In the most recent Express Entry lottery, Invitations to Apply (ITAs) have been released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In a draw linked with the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the department invited 763 candidates.
A minimum score of 690 on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) was necessary for candidates to be considered.
The lottery that took place today is the first of August and comes after an extraordinary number of Express Entry draws in July. In nine different drawings, the IRCC awarded almost 25,000 ITAs to hopefuls.
This indicates that since the system’s inception in 2015, July has seen the highest number of Express Entry draws of any month. It represents a noteworthy recovery after a sluggish June that saw only one.
Two of the four draws held in July were for candidates who satisfied the requirements for French language competency. The other four draws were category-based selection draws. This category’s draw on July 18 has the lowest CRS score of the month (400).
ITAs were given to candidates in commerce and healthcare occupations in the other two category-based draws.
Three of the five draws that remained were for candidates who were already enrolled in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and two of the draws were specifically for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). PNP candidates received the highest CRS score of the month on July 2 (739).
The IRCC is meeting its objective of holding more domestic drawings for candidates for permanent residency who are currently residents of Canada, as seen by the number of program-specific draws held after a year of just category-based selection and general draws. This is a part of the department’s declaration that it will endeavor to meet its goal for admissions of permanent residents while simultaneously working to decrease the number of temporary residents in Canada.
Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024
| Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 introduced by IRCC in 2015 to help select economic immigration candidates who are most likely to integrate into Canada’s economy and workforce successfully.
It uses the Comprehensive Ranking System to manage applications from three programs; the CEC, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
The system evaluates and ranks candidates based on human capital factors such as their age, occupation, education, language ability and work experience. Each factor is assigned a score, and the sum is a candidate’s overall CRS score. Those with the highest scores are the most likely to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residency.
What is category-based selection?
Category-based selection rounds of invitations were introduced in May 2023 as a means for IRCC to further target the Express Entry candidates that are likely to either fill an urgent need in the workforce or to help the department reach a demographic target.
IRCC says the department decided on the six categories following months of consultations with relevant stakeholders. Categories include:
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
- Trades occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
- French-language proficiency
The recently released Express Entry year-end report for 2023 found that candidates in the STEM category received the most ITAs throughout the year (32,111) followed by French-language candidates (15,812).
However, according to an Access to Information Request shared with CIC News earlier this year, it is expected that candidates in the French-speaking category will receive the highest number of ITAs in 2024.