Express Entry Draw 304 – Massive Canadian Experience Class Draw on July 17

Key Takeaways for Express Entry Candidates

• Type of draw: Program Specific — Canadian Experience Class
• Invites issued: 6,300
• CRS score: 515
• Tie-breaking rule: February 3, 2024
• Prediction for the next draw: July 30 – Program Specific (PNP)
• Learn more about the changes proposed for the 2025 Express Entry categories.
• Learn more about what we expect to see in Express Entry in the next six months.

Watch our weekly recap!

Our Analysis of This Week’s Express Entry Draw

Today’s draw is the second draw this week, and it is huge! 6,300 candidates eligible for the program-specific Canadian Experience Class draw will receive an invitation following this round.  This is the second largest draw of 2024, with only a French draw on February 1, 2024 inviting more candidates — we saw 7,000 invitations sent in the earlier French round.

This large CEC draw is again likely due to the impact category-based draws are having on the composition of the pool. One criticism of the category-based draws is that, in practice, they are leading to more out-of-Canada Express Entry applicants being selected. However, those with in-Canada work experience are recognised as being valuable to Canada’s economy and culture, since they have already started their life in Canada. CEC draws allow IRCC to select workers who already have valuable Canadian work experience.

To recap, we have had the following draws so far in July 2024: 

• Today’s Canadian Experience Class draw, inviting 6,300.
• A Provincial Nominee Program draw on July 16, inviting 1,391 candidates.
• A French draw, inviting 3,200 candidates on July 8.
• A healthcare draw, inviting 3,750 candidates on July 5. 
• A trades occupations draw, inviting 1,800 candidates on July 4. 
• A Provincial Nominee Program draw, inviting 920 candidates on July 2. 

Keen to learn more about What To Expect in Express Entry in 2024? Join our free webinar on July 25. No registration required!

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Comparisons to Previous CEC Draws

This is the second largest CEC draw ever, trailing behind the pandemic-era draw where every CEC candidate received an invitation on February 13, 2021 (27,332 invitations in total for that mammoth round).

The most interesting thing (in our opinion) is the CRS cut off. At 515, it’s quite high compared to similar-sized CEC rounds in the past.

• On June 24, 2021, we saw a CEC round inviting 6,000 candidates with a CRS of 357.
• On June 10, 2021, we saw a CEC round inviting 6,000 with a CRS of 368.
• On April 29, 2021, we saw a CEC round inviting 6,000 with a CRS of 400.
• On April 16, 2021, we saw a CEC round inviting 6,000 with a CRS of 417.

The fact that today’s round invited more CEC applicants with a significantly higher CRS of 515 speaks to the competition in the Express Entry pool at this time. For information about improving your CRS, see our dedicated page.

For more information:

• Learn more about the latest Express Entry draws.
• Learn more about the state of the Express Entry pool.
• Learn when to expect the next Express Entry draw.

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