Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent out invitations to apply for 2,000 candidates who demonstrated proficiency in French in an Express Entry draw conducted recently. This draw had a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement of 394. This latest round is the third this week, following an August 14 draw that issued an invitation to 3,200 candidates from the Canadian Experience Class and a short August 13 draw for 763 PNP candidates. In the latter, a minimum CRS score of 690 was required.
Details of Recent Draw
Date of the Draw: 15 August, 2024
Draw Type: French Language Proficiency
Number of Invitations: 2000
Minimum CRS: 394
2024 Draws List
| Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
| August 15 | French Language Proficiency | 2,000 | 394 |
| August 14 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,200 | 509 |
| August 13 | Provincial Nominee Program | 763 | 690 |
| July 31 | Canadian Experience Class | 5,000 | 510 |
| July 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 964 | 686 |
| July 18 | French language proficiency | 1,800 | 400 |
| July 17 | Canadian Experience Class | 6,300 | 515 |
| July 16 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,391 | 670 |
| July 8 | French proficiency | 3,200 | 420 |
| July 5 | Healthcare occupations | 3,750 | 445 |
| July 4 | Trade occupations | 1,800 | 436 |
| July 2 | Provincial Nominee Program | 920 | 739 |
| June 19 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,499 | 663 |
| May 31 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,000 | 522 |
| May 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 2,985 | 676 |
| April 24 | French proficiency | 1,400 | 410 |
| April 23 | General | 2,095 | 529 |
| April 11 | STEM occupations | 4,500 | 491 |
| April 10 | General | 1,280 | 549 |
| March 26 | French language proficiency | 1,500 | 388 |
| March 25 | General | 1,980 | 524 |
| March 13 | Transport occupations | 975 | 430 |
| March 12 | General | 2,850 | 525 |
| February 29 | French language proficiency | 2,500 | 336 |
| February 28 | General | 1,470 | 534 |
| February 16 | Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 150 | 437 |
| February 14 | Healthcare occupations | 3,500 | 422 |
| February 13 | General | 1,490 | 535 |
| February 1 | French language proficiency | 7,000 | 365 |
| January 31 | General | 730 | 541 |
| January 23 | General | 1,040 | 543 |
| January 10 | General | 1,510 | 546 |
July’s Unprecedented Activity
This was preceded by a remarkable month of July, when over 25,000 ITAs were issued in nine different Express Entry draws, making the month of July one of the busiest months since the system came into being in 2015. These draws have been quite an increase from June, when only one draw took place.
Category-Based and Program-Specific Draws
Of these July draws, four were category-based. Among those, two targeted French-speaking candidates. The July 18 draw for this category had the month’s lowest CRS score at 400. The other two category-based draws were aimed at candidates working in healthcare and trade professions.
Also, there have been five program-specific draws one for Canadian Experience Class candidates and three for PNP candidates with the highest CRS score recorded on July 2 at 739 for PNP candidates.
IRCC Strategy on Domestic Draws
The move to more program-specific draws, after a year of mostly category-based and general draws, falls in line with IRCC’s objective to increase domestic draws for candidates already residing in Canada. This is part of the effort in a broader strategy to bring down the count of temporary residents while meeting permanent residency targets.
What exactly is meant by Express Entry?
Express Entry is an ‘applicant management system’ put in place by IRCC in 2015 for the processing of applications for economic immigration. It selects only those candidates who can integrate into Canada’s economy and workforce more successfully.
It evaluates the candidate based on three programs: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) based on the Comprehensive Ranking System. Candidates are evaluated based on criteria such as age, occupation, education, language skills, and work experience. All of these will then set the general CRS score, determining the possibility of getting an ITA for permanent residence.
