This week, IRCC held the first-ever French category-based Express Entry draw on the fourth consecutive day. Total 2,300 candidates with strong French proficiency with a minimum CRS score of 439 received the invitation. The CRS score for this draw was the lowest score of this year.

This is the sixth round of invitations for the Express Entry within two weeks, in which IRCC invited a total of 9,800 candidates.

Most of the ITAs were sent to candidates this week. The recent Express Entry draw occurred on July 6, in which 1,500 candidates from the Healthcare category received invitation. This draw was supposed to take place as IRCC, during its first Express Entry draws for healthcare workers, announced this on June 27.

On July 5, the first-ever category-based draw for STEM ( science, technology, engineering, and mathematics )occupations was held by IRCC. Around 500 candidates with a minimum score of 486 received invitations in this draw.

In addition to this, IRCC, on July 4, conducted an all-program draw surprisingly. In this draw, 700 candidates were invited, requiring a CRS score of 511. This was the highest CRS score of the all-program draw of 2023.

Invitations for French-proficient candidates

For the six new selection categories, the French-Proficiency is the only category-based selection criterion that does not use work experience as the significant attribute.

The immigration minister of Canada is mandated to encourage the French language outside of Quebec.

In a report in which IRCC announced the French-speaking Express Entry Draw, it stated that Canada strives to support the country’s economic growth by promoting French-speaking immigration outside of Quebec while also acknowledging the way it enhances and supports these communities.

Express Entry Category-based selection

Canada’s immigration minister, Mr. Fraser, declared the new categories for the new EE category-based draws on May 31.

New category draws for Express Entry were supposed to be introduced by IRCC after a law was passed last June. This law authorized the immigration minister to admit economic immigrants on the basis of specific characteristics instead of their overall CRS score. The attributes can be education, work experience, language ability, or more.

The new categories for this year were selected after discussions with IRCC partners, stakeholders as well as with the territorial and provincial governments. These new categories are mentioned below:

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

In an IRCC’s presentation to the parliament, these categories will be reviewed each year and might change in the next year.

As per Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, via Express Entry, the country aims to welcome nearly 82,880 immigrants by the end of this year, which will reach up to 114,000 by the conclusion of 2025. The new category-based draws will help Canada address the demands for skilled labor in Canada’s labor market as well as satisfy the immigration level targets for 2023-2025.