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(IRCC) has issued (ITAs) in the third draw of the week.

The department issued 3,750 ITAs in a category-base selection draw for healthcare occupations.

Candidates required a minimum (CRS) score of 445 to be considered.

This was the second category-based draw of the week. It follows a draw on July 4Ìý which was a category-based selection draw for 1,800 candidates in trade occupations.

IRCC also held a draw earlier this week on July 2 which considered only candidates in the (PNP). The 920 invited candidates required a minimum CRS score of 739.Ìý

This brings the total number of ITAs issued this week to 6,470, the highest number of ITAs issued since April.

The recent trend of program specific draws began earlier this year. Since May 30, IRCC has held four program-specific draws, with three of them for PNP candidates.ÌýÌý

Program-specific draws only consider candidates in the Express Entry pool who have applied through an Express Entry program such as the CEC, the (FSWP) or the (FSTP). In the case of a PNP-only draw, candidates are only considered if they have been successfully nominated through an Express Entry aligned stream of a PNP, a process known as .

Until recently, this type of draw had not occurred since the introduction of category-based selection draws in May 2023. However, since January this year, IRCC has been working to stabilize the high levels of temporary residents in Canada. One method of doing so is offering temporary residents, those in Canada on a or or a , more options to (PR).

Many temporary residents who have applied for permanent residence, and are currently living in Canada or have experience living in Canada, apply for PR through the CEC. The same is also true of candidates in the PNP. This means IRCC can meet its yearly target for "Federal High Skilled Workers" (Express Entry) as outlined in the , while also reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada.

Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Minimum CRS
September 13	French language proficiency	1,000	446
September 9	Provincial Nominee Program	911	732
August 27	Canadian Experience Class	3,300	507
August 26	Provincial Nominee Program	1,121	694
August 15	French language proficiency	2,000	394
	Canadian Experience Class	3,200	509
August 13	Provincial Nominee Program	763	690
July 31	Canadian Experience Class	5,000	510
July 30	Provincial Nominee Program	964	686
July 18	French language proficiency	1,800	400
July 17	Canadian Experience Class	6,300	515
July 16	Provincial Nominee Program	1,391	670
July 8	French proficiency	3,200	420
July 5	Healthcare occupations	3,750	445
July 4	Trade occupations	1,800	436
July 2	Provincial Nominee Program	920	739
June 19	Provincial Nominee Program	1,499	663
May 31	Canadian Experience Class	3,000	522
May 30	Provincial Nominee Program	2,985	676
April 24	French proficiency	1,400	410
April 23	General	2,095	529
April 11	STEM occupations	4,500	491
April 10	General	1,280	549
March 26	French language proficiency	1,500	388
March 25	General	1,980	524
March 13	Transport occupations	975	430
March 12	General	2,850	525
February 29	French language proficiency	2,500	336
February 28	General	1,470	534
February 16	Agriculture and agri-food occupations	150	437
February 14	Healthcare occupations	3,500	422
February 13	General	1,490	535
February 1	French language proficiency	7,000	365
January 31	General	730	541
January 23	General	1,040	543
January 10	General	1,510	546

What is Express Entry?

The Express Entry application management system was introduced in 2015 as a way for IRCC to target candidates with in-demand human capital attributes and process their applications faster. It oversees applications from the FSWP, the FSTP and the CEC.

The CRS used by Express Entry considers human capital factors such as age, work experience, occupation, language abilityÌý and occupation to evaluate a candidate's eligibility. Each factor is assigned a score and, when added together, candidates receive their overall CRS score. The higher a candidate's CRS score, the more likely the are to receive an ITA in an upcoming draw.

There are several types of Express Entry draws including program-specific draws, category-based selection draws and general draws. General draws consider all Express Entry candidates regardless of their program or occupation.

What is category-based selection?

Category-based selection draws were introduced in 2023 as a method for IRCC to single-out Express Entry candidates with in-demand attributes for Canada's workforce, or to help strengthen the national French-speaking demographic.

IRCC introduced six possible categories for candidates to receive ITAs:

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

These draws are not program-specific and are more likely to feature a lower than average CRS score (when compared to general draws).