Canada invites PNP candidates in third Express Entry draw of the month

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued more invitations to apply (ITAs) to candidates in the Express Entry system.

The immigration department issued 536 ITAs to candidates in a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams

To be considered for this draw, candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 736, and to have created an Express Entry candidate profile before 2:02 pm Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on March 12, 2025.

Summary of Express Entry draws

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Cut-off CRS score
December 17	Canadian Experience Class	5,000	515
December 16	Provincial Nominee Program	399	731
December 11	Healthcare and social services	1,000	476
December 10	Canadian Experience Class	6,000	520
December 8	Provincial Nominee Program	1,123	729
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

Today's draw is the third in March. It follows a French-language proficiency draw on March 6, and a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on March 3.

Express Entry draws in 2025 have been alternating between Canadian Experience Class (CEC), PNP and French-language candidates.

The year has also seen some larger draws, with thousands of ITAs being issued to candidates. The last CEC draw, held on February 5, saw 4,000 ITAs being issued, with a CRS of cutoff score of 521. Both the previous French language draws, which took place on March 6 and February 19, invited over 4,000 candidates each.

On February 27, IRCC announced its priority categories for 2025, adding education as a new category.

The 2025 priority categories are:

• French-language proficiency;
• Healthcare and social services occupations;
• Trade occupations; and
• Education occupations.

In the press release announcing the categories, IRCC reaffirmed its commitment to invite candidates with experience in Canada as well as French-language proficiency in Express Entry.

What is Express Entry?

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).

These programs use the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to find the candidates who are most likely to meet Canada's labour market needs and contribute to the overall economy,

It does this by evaluating a candidate’s human capital factors such as their age, occupation, education, language ability and work experience. Each factor receives a score and is added together to get an overall CRS score.

CRS scores are often higher in PNP draws because Express Entry candidates who are nominated by a province automatically receive an additional 600 points.

Candidates may also receive points for having family in Canada or immigrating with a spouse or partner.

Those with the highest scores are the most likely to receive an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw.

Note: As of now, candidates may also get additional points for having job offers under arranged employment. However, IRCC plans to remove additional CRS points for job offers in Spring of 2025.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams