Canada’s immigration management department, IRCC or Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, has issued invitations to an increased number of candidates in the latest Express Entry Draw 2023.  

The draw was an all-program draw, which was held on August 15, 2023. IRCC sent a total of 4,300 Invitations to Apply to candidates, requiring a minimum score of Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) of 496. 

A summary of the latest Express Entry draw results 2023 

Discover the results of the latest Express Entry Draw that occurred in 2023 in this section.  

August 3 

The Department of Immigration of Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the category-based draw for trade occupations for the first time on August 3, 2023. A total of 1,500 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued by the IRCC to the candidates of Express Entry. Individuals who had the lowest Comprehensive Ranking System score of 388 received the invitations.  

IRCC, on August 1, declared that it intends to hold the first-ever Express Entry category-based draw for candidates with work experience in trade occupations. The professions under this category include carpentry, welding, plumbing, and more, which can help Canada attract more skilled workers to its construction sector.  

August 2  

On August 2, IRCC held the category-based draw targeting candidates with French-speaking abilities. A total of 800 ITAs were issued by the IRCC to candidates who had a minimum CRS score of 435. The previous French category draw occurred on July 12.  

August 1  

IRCC held the all-program Express Entry draw on August 1.  

Around 2000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued by IRCC to the Express Entry candidates from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Candian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). The minimum required Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for this draw was 517.  

Since July 11, this was the first Express Entry all-program draw.  

July 11-12  

Around 3,800 EE candidates received invitations to apply for permanent residency. In this draw, IRCC targeted candidates with French-speaking abilities under the category-based selection draw.  

The minimum required CRS score for this draw was 375. Notably, among all the Express Entry draws of this year, this was the lowest CRS score, and that too with a considerable margin.  

On July 11, in an all-program draw, IRCC invited around 800 candidates with a minimum CRS score requirement of 505.  

July 4-7  

For the first time in the Express Entry History, IRCC issued invitations to Apply (ITAs) on four consecutive days in the first week of July.  

A surprising all-program draw occurred on July 4, in which 700 EE candidates were invited. 511 was the minimum CRS score required by the candidates, which was the highest CRS score of any Express Entry all-program draw so far in 2023.  

On July 5, IRCC conducted the category-based Express Entry draw for the STEM candidates. Since May 31, when IRCC declared the six new categories for the category-based selection, this was the first-ever STEM category-based draw. This was an expected draw as it was previously declared by the IRCC, in which, it invited candidates with work experience in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. In this draw, 500 candidates with a minimum CRS score of 486 received the invitations to Apply.  

The next day on July 6, IRCC conducted another expected draw for healthcare professionals. In this category-based selection draw, 1,500 candidates with a minimum CRS score of 463 received invitations. This was the second round of invitations for the healthcare category.  

On July 7, IRCC held a category-based draw targeting candidates with high-French Proficiency. Around 2,300 ITAs were issued to the candidates of Express Entry who had a minimum CRS score of 439. Among all the 6 Six new Categories for category-based selections, French-speaking capability is the only category that is not occupation-specific.  

June 27-28  

In the last week of June, two draws were held by the IRCC. The first draw was an all-program draw which occurred on June 27. In this draw, around 4,300 candidates received Invitations to Apply who had a minimum CRS score of 486.  

The next day, on June 28, the second draw of the week was held by IRCC, which was the first-ever category-based round of invitations.  

The draw targeted candidates with work experience in healthcare occupations. Around 500 invitations were issued by IRCC to candidates with a minimum required CRS score of 476.  

Understanding Express Entry.  

Express Entry is Canada’s application management system that manages the following three programs:  

  • The Federal Skilled Worker Program;  
  • The Canadian Experience Class; and  
  • The Federal Skilled Trades Program.  

The Express Entry pool applicants are assessed on the basis of various factors such as work experience, age, education, language ability, and more. Candidates are assigned a CRS score and are ranked with other candidates in the Express Entry application pool. Candidates who had the highest CRS Score have a higher probability of obtaining an invitation to apply.  

The new categories-based selection draws were announced by the IRCC on May 31. Instead of focusing on a high SRS score, these draw majorly stress on specific attributes. The six new categories for Express Entry are as follows:  

  • Healthcare  
  • Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions  
  • Trades, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors  
  • Transport  
  • Agriculture and agri-food  
  • Strong French-language Proficiency  

IRCC selected these categories to address the gaps in the labor force of Canada as well as to encourage the spread of the French language outside of the province of Quebec.