Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 345 invitations to apply to Provincial Nominee Program candidates through the Express Entry system on October 14, 2025. This draw required candidates to have a minimum CRS score of 778 points and to have created their Express Entry profile before July 17, 2025. This marks the 19th Provincial Nominee draw conducted by IRCC this year and the third draw in October.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently disclosed its 2025 permanent residence (PR) application processing plan in its latest Minister Transition Binder. According to the document, the immigration department will not clear all categories of application backlogs this year, but will instead adopt a categorized processing strategy. Express Entry-related programs, community pilot programs, and Quebec's skilled worker pathways will process all pending applications, while other economic immigration programs will only process a portion of their backlogs, with processing ratios ranging from 2% to 35%.

On September 26, 2025, the Newfoundland and Labrador Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism issued a total of 217 immigration application invitations through the Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). This marks the first time since the province implemented an Expression of Interest system for both immigration programs in February of this year that the number of Atlantic Immigration Program invitations exceeded those for the Provincial Nominee Program. To date, the province has issued a cumulative total of 2,821 provincial immigration invitations in 2025.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 4,500 invitations to apply (ITAs) through the Express Entry system on October 6, 2025, specifically targeting candidates with French-language proficiency. This marks the second draw in October and one of the largest French-language category draws this year. To date, the Express Entry system has issued over 70,000 invitations in 2025, with French-language category candidates receiving the highest number of invitations.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently confirmed that the federal government is studying targeted measures to attract technical professionals affected by the new U.S. H-1B visa policy. This move comes in response to President Trump's sudden announcement of a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas. Canada previously launched a work permit program specifically for H-1B holders in July 2023, with 10,000 spots filling up in less than 48 hours, demonstrating strong market demand. Immigration experts and business groups are urging Canada to seize this opportunity, while also noting the need to streamline permanent residence application processes to truly retain talent.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted the first Express Entry draw of the month on October 1, 2025, issuing 1,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement for this draw was 534 points, and candidates needed to have created their Express Entry profile before 4:01 AM UTC on February 21, 2025. This marks the 10th CEC category draw of 2025, and the third consecutive draw maintaining both the 1,000-invitation scale and the 534-point threshold.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently updated its official website to indicate that the "applicants not working in Canada" stream under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP) has been officially closed. This stream was marked as "closed" on September 29, 2025, without ever having opened to accept applications since the program's launch. Despite this closure, overseas caregivers still have alternative pathways to immigrate to Canada through Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, and other routes. Industry analysts suggest this decision may be linked to severe application backlogs and the federal government's policy shift toward prioritizing the transition of temporary residents already in Canada to permanent residence status.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 291 invitations to apply to Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates through the Express Entry system on September 29, 2025. This marks the seventh draw in September and the 18th PNP category draw since the beginning of 2025. The draw required candidates to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 855 points.

Latest data released by Statistics Canada on September 24, 2025, reveals that Canada is facing a major demographic turning point. Affected by federal government immigration policy adjustments, Canada's population growth rate in Q2 2025 was only 0.1%, marking the lowest post-war level (excluding pandemic period). Meanwhile, population aging trends are accelerating again, posing severe challenges to the national labor market and economic development.

According to the latest data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as of August 31, 2025, the department's application backlog reached 958,850 cases, continuing to rise from July's 901,700 cases, representing a 6.33% increase. This marks the fourth consecutive month of worsening backlog issues for IRCC, with study permit applications experiencing particularly severe delays, surging from 23% in July to 32% in August.