Salary lists are easy to write and nearly useless for immigration. Canada does not invite people because they earn well. It invites them because their occupation sits in a category it is currently drawing from — and that list is short, public, and changes every year.
This guide is organized the way Canada actually selects people: by category first, salary second.
First, the thing most articles still get wrong
A job offer no longer earns you CRS points. Until 25 March 2025 a valid offer was worth 50 or 200 points, and for most candidates it was the fastest way to raise a score. IRCC removed those points to stop the buying and selling of LMIAs. Everyone in the pool lost them on the same day.
So any article telling you to chase a job offer “for the points” has been wrong for over a year. An offer still matters — just not for scoring. Some programs still require one to qualify, including an LMIA-backed offer, so record it in your profile. It simply will not move your score. IRCC has consulted on restoring points for high-wage roles only, but nothing has changed yet.
What actually decides it
Express Entry runs invitation rounds aimed at specific categories. If your occupation sits in the category being drawn, the score you need is often far below the general cut-off. Plan around this, not around a salary table.
| Category | Experience required | Where it can be gained |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare and social services | 12 months full-time, last 3 years | Canada or abroad |
| Science, technology, engineering and mathematics | 12 months | Canada or abroad |
| Trades | 12 months | Canada or abroad |
| Education | 12 months | Canada or abroad |
| Transport | 12 months | Canada or abroad |
| Physicians | 12 months | Canada only |
| Senior managers | 12 months | Canada only |
| Researchers | 12 months | Canada only |
| French-language proficiency | NCLC 7 in all four abilities | — |
| Skilled military recruits | 10 years’ service, plus a CAF offer | — |
Read the third column before you plan around any of this. Physicians, senior managers and researchers now need Canadian work experience. A consultant surgeon with twenty years abroad, who has never worked in Canada, does not qualify for the physician category. People are still being caught out by this.
The experience requirement also rose from six months to twelve. If you were told half a year was enough, that advice is out of date.
The salary figures below are Job Bank’s national numbers for 2023–24, published by the Government of Canada. Job Bank quotes hourly rates for most occupations; the annual equivalents here assume a 40-hour week, or 37.5 hours for nursing. Physician figures come from Job Bank, which adjusts them to remove practice overhead as calculated by the Canadian Medical Association.
Healthcare and social services
Canada draws from this category more often than any other. If your occupation sits here, you are in the strongest position available — and your experience does not have to be Canadian.
Registered nurses
Canada’s population is ageing and hospitals are short-staffed, so demand for experienced nurses keeps climbing. If you trained abroad, you can have your credentials assessed and then register with the nursing regulator in your province. The median sits at about CAD 84,000 a year, and most registered nurses earn between CAD 58,500 and CAD 106,000. Nurse practitioners and senior nurses sit at the top of that range.
Specialists and general practitioners
Canada needs specialists in internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, psychiatry and pediatrics. Family doctors are in even shorter supply in rural and remote communities. Family physicians bill a median of about CAD 232,000 a year, ranging from roughly CAD 91,000 to CAD 435,000. Surgeons bill a median near CAD 419,000 and reach about CAD 767,000 at the top. Psychiatrists sit at a median around CAD 311,000. Read these as figures already net of practice overhead rather than gross billings — Job Bank applies the Canadian Medical Association’s overhead adjustment before publishing them. Income tax still comes out of them.
But note the trap. Physicians have their own category, and that category requires Canadian work experience. Either way, if you trained abroad you will need your credentials assessed and a provincial licence before you can practise.
Pharmacists
This is one of the steadiest and best-paid health occupations. Full-time pharmacists earn a median of about CAD 115,000 a year, and most fall between CAD 83,000 and CAD 139,000. If you qualified abroad, you will usually need a PharmD or equivalent, and you must pass the required exams before you can register.
Mental health counsellors
Demand for mental health care rose sharply during the pandemic and never came back down. Schools, hospitals, large employers and community organizations all need counsellors, social workers and psychotherapists. Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Alberta are among the provinces recruiting hardest.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
This is the one place where the salary lists happen to line up with reality. Even here, though, what qualifies you is your occupation code — not your pay.
Software engineers
Software pays the best of the engineering disciplines and offers the widest range of roles. The median is about CAD 117,000 a year, but the spread is wide: roughly CAD 73,000 to CAD 190,000. Junior roles sit near the bottom and architect-level roles near the top. There is work in every Canadian city, though the biggest cities have more openings and more variety.
