Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in its first draw of the week.
The department issued 1,085 invitations to apply (ITAs) in a PNP-only draw.
Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 727 to be considered.
Today’s draw marks the third in December, following a draw for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates in the Express Entry pool on December 2, and a category-based draw for candidates with French language proficiency on December 3.
Last month saw six Express Entry draws, and the issuance of 5,507 ITAs for permanent residence (PR).
This month’s draws seem to follow a familiar pattern of alternating between the PNP, Canadian Experience Class and French language proficiency draws.
This is a trend that is likely to continue with the establishment of the “In-Canada” focus category introduced in the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27, which is set to target candidates from the CEC, and “other regional programs”, with the possible inclusion of candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) as well.
Cumulatively this category has been allocated 82,980 PR admissions in 2025—more than 40% of all planned admissions next year.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is a system used to manage applications for three federal economic immigration programs for Canadian permanent residency: the CEC, the FSWP, and the FSTP. In addition, candidates in an Express Entry-aligned PNP stream may also be invited through this system, in a process known as an enhanced provincial nomination.
Applicants in these programs are evaluated using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which assigns scores based on factors such as age, occupation, language proficiency, education, and work experience. A provincial nomination through an enhanced PNP stream adds 600 CRS points, substantially increasing the likelihood of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
Additional CRS points can be earned by having a sibling in Canada, applying with a spouse or partner, or combining education and work experience gained both in Canada and abroad.
Candidates with the highest CRS scores are most likely to receive an ITA in upcoming Express Entry draws, as long as they meet the specific selection criteria of the draw. In addition to inviting candidates by CRS scores, IRCC has also introduced category-based selections, wherein candidates with specific professional or language proficiencies that meet Canada’s labor market and demographic goals can be issued ITAs based on both their inclusion in this category and their CRS scores.
CRS cut-offs for category-based selections tend to be much lower than program-specific or general draws.
