IRCC Continues Momentum: Express Entry French Category Draw Invites 7,500, CRS Hits Recent Low
On March 21, 2025, IRCC announced its second Express Entry draw of the week. The draw specifically targeted applicants with high proficiency in French, issuing a total of 7,500 ITAs. To be eligible, applicants needed to have submitted their Express Entry profiles by 2:53 AM UTC on March 6, 2025, and have a CRS score of at least 379.
Notably, the CRS cut-off score of 379 is the lowest seen in Express Entry draws since February 29, 2024—undoubtedly a positive signal for eligible French-speaking candidates.
This draw marks the fourth Express Entry draw in March and the second draw of the week, following the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw held on March 17. Prior to this, IRCC conducted a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw on February 5, inviting 4,000 CEC applicants. As of now, IRCC has issued a total of 30,683 ITAs in 2025.
IRCC reaffirmed its commitment to prioritizing applicants already residing in Canada for permanent residence. This policy direction aligns with the draw trends seen since around July last year and reflects one of the core strategies advocated by Canada’s new leadership.
Applicants should note that Express Entry profiles are valid for one year. Once expired, individuals must resubmit their profiles to remain in the candidate pool. IRCC recommends saving previous application data for easier re-entry.
Additionally, the date of Express Entry profile submission may impact the likelihood of receiving an ITA, due to IRCC’s “tie-breaker” rule. This rule gives preference to candidates with earlier profile submission dates when CRS scores are identical. Therefore, even if your CRS score meets the minimum cut-off, you may not receive an invitation if your profile was submitted after the designated deadline.
2025 Express Entry Invitation Summary
| Date | Invitation Category | Invitations Issued | Minimum CRS Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 21, 2025 | French language proficiency | 7500 | 379 |
| March 17, 2025 | Provincial Nominee Program | 536 | 736 |
| March 6, 2025 | French language proficiency | 4500 | 410 |
| March 3, 2025 | Provincial Nominee Program | 725 | 667 |
| February 19, 2025 | French language proficiency | 6,500 | 428 |
| February 17, 2025 | Provincial Nominee Program | 646 | 750 |
| February 5, 2025 | Canadian Experience Class | 4,000 | 521 |
| February 4, 2025 | Provincial Nominee Program | 455 | 802 |
| January 23, 2025 | Canadian Experience Class | 4,000 | 527 |
| January 8, 2025 | Canadian Experience Class | 1,350 | 542 |
| January 7, 2025 | Provincial Nominee Program | 471 | 793 |
British Columbia Issues New Entrepreneur Immigration Invitations via PNP Base Stream
On April 15, 2025, British Columbia's Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) conducted its third Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Stream draw of the year. Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for provincial nomination were issued to 5 candidates, with the minimum required score set at 115. This draw strictly adheres to the province's 2025 policy standards, requiring applicants to possess significant net worth, make substantial direct investments, and commit to creating local jobs. The concurrent Regional Entrepreneur stream, guided by policy incentives favouring specific communities, signals BC's strategic shift towards aligning immigration with regional economic goals.
04/21/2025
Manitoba Launches Special Work Permit Policy (MPNP) to Safeguard Legal Work Status of Provincial Nominee Candidates (MPNP)
The Government of Manitoba, Canada, has announced the launch of a special work permit initiative starting April 22, 2025. This initiative will allow certain candidates under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) to continue working legally while awaiting immigration results. The policy is intended to bridge the “status gap” in current immigration procedures and prevent valuable international workers from being forced to leave due to expired permits. The application window remains open until December 31, 2025.
04/18/2025
Major Adjustment to Canada’s Express Entry STEM Occupations: 6 New Jobs Added, 19 Removed
In February 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) implemented a significant update to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) occupation list under Express Entry (EE). The new list has been reduced from 30 to 11 occupations. Traditional engineering roles (such as civil and mechanical engineers) and cybersecurity specialists have been retained, while 19 information technology (IT) related roles, including software development and data science, were removed. This shift aims to better align immigration with Canada’s real-world industrial skills gap and provide applicants with clearer pathways.
