On Friday, April 16, 2021, Canada conducted a new Express Entry draw, welcoming candidates with scores of at least 417 points.

In this latest invitation round, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) welcomed 6,000 Canadian Experience Class candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residency. If compared to the previous CEC-only draw, IRCC provided 1,000 more invites, and the CRS score threshold was 15 points lower.

The draw was held on an unusual Friday evening, just before the weekend in Canada. Express Entry draws are often held throughout the week to allow immigrant applicants and their representatives more time to schedule permanent residency applications.

It was also the second-largest draw in the history of Express Entry. The three biggest draw sizes have all occurred in the past two months, as IRCC has raised draw sizes to prepare for the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on immigration to Canada in 2020. The previous record was 5,000 permanent residence invites, which was surpassed on February 13 when 27,332 candidates were invited.

Candidates with a minimum score of 417 were only invited to today’s draw if they submitted their Express Entry profile before March 1, 2021 at 19:53:46 UTC, as per the tie-break rule. Regardless of if there was an actual tie, IRCC announces the cut-off time for the tie-break rule as an administrative requirement.

A Busy Week in Canadian Immigration

This week has been a busy one for Canadian immigrants. The IRCC held an Express Entry draw on Wednesday, inviting 266 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants to apply for permanent residency.

On the same day, IRCC made the biggest announcement of the week. Six new permanent residence streams will be accessible in May, as per IRCC. The new sources are intended to include about 90,000 additional permanent residency spaces for temporary immigrants currently in Canada. Temporary foreign jobs in important professions in Canada, aspiring international graduates, and francophones are among them. These streams, in conjunction with Express Entry draws and other programs such as the PNP, are intended to assist Canada in meeting its 401,000 Immigration Level Plans for 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The PNP has also been busy this week, with draws held in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island.

Express Entry Draws in 2021

So far in 2021, Canada has welcomed 55,390 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residency, almost double the number invited at the same time last year. This is partially due to the fact that on February 13, IRCC issued 27,332 invitations, one per eligible CEC candidate in the pool.

Canada is increasing its Express Entry intake in order to meet its immigration goals for 2021. The federal government committed last fall to welcome 401,000 newcomers this year, with about a quarter of these coming through the Express Entry system.