IRCC invites 3,750 candidates in third Express Entry draw of the week

Edana Robitaille
Published: July 5, 2024

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the third Express Entry draw of the week.

The department issued 3,750 ITAs in a category-base selection draw for healthcare occupations.

Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 445 to be considered.

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This was the second category-based draw of the week. It follows a draw on July 4  which was a category-based selection draw for 1,800 candidates in trade occupations.

IRCC also held a draw earlier this week on July 2 which considered only candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The 920 invited candidates required a minimum CRS score of 739. 

This brings the total number of ITAs issued this week to 6,470, the highest number of ITAs issued since April.

The recent trend of program specific draws began earlier this year. Since May 30, IRCC has held four program-specific draws, with three of them for PNP candidates.  

Program-specific draws only consider candidates in the Express Entry pool who have applied through an Express Entry program such as the CEC, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). In the case of a PNP-only draw, candidates are only considered if they have been successfully nominated through an Express Entry aligned stream of a PNP, a process known as enhanced nomination.

Until recently, this type of draw had not occurred since the introduction of category-based selection draws in May 2023. However, since January this year, IRCC has been working to stabilize the high levels of temporary residents in Canada. One method of doing so is offering temporary residents, those in Canada on a work or study permit or a visitor visa, more options to become permanent residents (PR).

Many temporary residents who have applied for permanent residence, and are currently living in Canada or have experience living in Canada, apply for PR through the CEC. The same is also true of candidates in the PNP. This means IRCC can meet its yearly target for "Federal High Skilled Workers" (Express Entry) as outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan, while also reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada.

Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024

DateDraw TypeNumber of ITAsMinimum CRS
December 3French language proficiency800466
December 2Provincial Nominee Program 676705
November 20Healthcare occupations3,000463
November 19Canadian Experience Class400539
November 18Provincial Nominee Program 174816
November 15French language proficiency800478
November 13Canadian Experience Class400547
November 12Provincial Nominee Program 733812
October 23Trade occupations1,800433
October 22Canadian Experience Class400539
October 21Provincial Nominee Program648791
October 10French language proficiency1,000444
October 9Canadian Experience Class500539
October 7Provincial Nominee Program1,613743
September 19Canadian Experience Class4,000509
September 13 French language proficiency1,000446
September 9Provincial Nominee Program911732
August 27Canadian Experience Class3,300507
August 26Provincial Nominee Program1,121694
August 15French language proficiency2,000394
August 14Canadian Experience Class3,200509
August 13Provincial Nominee Program763690
July 31Canadian Experience Class5,000510
July 30Provincial Nominee Program964686
July 18French language proficiency1,800400
July 17Canadian Experience Class6,300515
July 16Provincial Nominee Program1,391670
July 8French proficiency3,200420
July 5Healthcare occupations3,750445
July 4Trade occupations1,800436
July 2Provincial Nominee Program920739
June 19Provincial Nominee Program1,499663
May 31Canadian Experience Class3,000522
May 30Provincial Nominee Program2,985676
April 24French proficiency1,400410
April 23General2,095529
April 11STEM occupations4,500491
April 10General1,280549
March 26French language proficiency1,500388
March 25General1,980524
March 13Transport occupations975430
March 12General2,850525
February 29French language proficiency2,500336
February 28General1,470534
February 16Agriculture and agri-food occupations150437
February 14Healthcare occupations3,500422
February 13General1,490535
February 1French language proficiency7,000365
January 31General730541
January 23General1,040543
January 10General1,510546

What is Express Entry?

The Express Entry application management system was introduced in 2015 as a way for IRCC to target candidates with in-demand human capital attributes and process their applications faster. It oversees applications from the FSWP, the FSTP and the CEC.

The CRS used by Express Entry considers human capital factors such as age, work experience, occupation, language ability  and occupation to evaluate a candidate's eligibility. Each factor is assigned a score and, when added together, candidates receive their overall CRS score. The higher a candidate's CRS score, the more likely the are to receive an ITA in an upcoming draw.

There are several types of Express Entry draws including program-specific draws, category-based selection draws and general draws. General draws consider all Express Entry candidates regardless of their program or occupation.

What is category-based selection?

Category-based selection draws were introduced in 2023 as a method for IRCC to single-out Express Entry candidates with in-demand attributes for Canada's workforce, or to help strengthen the national French-speaking demographic.

IRCC introduced six possible categories for candidates to receive ITAs:

  • Healthcare occupations
  • Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
  • Trades occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
  • Transport occupations
  • Agriculture and agri-food occupations
  • French-language proficiency

These draws are not program-specific and are more likely to feature a lower than average CRS score (when compared to general draws).

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