Express Entry: IRCC invites 5,000 Canadian Experience Class candidates

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the latest Express Entry draw.

The department invited 5,000 candidates in a Canadian Experience Class (CEC)- only draw.

To be considered, candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 510.

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Today’s draw was the ninth of an already busy month for Express Entry. In total, IRCC has issued 25,125 ITAs throughout July.

Draws this month have been alternating between program-specific draws, such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and category-based selection draws.

In category-based draws, most ITAs have gone to candidates who demonstrate French language proficiency, totalling 5,000 ITAs over two draws. IRCC also issued 3,750 ITAs to healthcare candidates on July 5 and 1,800 to candidates in trade occupations on July 4.

A high number of ITAs have also been issued in program-specific draws. As of July 31, IRCC has invited 11,300 Canadian Experience Class candidates and 3,275 PNP candidates. Candidates in both programs often already live and work in Canada as temporary residents. The return to program-specific draws on May 30 after a full year without them aligns with IRCC’s previously announced intention to hold more domestic draws.

In March this year, the department introduced a new goal of reducing and stabilizing the number of temporary residents in Canada while also meeting its permanent resident targets as outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan.

Summary of Express Entry draw results 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

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

These are three of Canada’s most prominent economic immigration programs. They all use the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate candidates based on their human capital factors such as age, education, occupation, language abilities and work experience.

Each factor is assigned a score and taken together they make up a candidate’s overall CRS score. Based on these human capital factors they are deemed more likely to contribute to Canada’s workforce and strengthen its demographics. The higher the score, the more likely they are to receive an ITA.

Express Entry is aimed to facilitate faster processing for high skilled candidates. The department has a published service standard of six months for processing Express Entry applications.

What is category-based selection?

To further target candidates with the skills or attributes Canada needs, IRCC introduced category-based selection draws in May 2023. The categories were chosen following consultations with external and internal stakeholders. They are: