IRCC issues 3,000 invitations to CEC candidates in latest Express Entry draw

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued more invitations to apply (ITA) through the Express Entry system.

The immigration department issued 3,000 ITAs in a targeted draw for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates.

To be considered in this draw, candidates needed to have:

• A minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 529; and
• Created an Express Entry candidate profile before 6:06 p.m., Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on 28 September, 2024.

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is

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

Today's Express Entry draw is the fourth of the month, and is a return to the larger CEC draws that IRCC used to hold throughout 2024 regularly and earlier this year. This is also the first CEC draw under Canada's new Immigration Minister.

Today's draw follows a small Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on 10 June, the second draw for the healthcare and social services occupations category on 4 June, and another PNP draw on 2 June.

Thus far, IRCC has issued 38,342 ITAs through the Express Entry system in 2025.

This year, the Express Entry system has primarily held draws focused on PNP candidates, with the remainder of Express Entry ITAs dedicated to CEC candidates, candidates with French-language proficiency, and those in Express Entry's priority categories:

Draw Type	Number of Draws
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)	22
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)	13
French-language proficiency	8
Healthcare and social services	6
Education	2
Trade	1

What are the benefits of the CEC?

The CEC is part of a coordinated effort by Canada's federal and provincial governments to encourage more temporary foreign workers and international students to settle permanently in Canada. This dynamic represents a win-win relationship between foreign nationals interested in immigrating to Canada and the country itself (specifically its labour market, and demography).

Research conducted by IRCC, Statistics Canada, and other reputable sources consistently shows that skilled worker candidates are more successful at integrating into the Canadian job market if they have prior experience living in the country.

The combination of strong human capital characteristics, such as being young or middle-aged, highly educated, and possessing relevant Canadian work experience— alongside the social and professional networks built in Canada, enables CEC immigrants to achieve strong outcomes in the labour market, often even outperforming the Canadian-born population.

An advantage to candidates with Canadian experience is that they are awarded more points under the CRS used in Express Entry, which improves their likelihood of being invited to apply for permanent residence.

A further benefit is that these CEC applicants selected through Express Entry typically receive permanent residence within six months.

In addition, CEC candidates (unlike candidates in the other two Express Entry programs) are not required to show proof of settlement funds to IRCC when applying for PR.

See how competitive your Express Entry profile is