On June 28, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its inaugural category-based draw.
The Canadian immigration government unveiled this new draw type in May of last year as a means of drawing in talented immigrants in response to certain national workforce shortages and demographic issues.
Put another way, the IRCC decided to introduce this new form of Express Entry draw in order to entice foreign nationals to Canada who possess particular, in-demand skills and job experience.
Note: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores continue to be taken into consideration for category-based draws, even though candidates with certain in-demand traits are given priority.
In particular, the IRCC has decided to use category-based draws to give preference to applicants with the following professional experience and language skills in 2024:
French-language proficiency
Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) occupations
Trades occupations
Transport occupations
Agriculture and Agri-Food occupations
Healthcare occupations
Types of draws, frequency, and CRS ratings:
IRCC has carried out twenty-five category-based draws since the first one about a year ago.
Statistics show that there was significant variation in CRS cut-off scores when categorized.
Note: The lowest qualifying Express Entry profile score among all applicants who were invited to apply (ITA) for a particular Express Entry draw is displayed beside the cut-off scores. These results are significant because, in that particular draw, individuals who do not have a CRS score higher than the established cut-off will not be eligible for an ITA.
Date of Draw | Category | CRS Cut-Off Score | Number of ITAs Issued |
June 28, 2023 | Healthcare | 476 | 500 |
July 5, 2023 | STEM | 486 | 500 |
July 6, 2023 | Healthcare | 463 | 1,500 |
July 7, 2023 | French | 439 | 2,300 |
July 12, 2023 | French | 375 | 3,800 |
August 2, 2023 | French | 435 | 800 |
August 3, 2023 | Trades | 388 | 1,500 |
September 20, 2023 | Transport | 435 | 1,000 |
September 27, 2023 | French | 472 | 500 |
September 28, 2023 | Agriculture and Agri-Food | 354 | 60 |
Total ITAs distributed:
The IRCC designated all six of these categories as priority for this new draw type; yet, in the previous year, the number of ITAs awarded to candidates in each category also differed significantly.
9,100 ITAs in healthcare
10,900 ITAs in STEM
Trades: 2,500 ITAs
Logistics: 2,645 ITAs
1,150 ITAs in agriculture and agri-food
21,100 ITAs are proficient in French.
What does the remainder of 2024 hold?
The IRCC had already disclosed its general strategy for allocating ITA among these six categories for 2024, according to an article published in April by CIC News.
In summary, the IRCC has reported that the percentage of ITAs that each category will receive this year is as follows, broken down by category.
15% in healthcare
STEM: 25%
Deals: 5%
Transportation: 3%
0.5% for Agriculture and Agri-Food
French linguistic competency: 30%
Note: According to the IRCC, candidates selected through category-based draws will receive 78.5% of all Express Entry ITAs, with the remaining 21.5% going to general draws held all year long.
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