Data analysts, AI and machine learning
As more industries move online, companies want sharper analysis of the data they already hold. Data analysts work with statistical methods and tools such as Python and Power BI. AI now reaches most sectors, from autonomous vehicles to diagnostic support, and the people who design learning algorithms and tune models are among the most sought-after hires anywhere. Data scientists earn a median of about CAD 96,000, ranging from roughly CAD 62,000 to CAD 145,000.
Cybersecurity specialists
Ransomware keeps spreading, more trade moves online, and more systems sit exposed. That has made network security one of the steadiest roles on the list. Government bodies, banks, hospitals and online businesses all need people who can protect data, and penetration testing and cryptography are the core skills they ask for.
Engineers
Canada has recruited engineers internationally for decades. Demand is strongest in civil, electrical, mechanical and software engineering, driven by infrastructure spending, sustainability projects and digital transformation. Petroleum engineers earn a median of about CAD 135,000, ranging from roughly CAD 96,000 to CAD 200,000. Aerospace and mechanical roles cluster in Canada’s industrial regions.
Blockchain developers
Blockchain is not only about cryptocurrency. It also underpins data security, smart contracts, identity management and digital voting. Most openings are in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.
Trades
The trades are permanently short-staffed and reliably drawn, yet they are almost always missing from articles about working in Canada — they simply sound less exciting than software. Industrial electricians and HVAC technicians see stable pay and steady demand, and so do plumbers, welders, carpenters, machinists and heavy-equipment technicians.
Education and transport
Teachers and early-childhood educators fall under education. Transport covers pilots, aircraft mechanics and inspectors, among others. Both categories are newer than healthcare or STEM, and less crowded.
Well paid, but not currently drawn
These occupations pay well and top every salary list, but none of them sits in a category IRCC is inviting from right now. They are worth pursuing once you are in Canada. They are a weak basis for planning your way in.
- Lawyers. The median is about CAD 124,000, and most earn between CAD 63,000 and CAD 223,000. Licensing is province by province, and foreign qualifications rarely transfer directly.
- Senior management and finance. CFOs in business services earn a median of about CAD 200,000 and reach roughly CAD 320,000 at the top. Marketing managers sit at a median near CAD 115,000, ranging from about CAD 72,000 to CAD 187,000. Remember that the senior managers category requires Canadian experience.
- Market analysts. A median of about CAD 92,000, ranging from roughly CAD 57,000 to CAD 144,000.
- Digital marketing. Advertising and promotions specialists earn a median of about CAD 74,000, ranging from roughly CAD 43,000 to CAD 119,000. Demand keeps rising for SEO, content and paid advertising skills.
- Supply chain and logistics managers. Supply disruption since 2020 turned logistics into a board-level concern, and employers now want ERP and risk-management expertise.
- Renewable energy roles. Federal and provincial climate commitments are driving growth in solar, wind and clean energy systems. Most wind projects are in Quebec.
Find your occupation code first
Everything above runs on Canada’s National Occupational Classification. Your NOC code and its TEER level decide which programs and categories you can enter. Two people with the same job title and the same salary can sit in different TEER levels and get completely different outcomes.
Match your actual duties against the NOC description, not your job title. Titles vary between employers and between countries; IRCC looks at what you do.
Where salary genuinely matters
Salary is not irrelevant. It just matters somewhere other than where most people think. Pay counts for:
- Provincial Nominee Programs. Several provinces weigh wage level, and some streams set a wage floor. See our BC PNP calculator.
- Proof of settlement funds, if you are not exempt from showing them.
- Actually living there. A salary that works in Halifax does not work in Vancouver, and no immigration category accounts for that.
What salary no longer does is raise your CRS score through a job offer.
A realistic sequence
- Find your NOC code and TEER level from your duties, not your title.
- Check whether that code falls inside a category currently being drawn.
- Confirm you have twelve months of qualifying experience in the last three years — and check whether your category demands it be Canadian.
- Sit your language test. Now that job-offer points are gone, language and education carry more of your score than before.
- Calculate your CRS honestly before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
Does a job offer still help my Express Entry application?
Not your score. Job offer points were removed on 25 March 2025. An offer can still be required to qualify for some programs, so keep it in your profile — but it will not raise your CRS.
Which occupation gives the best chance of being invited?
Healthcare and social services has been drawn most consistently, and you can gain the experience outside Canada. The trades are permanently short-staffed and less crowded than technology.
I am a doctor. Can I apply through the physician category from abroad?
No. The physicians category requires twelve months of Canadian work experience. Without it, you would need to qualify through another category or program.
How much experience do I need?
Twelve months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, within the last three years. This rose from six months.
Official source: IRCC — Express Entry category-based selection
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
