Canada holds first CEC draw of the year

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has invited more candidates to apply for permanent residence (PR) through the Express Entry system.

The department issued 1,350 invitations to apply (ITAs) to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program, who had a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 542.

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Today's draw is the second of the week and follows a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on January 7, which invited 471 candidates who had a minimum CRS score of 793. This draw was the first of the year and follows a slower month for Express Entry.

Summary of Express Entry draws in 2025

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Cut-off CRS score
November 28	French language proficiency	6,000	408
November 25	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	531
November 25	Provincial Nominee Program	777	699
November 14	Healthcare and social services	3,500	462
November 12	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	533
November 10	Provincial Nominee Program	714	738
October 29	French language proficiency	6,000	416
October 28	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	533
October 27	Provincial Nominee Program	302	761
October 15	Healthcare and social services	2,500	472
October 14	Provincial Nominee Program	345	778
October 6	French language proficiency	4,500	432
October 1	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	534
September 29	Provincial Nominee Program	291	855
September 18	Trade	1,250	505
September 17	Education	2,500	462
September 15	Provincial Nominee Program	228	746
September 4	French language proficiency	4,500	446
September 3	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	534
September 2	Provincial Nominee Program	249	772
August 19	Healthcare and social services	2,500	470
August 18	Provincial Nominee Program	192	800
August 8	French language proficiency	2,500	481
August 7	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	534
August 6	Provincial Nominee Program	225	739
July 22	Healthcare and social services	4,000	475
July 21	Provincial Nominee Program	202	788
July 8	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	518
July 7	Provincial Nominee Program	356	750
June 26	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	521
June 23	Provincial Nominee Program	503	742
June 12	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	529
June 10	Provincial Nominee Program	125	784
June 4	Healthcare and social services	500	504
June 2	Provincial Nominee Program	277	726
May 13	Canadian Experience Class	500	547
May 12	Provincial Nominee Program	511	706
May 2	Healthcare and social services	500	510
May 1	Education	1,000	479
April 28	Provincial Nominee Program	421	727
April 14	Provincial Nominee Program	825	764
March 21	French language proficiency	7,500	379
March 17	Provincial Nominee Program	536	736
March 6	French language proficiency	4,500	410
March 3	Provincial Nominee Program	725	667
February 19	French language proficiency	6,500	428
February 17	Provincial Nominee Program	646	750
February 5	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	521
February 4	Provincial Nominee Program	455	802
January 23	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	527
January 8	Canadian Experience Class	1,350	542
January 7	Provincial Nominee Program	471	793

Patterns and trends in Express Entry draws

IRCC issued comparatively fewer ITAs (2,561) in December and held fewer draws than in November and October which both saw more than 5,000 ITAs issued through six draws.

Throughout last year IRCC regularly followed a pattern of inviting candidates through Express Entry from the following programs and categories:

• The Canadian Experience Class (CEC);
• Enhanced (Express Entry-aligned )PNPs; or
• The French-language proficiency category.

In their latest Immigration Levels Plan, the department dedicated the majority of their landings allocation through the Express Entry system to candidates who were already in Canada, and those who have professional or language skills to meet the country's labour market and demographic goals.

Under the Levels Plan, IRCC will prioritize candidates already in Canada through the "In-Canada Focus" allocation, which includes CEC and PNP candidates (with the potential to invite candidates from two other Express Entry programs). Candidates who help meet labour market and demographic goals are prioritized under the "Federal Economic Priorities" allocation and will be invited through category-based selections within the Express Entry system.

IRCC has also changed the groups that it will prioritize under category-based selections. In 2025 priority categories include:

• Healthcare occupations;
• Trades occupations; and
• French-language proficiency.

The department has not publicly stated that it will end draws for the remaining three categories, only that the above categories will be prioritized. As of this writing, all six original categories remain.

What is Express Entry?

Founded 10 years ago, Express Entry is an applicant management system that manages three programs for economic immigration to Canada:

• The CEC;
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP); and
• The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).

In addition to these programs, candidates in enhanced PNPs can also be nominated through the Express Entry system in a process known as "enhanced nomination".

In 2023 IRCC also introduced category-based selections, so that candidates who already qualified for an Express Entry program could be more selectively chosen based on their professional skills or French language abilities.

In 2025, the programs encompassed within Express Entry will cumulatively form the largest pathway of economic immigration to Canada. According to the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC hopes to welcome 124,590 new immigrants to Canada this year.

Express Entry works on a candidate-applicant system, wherein newcomers must first submit a candidate profile to the system. If eligible for one of Express Entry's three programs, the newcomer's candidate profile will be entered into the system and scored according to CRS criteria. They are now a candidate. If drawn in an Express Entry selection, the candidate will then receive an ITA and have 60 days from the date of issuance to prepare and submit a complete application for PR to IRCC. At this point, they are now an applicant.

If the application is successful, the newcomer will receive Canadian PR status and must land (either virtually or in-person) in Canada, where they can complete the PR process. Permanent residents of Canada are free to live, work, and settle in the country indefinitely.

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