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Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the latest Express Entry draw. The department invited 1,325 candidates to apply in an all-program draw. Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 542 to be eligible for an ITA. Get a Free Express Entry Assessment This draw follows the most recent results from December 8 in which 5,900 candidates received an ITAs with a minimum CRS of 481 in a category-based selection draw for candidates in STEM occupations. December 7th additionally saw a category-based draw for individuals with French language proficiency, inviting 1,000 candidates from the Express Entry pool with a minimum CRS of 470. There was also an all-program draw on December 6 for candidates with a minimum CRS of 561. It was the first draw to take place in over a month. Before that, the most recent draw was a category-based selection draw for candidates in healthcare occupations on October 26. IRCC did not confirm a cause for the temporary pause in draws although on November 14 the department tweeted that there was an IT issue with the Express Entry profile builder for candidates who had received an ITA and were trying to upload their final application to IRCC’s website. Two days later on November 16, the department reported that the glitch had been fixed but draws did not immediately resume as was widely expected. There are many possible reasons IRCC may delay an Express Entry draw, such as if they are already on track to meet targets for Express Entry candidates set out in the Immigration Levels Plan, IT issues, staffing changes, or updates to the Comprehensive Ranking System. Summary of Express Entry draws since June 2023 Date Draw Type Number of ITAs Minimum CRS Dec 18 All-program 1,325 542 Dec 8 STEM occupations 5,900 481 Dec 7 French language proficiency 1,000 470 Dec 6 All-program 4,750 561 Oct 26 Healthcare occupations 3,600 431 Oct 25 French language proficiency 300 486 Oct 24 PNP-only 1,548 776 Oct 10 All-program 3,725 500 Sept 28 Agriculture and agri-food occupations 600 354 Sept 27 French language proficiency 500 472 Sept 26 All-program 3,000 504 Sept 20 Transport occupations 1,000 435 Sept 19 All-program 3,200 531 Aug 15 All-program 4,300 496 Aug 3 Trade occupations 1,500 388 Aug 2 French language proficiency 800 435 Aug 1 All-program 2,000 517 July 12 French language proficiency 3,800 375 July 11 All-program 800 505 July 7 French language proficiency 2,300 439 July 6 Healthcare occupations 1500 463 July 5 STEM occupations 500 486 July 4 All-program 700 511 June 28 Healthcare occupations 500 476 June 27 All-program 4,300 486 June 8 All-program 4,800 486 What is Express Entry? Express Entry is an application management system that oversees three prominent economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). Express Entry uses the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate candidates based on their human capital factors and then assigns a score. Human capital factors could include work experience, language ability, education, age and occupation. Those with the highest CRS score are the most likely to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in an upcoming Express Entry draw. Once a candidate receives an ITA, they can then submit their application to IRCC. The department has a service standard of six months for processing Express Entry applications and issuing a final decision. What is category-based selection? Last May IRCC announced that it was introducing category-based selection rounds of invitations for Express Entry candidates. Through these new rounds, IRCC targets candidates who have a specific, in-demand attribute that the immigration minister believes will help strengthen Canada’s workforce and economy. Among the six categories, one targets Express Entry candidates who demonstrate French language proficiency. The remaining five are for candidates who have work experience in a sector that is currently experiencing a labour shortage in Canada including: Healthcare; STEM professions; Trades; Transport; and Agriculture and agri-food ITAs issued in category-based selection rounds will count toward the targets for Federal High Skilled (Express Entry) workers in the Immigration Levels Plan. Over the next three years, Canada will admit up to 114,000 new permanent residents each year through Express Entry by the end of 2025.