IRCC recently organized its thirteenth Express Entry draw of this year and issued 4,800 ITAs to applicants. After April 26, this was the first all-program draw, and the applicants were required to have a minimum CRS score of 488.

Since this was an all-program draw, IRCC invited applicants from the Canadian Experience Class or CEC, Federal Skilled Worker Program or FSWP, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program or FSTP. All these three programs are typically managed under the Express Entry application management system.

This all-program draw follows the recent PNP-specific draw, which was held on May 10. In this draw, IRCC invited 589 applicants. To be eligible for the PNP-specific draw, candidates must be present in the Express Entry pool and have a provincial nomination.

Overview of the Express Entry Program.

From the start of 2023 until now, Express Entry has not shown a strong pattern regarding the type and frequency of the draws and the number of invited candidates.

In January, it followed the pre-pandemic pattern in which it held draws every two weeks and issued ITAs for all program candidates. This pattern changed in the following two months.

Between February 1 and March 1, IRCC conducted four program-specific draws. In February, the first program-only draw was for FSWP candidates. Three draws were held in February, and in March, there was one draw each week. Across March, IRCC invited more than 21,000 applicants, which was the second highest in EE’s history.

In April, IRCC returned to its pre-pandemic pattern with draws every two weeks for all programs.

Afterward, due to Bill C-19, which received Royal Assent in June 2022, it is likely that IRCC will target the EE applicants based on specific attributes instead of a high-CRS score in its draws. As per Bill C-19, the immigration minister of Canada can invite applicants who they feel are most suitable and who can lessen the labor shortage pressure on specific sectors as well as add value to the country’s economic goals.

The immigration minister and IRCC have complete authority over the Express Entry draws. As per the Immigration & Refugee Protection Act, no specific rule controls the time, frequency, and program of the draws. This means that the IRCC is not bound to follow a particular pattern or conduct draws if the immigration minister does not consider it necessary.

What is the Express Entry Stream?

The Express Entry stream controls three economic immigration programs in Canada. These are:

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

The applicants of all three EE programs are assessed based on the CRS, Comprehensive Ranking System. The CRS provides scores to applicants depending on various factors, including education, age, experience, occupation, and language ability. Candidates with the highest scores are likely to receive ITAs or an Invitation to Apply for PR. As per the Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, Canada is seeking to welcome over 82,000 new PRs towards the closing of this year under the EE’s Federal High Skilled immigration program.