Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued 202 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in the latest Express Entry draw focused on the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), held on July 21, 2025. Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 788 to receive an invitation — a noticeable increase of 38 points from the previous PNP-specific draw on July 7, which issued 356 ITAs.
This rise in the cut-off score indicates growing competition among PNP applicants, possibly driven by a surge in higher-ranking candidates or limited spots in this particular round. The draw marks the 26th of the year under the Express Entry system and the 356th since the system’s inception.
The most recent draw prior to this was held on July 8, 2025, targeting Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates with 3,000 ITAs issued and a minimum CRS score of 518. This highlights the IRCC’s continued use of category-based draws to align immigration with Canada’s evolving economic and regional labor needs.
So far in 2025, IRCC has conducted 13 PNP draws, 7 CEC draws, 3 for French-speaking candidates, and targeted draws for education, healthcare, and social service occupations. This trend mirrors the pattern seen in 2024, during which draws were held for a wide array of professional categories including STEM, agriculture, trades, and transport — suggesting an ongoing strategy to address sector-specific and regional labor shortages.
In total, IRCC has issued 45,403 ITAs in 2025 to date, following a total of 98,903 issued in 2024. This is down from previous years, with 110,266 ITAs issued in 2023 and a record-setting 114,431 in 2021, which focused entirely on CEC and PNP candidates.
The tie-breaking rule for the latest draw was applied to candidates who submitted their Express Entry profiles before June 5, 2025, at 7:50 PM EST. Only those who met the CRS threshold and submitted by that time received invitations under IRCC’s standard procedure.
Candidates who received an ITA have 60 days to submit their full permanent residence applications. IRCC typically processes these applications within six months.
Employers are increasingly encouraged to explore the PNP route or secure a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to attract and retain foreign talent. These strategies offer more certainty and flexibility in the current climate of selective immigration draws.
According to Maple News, applicants seeking to maximize their chances in future rounds should consider securing a valid job offer or provincial nomination—both of which can significantly boost CRS scores, often above the threshold for targeted draws.