04/17/2025
Structural Overhaul of Express Entry Candidate Pool Diminishes CRS Score Advantages, Reshaping Competitive Landscape
Following Canada’s elimination of the "Arranged Employment" policy in the Express Entry CRS scoring system on March 25, 2025, the distribution of candidate scores has undergone seismic shifts. The 501-600 CRS bracket plummeted by 5,740 applicants, while mid-to-low score segments surged. Despite a net increase of 7,373 candidates in the total pool within three weeks of the policy change, the top 10% high-score brackets lost 8,342 profiles. This structural realignment may redefine future ITA trends, particularly impacting traditional skilled immigrants’ competitive edge.
04/16/2025
Major Policy Shift! BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Significantly Tightens — Only 1,100 New Applications to Be Accepted in 2025
On April 14, 2025, British Columbia (BC), Canada, officially announced a structural overhaul of its Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). The province’s annual nomination quota will plummet to 4,000, with only 1,100 new application slots available for the entire year. These will be primarily allocated to frontline healthcare workers and high economic value professionals. Meanwhile, the International Post-Graduate (IPG) stream is facing systemic backlog, with all applications submitted between September 2024 and January 2025 moved to a waitlist. Three new international student immigration streams are also indefinitely suspended. This policy reform is a direct result of the federal government’s drastic move to halve the national PNP quota from 110,000 to 55,000, forcing provinces to adopt stricter elite selection mechanisms.
04/16/2025
Canada’s Immigration Reform: Arranged Employment No Longer Boosts CRS in Express Entry, but Job Offers Remain Crucial
On March 25, 2025, the Canadian federal government implemented a significant change to its Express Entry system, removing the additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points previously granted for arranged employment. Despite this change, the importance of job offers in Canada’s immigration framework remains undiminished. A valid Canadian job offer continues to play a pivotal role—not only as a mandatory entry requirement for numerous federal and provincial programs (such as the PNP, Atlantic Immigration Program, and various pilot programs) but also as a key step in gaining Canadian work experience, which greatly boosts one’s CRS score and enables eligibility for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). For prospective immigrants, securing a job offer is still one of the most effective paths toward permanent residency in Canada.
04/15/2025
Canada Holds First Express Entry Draw Post-Policy Change, Focusing on Provincial Nominee Program Candidates
On April 14, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted its first Express Entry draw since adjustments were made to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scoring mechanism. This round exclusively targeted Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates, issuing 825 Invitations to Apply (ITAs). The high cut-off score of 764 underscores the critical role of a PNP nomination in boosting competitiveness, especially after points for 'Arranged Employment' were eliminated. To date, IRCC has issued 31,508 ITAs through Express Entry in 2025, aiming to welcome 124,680 new permanent residents via this pathway by year-end.
04/15/2025
Newfoundland and Labrador Launches New EOI System with First Round of Invitations; New Brunswick Simultaneously Holds Multiple Draws to Attract Talent
Recently, the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) made history by issuing its first round of immigration invitations through its newly launched Expression of Interest (EOI) system, introduced in February 2025. Meanwhile, neighboring New Brunswick (NB) actively conducted several targeted draws across different provincial nominee program streams, focusing on candidates with experience in specific high-demand industries or those with local study/work history. These actions highlight both provinces’ more targeted immigration selection strategies aimed at meeting local labor market demands and adapting to federal immigration quota constraints.
04/14/2025
Quota Exhausted. New Brunswick Suspends Acceptance of 2025 Atlantic Immigration Program Applications
Canada's New Brunswick province recently announced the suspension of new provincial endorsement applications for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) for the remainder of 2025, as its annual quota of 1,250 spots was filled by April 4th. This closure occurred significantly earlier than last year, primarily attributed to federal immigration quota reductions and heightened application demand. Individuals aiming to immigrate via AIP can still explore options in the other three Atlantic provinces, though they should be aware of potential sector or occupation-specific restrictions.
04/13/2025
A Detailed Look at the Canadian Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): Application Process and Key Differences
Canada's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) serves as a crucial economic immigration pathway for many foreign nationals seeking Canadian permanent residency (PR), particularly for those whose Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores are not high enough in the federal Express Entry system or who do not qualify for category-based draws. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the PNP's operational mechanics, application procedures, the core distinctions between Base and Enhanced streams, associated costs, and analyzes the profound impact of the recent significant reduction in federal allocations for 2025 and its implications for future applicants.
04/12/2025
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