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

The department issued 920 ITAs in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw.

Candidates were required to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 739 to be accepted for consideration.

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Today’s draw comes after three program-specific draws held last month. Most recently, IRCC invited 1,499 candidates in another Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)-only draw on June 19. They required a minimum CRS score of 663.

A PNP-only draw was also held on May 30, inviting 2,985 Express Entry candidates. This was the first such draw and the first program-specific draw since May 10, 2023. Another draw on May 31 invited 3,000 candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Program-specific draws only consider candidates in the Express Entry pool who have applied through an Express Entry program such as the CEC, Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). In the case of PNP-only draws, candidates are only considered if they have been successfully nominated through the Express Entry aligned stream of the Provincial Nominee Program, a process known as advanced nomination.

Most recently, this type of draw had not taken place since the introduction of category-based selection draws in May 2023. However, since January of this year, IRCC has been working to stabilize the high levels of temporary residents in Canada. One way to do this is to provide temporary residents, who are in Canada on a work or study permit or a visitor visa, with more options to become permanent residents (PR).

Many temporary residents who have applied for permanent residence, and are currently living in Canada or have experience living in Canada, apply for PR through the CEC. The same is true for candidates in the PNP. This means that IRCC can meet its annual target for “federal high skilled workers” (Express Entry) outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan, while also reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada.

Summary of Results for Express Entry Draws in 2024

What is Express Entry?

The Express Entry Application Management System was introduced in 2015 as a way for IRCC to target candidates with human capital attributes and process their applications faster. It oversees applications for the FSWP, FSTP, and CEC.

It uses human capital factors such as age, work experience, occupation, language skills and vocation to evaluate a candidate’s eligibility. Each factor is assigned a score and when they are added together, candidates receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. The higher the CRS score of a candidate, the higher their chances of getting an ITA in the upcoming draw.

There are several types of Express Entry draws including program-specific draws, category-based selection draws, and general draws. The general draw considers all Express Entry candidates, regardless of their program or occupation.

What is range-based selection?

The category-based selection draw was introduced by IRCC in 2023 as a method to differentiate Express Entry candidates with in-demand qualities for the Canadian workforce or to help strengthen the national French-speaking demographics.

IRCC has introduced six possible categories for candidates to obtain an ITA:

• Healthcare Business
• Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions
• Trade occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
• Transportation Business
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Business
• Proficiency in French Language

These draws are not program-specific and are more likely to have lower than average CRS scores (compared to normal draws).

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