Maple News reports that on July 7, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 627 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence under the Express Entry system. This draw specifically targeted candidates who had received a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination.
To be eligible for this round, applicants needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 760. This relatively high threshold reflects the automatic 600-point bonus awarded to candidates with a provincial nomination. Stripped of that bonus, the base score of the lowest-ranking selected candidate would have been just 160.
IRCC also applied a tie-breaking rule to maintain fairness in the selection process. In cases where multiple candidates share the minimum score, priority goes to those who submitted their profiles earlier. For this draw, only profiles submitted before June 14, 2021, at 07:44:05 UTC were considered.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has focused its Express Entry invitations on candidates already residing in the country. PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants are seen as less disrupted by travel restrictions, making them more practical choices during uncertain times.
Recent PNP-only draws have featured record-breaking numbers. Notably, IRCC invited over 1,000 PNP candidates for the first time during the June 23 draw. These larger draws form part of Canada’s strategy to meet its ambitious 2021 immigration target of welcoming 401,000 newcomers. A significant portion of this target—roughly 25%—is allocated to Express Entry applicants.
So far this year, IRCC has invited 89,342 Express Entry candidates. This figure nearly doubles the number of invitations issued during the same period in 2020. One major factor behind this surge was the unprecedented February 13 draw, when Canada invited 27,332 candidates from the CEC stream in a single day—an all-time record. IRCC later confirmed that about 87% of those candidates submitted their applications within the 90-day deadline.
Cutoff scores for Express Entry draws vary by stream. PNP-specific draws generally demand higher CRS thresholds due to the 600-point boost, while CEC draws tend to have lower cutoffs since candidates are not competing with applicants from other programs.
In summary, the ongoing emphasis on PNP and CEC candidates is a strategic move to keep immigration flowing despite ongoing global challenges. IRCC continues to align its selection criteria with Canada’s broader immigration goals, prioritizing candidates most likely to transition successfully into Canadian life.