Canada hosts its inaugural Express Entry draw for trade occupations in 2025.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued further invitations to apply (ITAs) using the Express Entry system. The immigration department distributed 1,250 ITAs in a draw for candidates in Express Entry's trade occupation category.

Check If You Are Eligible to Apply.

 To be considered for this draw, contestants must have:

1. A minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 505,

2. On November 5, 2025, before 10:36 p.m. Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), I created an Express Entry applicant profile.

Summary of Express Entry Draws for the Year of 2025.

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Cut-off CRS score
September 17	Education	2,500	462
September 15	Provincial Nominee Program	228	746
September 4	French language proficiency	4,500	446
September 3	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	534
September 2	Provincial Nominee Program	249	772
August 19	Healthcare and social services	2,500	470
August 18	Provincial Nominee Program	192	800
August 8	French language proficiency	2,500	481
August 7	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	534
August 6	Provincial Nominee Program	225	739
July 22	Healthcare and social services	4,000	475
July 21	Provincial Nominee Program	202	788
July 8	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	518
July 7	Provincial Nominee Program	356	750
June 26	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	521
June 23	Provincial Nominee Program	503	742
June 12	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	529
June 10	Provincial Nominee Program	125	784
June 4	Healthcare and social services	500	504
June 2	Provincial Nominee Program	277	726
May 13	Canadian Experience Class	500	547
May 12	Provincial Nominee Program	511	706
May 2	Healthcare and social services	500	510
May 1	Education	1,000	479
April 28	Provincial Nominee Program	421	727
April 14	Provincial Nominee Program	825	764
March 21	French language proficiency	7,500	379
March 17	Provincial Nominee Program	536	736
March 6	French language proficiency	4,500	410
March 3	Provincial Nominee Program	725	667
February 19	French language proficiency	6,500	428
February 17	Provincial Nominee Program	646	750
February 5	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	521
February 4	Provincial Nominee Program	455	802
January 23	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	527
January 8	Canadian Experience Class	1,350	542
January 7	Provincial Nominee Program	471	793

Today's draw marks the first Express Entry selection for candidates in the system's trade vocations category this year. The last trade occupations draw occurred on October 23, 2024, and had a slightly lower CRS cut-off score of 433.

The long interval between drawings for this category has contributed to an increase of candidates, making the following draw more selective. So far, only few draws in any of Express Entry's categories have had a CRS cut-off score higher than 500.

Today's Express Entry lottery is also the sixth of the month, coming after a healthcare vocations draw on September 17 (the first in almost four months), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on September 15, and a 4,500 ITA French-language draw on September 4.

IRCC has granted 61,047 ITAs using the Express Entry mechanism till 2025.

This year's Express Entry draws have mostly concentrated on PNP drawings, with the remaining Express Entry ITAs dedicated to CEC candidates, candidates with French-language competence, and those in the Express Entry priority profession categories.

Draw Type	Number of Draws
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)	17
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)	9
French-language proficiency	5
Healthcare and social services	4
Education	2
Trade	1

How many additional ITAs will the IRCC issue to candidates in the trade occupation category?

According to a recently publicized Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) release, IRCC expects to issue 3,300 ITAs to candidates in the trade category in the second half of 2025.

Keeping in mind that the department is free to alter its ITA schedule as it sees fit, and without the need for oversight, if this information continues to be accurate, this means that IRCC will issue an additional 2,050 ITAs to candidates in the trade occupation before the end of the year.

Check If You Are Eligible to Apply.