After a strong start to 2025, Canada’s Express Entry system experienced a noticeable slowdown in April. While the earlier months of the year saw consistent draws and high volumes of Invitations to Apply (ITAs), April saw just two draws, both targeting Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. A total of 1,246 ITAs were issued throughout the month. Today, we will have a look at the Express Entry pool in May 2025.  

IRCC continues to focus heavily on PNP applicants—a trend that has dominated the year so far. What’s particularly interesting, though, is the complete absence of draws for candidates under French-language proficiency and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) categories. Earlier in the year, these two categories saw multiple draws, so their pause in April marks a noticeable departure from prior trends.

To date, a total of 4,079 ITAs have been issued to PNP candidates via Express Entry in 2025. Notably, the first draw of May brought a new category into play—education professionals—who were targeted for the first time through the Express Entry system.

What Draws Happened In April?

The first thing to discuss while we have a look at the Express Entry pool in May 2025 is what draws occurred in the month of April. 

Well, April was relatively quiet compared to the earlier months of 2025, with only two draws, both focused exclusively on Provincial Nominee Program candidates.

Here’s a summary of the April draw data:

The CRS cut-off scores for both draws remained in the high 700s, consistent with past PNP-specific draws, which typically require higher scores due to the additional points nominees receive.

When we look at the number of ITAs issued by month, the drop in April is even more apparent:

This decline in ITAs issued—less than one-tenth of March’s total—is the lowest monthly total we’ve seen in 2025 so far. It resembles the activity level seen back in May 2022, which also had only two PNP draws and a similar combined total of 1,135 ITAs.

Interestingly, despite IRCC’s announcement on February 27 stating that Canadian Experience Class applicants would be a key focus in 2025, there have been no CEC-specific draws since February 5. This suggests either a strategic pause or a potential delay in planned draws for this group.

What Does The Express Entry Pool Look Like In May?

The distribution of candidates across different Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score ranges has shifted slightly over the past few months.

Here’s how the pool stands now:

There’s been a net increase of 2,391 profiles in the Express Entry pool since mid-April. Most of this growth occurred in the lower and mid-CRS score ranges.

Interestingly, score ranges above 481 saw a decrease. A likely explanation for this change is IRCC’s policy update from March 25, 2025, which removed CRS points for arranged employment. Without the 50 or 200 extra points for arranged job offers, fewer candidates now surpass the 480 threshold.

How Express Entry Scores Compare Within The Pool?

If we look at the Express Entry pool in May 202, the table below shows how Express Entry scores compared within the pool. 

Candidates in the Express Entry pool can use the table below to understand how their CRS score compares to others in the system right now.

Methodology: The percentile ranges were calculated based on the upper limits of each CRS score group. These percentiles show what portion of candidates have scores at or below a certain point. By using ranges instead of fixed numbers, the table helps give a clearer picture of where candidates fall within each score band.

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].