Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the most recent Express Entry draw.
The department issued 1,613 ITAs in a draw that only considered Express Entry candidates with a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination.
Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 743 to be considered.
The most recent draw before today occurred on September 19 and invited 4,000 candidates from the Canadian Experience Class -only. These candidates needed a minimum CRS score of 509 to be considered, marking a slight increase over the previous CEC draw on August 27 (507).
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws have been increasingly common over the summer with IRCC issuing 21,800 ITAs to CEC candidates since July. This is line with IRCC’s stated intention to increase the number of “domestic” draws and reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada. This strategy also aims to help the department meet its permanent resident targets for the year.
Today’s draw is the first of the month. Last year, IRCC held four draws throughout October, inviting 9,173 candidates.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is an application management system that was launched in 2015 to help IRCC select economic immigration candidates with the capacity to fill urgent labour force gaps.
Candidates who apply to any of the three programs managed by Express Entry (the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the CEC) are evaluated using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
The CRS evaluates candidates based on their human capital factors. These include work experience, age, language ability, education, and occupation. Candidates can also get additional points for immigrating with a spouse or partner, having a sibling in Canada or having work experience or education in Canada.
Each factor adds points to a candidate’s overall score and the higher the score, the more likely it is that the candidates will get an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw, depending on the draw type.
Category-based selection
CRS scores tend to be lower on average in category-based selection draws. These are draw types that IRCC introduced in May 2023 to help the department select Express Entry candidates who can fill urgent workforce or demographic gaps. The department has six categories for these draws.
- Healthcare
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
- Trades
- Transport
- Agriculture and agri-food
- French language proficiency
IRCC says the categories were selected following in-depth consultations with multiple stakeholders and consulting labour market conditions, as well as considering the department’s target for admitting 6% of all newcomers into French-minority communities outside of Quebec.
While the CRS cut-off scores for these draws are often less those in program specific or general draws, candidates must still have an application in the Express Entry pool and having a high CRS score is an advantage.
Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024
| Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 7 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,613 | 743 |
| September 19 | Canadian Experience Class | 4,000 | 509 |
| September 13 | French language proficiency | 1,000 | 446 |
| September 9 | Provincial Nominee Program | 911 | 732 |
| August 27 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,300 | 507 |
| August 26 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,121 | 694 |
| August 15 | French language proficiency | 2,000 | 394 |
| August 14 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,200 | 509 |
| August 13 | Provincial Nominee Program | 763 | 690 |
| July 31 | Canadian Experience Class | 5,000 | 510 |
| July 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 964 | 686 |
| July 18 | French language proficiency | 1,800 | 400 |
| July 17 | Canadian Experience Class | 6,300 | 515 |
| July 16 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,391 | 670 |
| July 8 | French proficiency | 3,200 | 420 |
| July 5 | Healthcare occupations | 3,750 | 445 |
| July 4 | Trade occupations | 1,800 | 436 |
| July 2 | Provincial Nominee Program | 920 | 739 |
| June 19 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,499 | 663 |
| May 31 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,000 | 522 |
| May 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 2,985 | 676 |
| April 24 | French proficiency | 1,400 | 410 |
| April 23 | General | 2,095 | 529 |
| April 11 | STEM occupations | 4,500 | 491 |
| April 10 | General | 1,280 | 549 |
| March 26 | French language proficiency | 1,500 | 388 |
| March 25 | General | 1,980 | 524 |
| March 13 | Transport occupations | 975 | 430 |
| March 12 | General | 2,850 | 525 |
| February 29 | French language proficiency | 2,500 | 336 |
| February 28 | General | 1,470 | 534 |
| February 16 | Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 150 | 437 |
| February 14 | Healthcare occupations | 3,500 | 422 |
| February 13 | General | 1,490 | 535 |
| February 1 | French language proficiency | 7,000 | 365 |
| January 31 | General | 730 | 541 |
| January 23 | General | 1,040 | 543 |
| January 10 | General | 1,510 | 546 |
