Two days, two Express Entry draws. Last April 16, a second draw held for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program candidates who received Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores as low as 455 were issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs), allowing 3,782 immigration candidates and their families to apply for Canadian permanent residency. 

This draw follows the 118 ITAs issued last April 15 to Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates, with the total of ITAs issued in two days to 3,900.

This is the fourth draw to target exclusively CEC candidates in the history of Express Entry. It is highly likely Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) chose to target CEC candidates given the higher possibility that they have already settled in Canada, and this would not be affected by the current travel restrictions. 

Canada has now issued 30,400 ITAs so far in 2020. A total of 85,300 were issued through Express Entry in 2019.

Under its 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan, the Government of Canada is targeting the admission of 341,000 immigrants in 2020, 351,000 in 2021, and another 361,000 in 2022. PNP admissions are set to increase 20 per cent by 2022.

This was the eleventh round of invitations under Express Entry in 2020 and the 144th overall. Today’s draw cut-off score of 455 was 9 points lower than the cut-off score in the last CEC Express Entry draw, which was 464.