Why No STEM or Transport Category Draw Happened in 2026
South Africans will recognise this shape from home: a government department publishes a list of programmes or bursaries that are technically still open, even though nobody remembers the last time an intake actually ran under one of them. Express Entry’s category list works the same way, and the no stem category draw 2026 situation is the clearest current example.
What’s actually on the list
As at 2 August 2026, IRCC’s category-based selection page lists ten current categories, and STEM occupations is one of them — 11 listed occupations, experience accepted from in Canada or abroad, same 12-month rule as every other occupation-based category. It hasn’t been removed. It’s still eligible. But no STEM round has been held at all in 2025 or in 2026 to date — a listed category with zero invitations across nearly two full years, sitting right alongside categories that have drawn repeatedly in the same window.
Transport tells an even more layered version of the same story. There was a transport occupations category back in 2023–24, drawn three times, built around a different and broader occupation set. It received no draws in 2025 and was effectively retired. Then, as part of the 18 February 2026 category announcement, a new transport category appeared — a different occupation list entirely, covering pilots, flight engineers, flying instructors, automotive service technicians, and aircraft mechanics and inspectors. That new version hadn’t been drawn even once as of 23 July 2026.
Listed and drawn are two different things
This is the distinction worth holding onto: a category appearing on IRCC’s official eligibility page tells you the rules exist and applications against it would be assessed correctly if a draw happened. It does not tell you a draw is coming, how often one might run, or when. IRCC’s own 18 February 2026 news release named only French-language proficiency, healthcare and social services, and trades as the categories it was explicitly continuing — STEM and the new transport category are live and eligible, but they weren’t flagged as active priorities in that announcement.
Don’t read intent into the absence
It’s tempting to interpret a long gap as a signal that a category is about to be scrapped, or conversely that it’s “due” for a draw soon. Neither reading holds up against the record. Some categories run every few weeks; others sit listed and unused for a year or more before anything happens, or never get drawn again at all. There’s no visible pattern that predicts which way STEM or transport will go from here, and treating an eligibility page as a promise of upcoming invitations sets up disappointment for no good reason.
What to do if you fall into one of these lists
If your occupation happens to sit on the STEM or transport lists, it’s reasonable to keep your Express Entry profile current and watch for announcements — but it isn’t reasonable to plan your timeline around a draw that may not come. Building your case around a currently active route (French-language proficiency, healthcare and social services, or trades, since those are the ones actually running) is the steadier approach, and a licensed RCIC or immigration lawyer can help you think through which of the live options actually fits your background.
Cape2Canada keeps its category-by-category guides updated as draws happen, so it’s worth a look before you build a plan around one that hasn’t run in a while.