Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) boosted the frequency of federal immigration choices in October following a slowdown in Express Entry draws throughout September.
The second Express Entry trade vocations draw of 2024 was also held by IRCC; this was the first time this group had been selected since July of this year.
In addition to discussing the makeup of the Express Entry candidate pool at the beginning of November, this article will analyze the October drawings.
The Express Entry pool’s current condition
Which drawings took place in October?
Six Express Entry drawings in four streams and selection categories took place in October.
Through these draws, the immigration authorities sent out 5,961 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residency (PR), matching the 5,911 ITAs sent out the month before.
Draw sizes tended to be smaller in October than in September because a comparable number of ITAs were issued over a greater number of draws. Additionally, compared to September, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off scores for every draw went up.
The following table details Express Entry draws in October:
| Draw Number | Date | Round Type | ITAs Issued | CRS Cut-off Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316 | October 7, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) | 1,613 | 743 |
| 317 | October 9, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 500 | 539 |
| 318 | October 10, 2024 | French Language Proficiency | 1,000 | 444 |
| 319 | October 21, 2024 | PNP | 648 | 791 |
| 320 | October 22, 2024 | CEC | 400 | 539 |
| 321 | October 23, 2024 | Trade Occupations | 1,800 | 433 |
In the Express Entry pool, the IRCC has continued to regularly invite candidates from the CEC, PNP, and French-language categories to apply for permanent residence. Since July of this year, the immigration service has regularly staged lotteries for applicants in these streams/categories.
Additionally, the IRCC has said in their 2018 Immigration Levels Plan that they would keep giving priority to these applicants for selection as permanent residents via the federal Express Entry system.
Despite the fact that October saw a marginally larger number of ITAs than September, the overall number of ITAs issued was still lower than in prior months:
| Month | ITAs Issued |
|---|---|
| July | 25,125 |
| August | 10,384 |
| September | 5,911 |
| October | 5,961 |
What is the Express Entry pool’s current score distribution?
The breakdown of candidate scores in the Express Entry pool as of October 22, the date of the most recent draw at the time of writing, is as follows:
| CRS Score Range | Number of Candidates |
|---|---|
| 0-300 | 5,462 |
| 301-350 | 22,928 |
| 351-400 | 51,048 |
| 401-410 | 10,871 |
| 411-420 | 11,071 |
| 421-430 | 10,583 |
| 431-440 | 12,047 |
| 441-450 | 10,931 |
| 451-460 | 11,306 |
| 461-470 | 12,900 |
| 471-480 | 14,914 |
| 481-490 | 12,240 |
| 491-500 | 11,925 |
| 501-600 | 13,430 |
| 601-1200 | 124 |
| Total | 211,780 |
This data is also presented as a bar graph for further visualization:
How do the pool’s scores compare to one another?
To better understand how particular CRS scores fit within the general distribution of CRS scores in the Express Entry candidate pool, the following table use percentile scores.
For the upper limit of each CRS score range, we have computed a percentile score, which indicates the percentage of applicants having scores at or below that cutoff point in relation to the entire pool.
We only determined the percentile for the highest CRS score within each range because the IRCC data is displayed in ranges.
The percentage of candidates who scored within each percentile range is shown below, along with the percentile ranges for the highest scores in each IRCC-reported range:
| CRS Score Range | Number of Candidates | Percentile Range | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-300 | 5,462 | 0 – 2.58% | 2.58% |
| 301-350 | 22,928 | 2.58 – 13.41% | 10.83% |
| 351-400 | 51,048 | 13.41 – 37.51% | 24.10% |
| 401-410 | 10,871 | 37.51 – 42.64% | 5.13% |
| 411-420 | 11,071 | 42.64 – 47.87% | 5.23% |
| 421-430 | 10,583 | 47.87 – 52.87% | 5.00% |
| 431-440 | 12,047 | 52.87 – 58.56% | 5.69% |
| 441-450 | 10,931 | 58.56 – 63.72% | 5.16% |
| 451-460 | 11,306 | 63.27 – 69.06% | 5.34% |
| 461-470 | 12,900 | 69.06 – 75.15% | 6.09% |
| 471-480 | 14,914 | 75.15 – 82.19% | 7.04% |
| 481-490 | 12,240 | 82.19 – 87.97% | 5.78% |
| 491-500 | 11,925 | 87.97 – 93.60% | 5.63% |
| 501-600 | 13,430 | 93.60 – 99.94% | 6.34% |
| 601-1200 | 124 | 99.94 – 100.00% | 0.06% |