Canada issued 3,300 ITAs to candidates under the CEC program, In the latest Express Entry draw

In the second draw of the week in the Express Entry, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada issued 3,300 ITAs only to CEC candidates.

For eligibility, candidates were required to have at least a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 507.

Yesterday, in a Provincial Nominee Program-only draw, 1,121 candidates were invited, and the minimum required CRS score was 694 to be considered.

Prior to that IRCC had issued numerous draws through the Express Entry system in the period August 13-15. A category-based selection draw was issued on August 15 for candidates who could speak French. On August 13, a total of 763 candidates were invited in a PNP-only draw for which the minimum required CRS score was 690. On August 14, 3,200 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates were invited for which the minimum CRS score required was 509.

Draw Released in 2024:

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Minimum CRS
August 27	Canadian Experience Class	3,300	507
August 26	Provincial Nominee Program	1,121	694
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

IRCC has recently adopted a pattern of holding multiple draws every other week, with a marked increase in the PNP and CEC draws in recent months. This also implements the department’s goal to shift the current focus more toward domestic draws in order to manage the inventory of temporary residents and meet the permanent resident admission targets set within the Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026.

IRCC aims to admit 110,770 newcomers via Express Entry in 2024, and 117,500 in 2025. Applicants who receive ITAs later this year will likely contribute to the 2025 target since IRCC works to process all complete Express Entry applications within six months.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is a system used by the Canadian government to manage applications for three key economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates in these programs are assessed and ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which evaluates various factors such as:

• Occupation
• Work Experience
• Age
• Education
• Language Proficiency

Other factors that may also cause some kind of variation in the CRS include a common-law or spouse, or having a sibling in Canada.

The overall CRS score is determined by the candidate’s points for each of these stated factors. The higher the score, the more likely an applicant will be invited to apply through an Express Entry draw for permanent residence in Canada.

In May 2023, IRCC introduced a revised approach to the Express Entry system, including category-based rounds of invitations for candidates in specific occupations or with specific language abilities.