasn’t changed either: $10,507 for one person, $19,524 for a family of four.
What I’d do with this
If your job offer is in a community that’s closed for 2026, use the time. Retake the language test you’ve been putting off, renew your ECA if it’s close to five years old, and collect the paperwork for bonus points, like a lease or a volunteer reference letter. Those are exactly the points that decided this year’s 90-plus draws.
If your community is still open, check its last intake date above. Several communities have only one or two windows left in 2026, and in the first-come communities a missing document now means waiting until next year, not next month.
Every calculator and community page on this site now uses these September numbers, including the 79-point entry bar for Timmins and Pictou’s new grid. You can run your score here or see which communities are open at a glance. If a community posts a change I’ve missed, tell me and I’ll fix it.