Canada invites 3,000 Canadian Experience Class candidates in latest Express Entry draw

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in Canada’s most recent Express Entry draw.

The department issued 3,000 ITAs in a program-specific draw for candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 522 to be considered.

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Today’s draw is the second of the week and follows a program-specific draw on May 30 for Express Entry candidates with a nomination through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). It is the first draw specifically for CEC candidates since September 14, 2021 and also featured the lowest CRS score of the year for a non-category-based selection draw.

This week's draws also represent the first program-specific draws since the introduction of category-based selection in May 2023. Many CEC candidates, as well as PNP candidates, are already living and working in Canada as temporary residents. These draws reflect IRCC's recently announced commitment to hold more "domestic draws" to help more temporary residents transition to permanent residents and bring down the overall level of temporary residents in Canada.

Program-specific draws consider only candidates from the Express Entry pool who have applied through a specific permanent residency program rather than inviting applicants from all programs, such as occurs in a general draw.

The May 30 draw was also the first Express Entry draw since April 24 following a month-long pause. IRCC has not confirmed a reason for the pause. However, in a recent Access to Information Request, the department said all draws this year will occur on a predetermined schedule. IRCC has not made that schedule public. It also said draw size and frequency will be determined based on admissions targets in 2024 and 2025. Processing capacity may also influence draw frequency.

Before the pause, there were four draws throughout April. The first April draw invited 1,280 candidates in a general draw on April 10. The following day the department issued 4,500 ITAs to Express Entry candidates in a category-based selection draw for STEM occupations.

The remaining two draws took place on April 23 and 24. On the 23rd, IRCC invited 2,095 candidates in a general draw and 1,400 candidates in a French proficiency category-based selection draw on the 24th.

According to a recent Access to Information Request, French proficiency is expected to lead category-based selection draws in 2024. IRCC says this is due to the high rate of employment for bilingual candidates. The department also said French proficiency generally means these candidates have a higher CRS score and therefore a better chance of overall successful economic integration.

STEM occupations will have the second highest number of ITAs at 25%, healthcare occupations at 15%. Transport, trades and agriculture and agri-food categories will account for 5% or less of all ITAs issued in category-based draws this year.

The remaining 21.5% of ITAs was slated to be issued in general draws. Notably, no mention was made of program-specific draws.

Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Minimum CRS
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

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system that oversees three of Canada’s most prominent economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

Each program has unique eligibility requirements but they are all evaluated using the same Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

Through the CRS, Express Entry candidates are given a point score for several human capital factors such as their work experience, occupation, language ability, age, education or if they are immigrating with a spouse or partner.

Each score is added together to give candidates their final CRS score. Those with higher scores are the most likely to receive an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw.

In May 2023 IRCC also introduced category-based selection draws for those Express Entry candidates with specific work experience or language abilities. The six categories are: