Canada releases the results of its most recent all-program Express Entry draw on September 28, 2022. This draw was the seventh all-program draw, which issued 3750 invitations to applicants with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 504. As this was an all-program draw, invitations were issued to qualifying applicants from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), all programs that work under the Express Entry system.

This Express Entry draw was the third one in a row in which there was a spike of 500 invitations issued over the previous draw. The September 14 Express Entry draw invited 3250 applicants and the August 31 draw invited 2750. It is also the lowest minimum CRS since all-program resumed. CRS scores have been falling. In the first five draws, the score decreased by eight or nine points for each draw. The September 14 draw saw a decrease of only six points and this week’s draw was the same.

All-program Express Entry draws were suspended for over 18 months starting in December 2020 due to a backlog in applications. During the pause, applicants from the Canadian Experience Class or PNP were issued invitations to apply. In September 2021, IRCC also put a hold on draws for the CEC.

A Decrease in Backlog

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have released data that confirms the backlog for all applications has decreased to 2.6 million between July and August 31. This also involves a number of Express Entry applications that are still under processing. In July, there were 51,616 applicants in the Express Entry inventory. As of Aug 31, the number has reduced to 40,180, and IRCC has experienced a fall of over 10000 applications in almost six weeks.

More than half of the Express Entry applications currently in the inventory are from the candidates in the provincial nominee programs. This is significant as numerous PNPs are aligned with Express Entry programs, known as enhanced nominations. According to IRCC, the backlog of applications under enhanced PNPs has been reduced. Although, there was an increment in applications for PNPs in which applicants apply directly to a provincial government.

 

Immigration program	Number of people as of August 31
Federal Skilled Workers (EE)	11,669
Canadian Experience Class (EE)	5,214
Skilled Trades (EE)	299
Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE)	22,998
Total	40,180

Till now, Canada has offered invitations to 28039 immigrants through Express Entry programs. This is associated with the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 in which Canada is aiming at around 432000 new immigrants by the end of the year 2022. Therefore, it seems that Canada is on the right track to meet the target as over 300,000 newcomers, across all businesses, are welcomed to immigrate to Canada.