Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) as part of the new Express Entry invitation series. As part of this program-wide draw, the department issued invitations to 3,000 applicants. To receive an ITA, applicants must have a comprehensive “CRS” rating system; minimum score of 504. This draw follows several previous rounds that took place during the week of September 18. On September 19, IRCC invited 3,200 candidates to participate in the draw for all programs and on September 20, they held their first category lottery for Express Entry candidates in the transportation industry, inviting 1,000 candidates. Date Draw Type Number of ITAs Minimum CRS

• Sept 26 All-program 3,000 504
• Sept 20 Transport occupations 1,000 435
• Sept 19 All-program 3,200 531
• Aug 15 All-program 4,300 496
• Aug 3 Trade occupations 1,500 388
• Aug 2 French language proficiency 800 435
• Aug 1 All-program 2,000 517
• July 12 French language proficiency 3,800 375
• July 11 All-program 800 505
• July 7 French language proficiency 2,300 439
• July 6 Healthcare occupations 1500 463
• July 5 STEM occupations 500 486
• July 4 All-program 700 511
• June 28 Healthcare occupations 500 476
• June 27 All-program 4,300 486
• June 8 All-program 4,800 486

What is category-based selection?

In May this year, IRCC revealed plans to conduct several Express Entry draws that focus on a single characteristic of candidates rather than relying solely on their full CRS score. The shift towards implementing these categories took place in the same year thanks to amendments to the Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2022. This change gave the Minister of Immigration Residency selects Express Entry candidates deemed capable of contributing to Canada's goal of strengthening its economy and developing the French language beyond Quebec. To that end, six new categories were created for in-demand occupations and newcomers with strong French language abilities. The five occupation-based categories are: • Healthcare; • STEM professions; • Trades; • Transport; and • Agriculture and agri-food