Canada has now held 17 CEC draws since the start of 2021.
Canada invited 2,000 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on September 14.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates with scores of at least 462. Invited candidates now have 60 days to apply for permanent residency.
This draw comes later than expected, as this year IRCC has typically held a CEC draw after a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw. Usually, IRCC holds a PNP draw on Wednesdays followed by a CEC draw on Thursday. However, the CEC draw expected on September 2 did not come.
IRCC has now held the draw one day before the next PNP-specific Express Entry draw is expected to occur.
Express Entry invitations almost double 2020 levels
IRCC has nearly doubled the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued year-over-year. With more invitations comes a higher chance that IRCC will admit its target of 108,500 newcomers through the Express Entry system in 2021.
The minimum score requirements have been up and down due to the nature of CEC- and PNP-only draws. CEC draws typically have lower cutoffs because the draws are concentrated in the one group of applicants. They are not competing with others in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, for example. So, with bigger draw sizes, IRCC can invite more candidates, thus bringing the score down.
PNP candidates automatically get 600 points with their provincial nomination, so PNP draws will always be higher than any other type of Express Entry draw. PNP draws since June have ranged from the low 740s to 760.
