Maple News reports that on September 15, Canada extended invitations to 521 candidates under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) pathway to apply for permanent residency via the Express Entry system.
To receive an invitation in this round, candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 732. All invited candidates had previously secured a provincial nomination, which automatically added 600 points to their base Express Entry score — a key factor in meeting the high cutoff.
Candidates selected in this draw now have 60 days to submit their formal applications for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
This PNP-specific draw is the 18th conducted by IRCC so far in 2021. The federal government has been focusing exclusively on Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and PNP candidates throughout the year, as part of a strategic effort to prioritize applicants already residing in Canada or those nominated by provinces with particular labor needs.
In comparison to the previous PNP-focused draw held two weeks earlier — in which 635 candidates were invited with a higher minimum score of 764 — this draw had fewer invitations and a slightly lower cutoff.
The PNP draws are typically followed by CEC invitations, but the anticipated CEC draw on September 2 did not occur. Instead, a CEC round was finally held on September 14, breaking the regular draw schedule set earlier in the year.
This year’s Express Entry trends have remained unpredictable. Notably, the largest deviation occurred on February 13, when IRCC invited every single CEC candidate in the pool. Since then, draw sizes and cutoff scores have fluctuated due to alternating between the PNP and CEC categories.
As of this draw, IRCC has issued more than 100,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in 2021 — nearly double the number issued by this time last year. Canada is aiming to welcome 108,500 newcomers through the Express Entry system by the end of the year.
Minimum score requirements continue to vary depending on the program. CEC draws, which target a specific subset of candidates, often have lower CRS thresholds due to limited competition. In contrast, PNP draws generally feature higher scores because provincial nominees benefit from the substantial points boost their nomination provides.