Canada’s immigration department recently held an Express Entry Draw on March 25, 2024. The two previous draws were on March 12 and 13. The department frequently held draws to support its economy and address the urgent market gaps. IRCC issued 1980 ITAs in a recent General Express Entry Draw. 

Find the other draw details below, including the needed CRS score as well as overview of previous Express Entry draws.

1980 ITAs in a Recent General Express Entry Draw

This most recent draw was the third Express Entry Draw of this month. This was a general draw that typically considers candidates from all three Express Entry-managed programs. 

A total of 1980 candidates received invitations to apply who had at least a 524 CRS score. 

Prior to this draw, the March 12 draw was also a general draw. IRCC invited 2,850 candidates with a minimum CRS of 525 in that draw. This was the lowest CRS score for any general draw of this year till now. It was a nine-point drop from the February 28 General draw and a 21-point drop from the January 10 General draw. 

The March 13 draw was a category-based Express Entry draw that invited 975 Transport workers. The needed CRS score for that draw was 430. Previously, the same transport category-based draw occurred on December 20, 2023.

IRCC has invited around 2,645 candidates skilled in transport occupations since implementing category-based selection draws.

Overview of 2024 Express Entry Draw

Canada’s Express Entry System 

IRCC uses an application management system called Express Entry for three programs: the FSWP, FSTP, and CEC.

• FSWP: Federal Skilled Worker Program,
• FSTP: Federal Skilled Trades Program,
• CEC: Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates are assessed within the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for all the programs. The system gives a point to candidates depending on their various human capital attributes. These include occupation, work experience, age, language ability, and education. 

High-scoring candidates have a high possibility of receiving an ITA for Canadian PR status. 

After receiving an ITA, the candidate must submit their final application to IRCC. IRCC typically processes an application within six months and issues a final decision. 

Canada’s category-based selection draws. 

In May 2023, IRCC began Category selection draws to identify Candidates in the Express Entry pool with the in-demand skills and attributes to issue invitations.  

The immigration department determined six in-demand categories that will also remain in effect in 2024. The following are the six categories:

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

These categories represent various urgent labor shortages in Canada as well as the IRCC’s duty to encourage the French language outside of Quebec. 

Notably, candidates skilled in French-speaking abilities have received the maximum number of invitations since the introduction of the draw.