Maple News reports that on April 29, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) extended invitations to 6,000 Express Entry candidates, enabling them to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 400 to be selected—marking the second-lowest score ever recorded for a CEC-specific draw.
This draw continues IRCC’s trend of prioritizing candidates who are likely already residing in Canada during ongoing pandemic-related travel restrictions. With an estimated 90% of CEC applicants currently living in the country, this approach aligns with the government’s focus on transitioning temporary residents, such as foreign workers and recent graduates, into permanent residents.
CEC was established in 2008 to create a smoother pathway to permanent residence for individuals with Canadian work experience. To be eligible, candidates must demonstrate at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada within the past three years—a qualification highly valued by Canadian employers, resulting in faster integration into the labor market.
According to the draw’s tie-breaking rule, only candidates who submitted their Express Entry profiles before April 24, 2021, at 15:24:49 UTC, were considered at the 400-point cutoff. This rule ensures transparency in the selection process when multiple candidates share the same CRS score.
So far in 2021, IRCC has limited draws to two main groups: CEC candidates and those with a provincial nomination through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Since PNP nominees receive an automatic 600-point boost to their CRS score, these draws typically have higher cutoffs. In contrast, CEC draws require lower thresholds due to limited competition from other immigration streams.
Despite the global slowdown in immigration processing due to COVID-19, Canada is on pace to set a record-breaking year for permanent residency invitations. With the latest draw, IRCC has issued a total of 61,771 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in 2021. This figure significantly outpaces last year’s numbers during the same period, largely bolstered by February’s unprecedented draw that invited over 27,000 CEC candidates.
On average, Canada holds Express Entry draws twice a month—alternating between PNP and CEC streams. This focused strategy supports the government’s ambitious immigration target of welcoming over 400,000 new permanent residents in 2021.
Maple News will continue to monitor and report on all developments related to Canada’s Express Entry system and broader immigration objectives.