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By Stephanie Ford
Updated 6 days ago
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As of September 28, 2025, there are 250,993 profiles in the Express Entry pool.
The pool size increased month-over-month, up from 254,672 on September 1 2025.
Want to know how competitive your CRS score is compared to the Express Entry pool? Check out our online Express Entry CRS points calculator.
Join other like-minded individuals navigating their journey to success within the Express Entry system — from Immigration tips to settlement and job search support, you're not alone.
The Express Entry pool represents all candidates with an active Express Entry profile. The number of profiles in the pool changes daily as draws take place and as new applicants submit their profiles, while others leave due to expiry, receiving an invitation, or a change in eligibility.
Here’s a snapshot of the current candidate spread in the Express Entry pool:
After a long stretch of a rapidly increasing pool size from September 2024 through to mid-June 2025, Canada has seen a stabilization of the Express Entry pool size so far in Q3 2025. Unfortunately, that stabilization is at a historically high level of people in the Express Entry pool.
Note that we update these figures once per month, not after each draw.*
The glimpse into the Express Entry pool for early October actually came from Sunday, September 28, 2025. Given that we typically see an influx of candidates at the 501+ range on the first of each month, when IRCC’s system automatically credits the extra month of Canadian work experience, the data may actually be slightly off-base for October. We’ll do a further update when we get the next glimpse into the pool.
That being said, the 501–600 band moved from 25,123 on Sept 1 → 24,870 on Sept 14 (−253) → 24,531 on Sept 28 (−339). Net change for September was −592 candidates (a −2.4% drop).
This is a relatively small change, given that there were 9,250 invitations issued during this time. A proportion of these would have gone to candidates in the 450+ range for the category-based draws with lower scores, but we know that at least 2,500 of those were in the 501+ range.
This means that there were at least 70 people entering the pool in the 501-600 range every day between September 1 and September 28, 2025. We would guess the true number is actually higher.
It’s very challenging to know in the absence of consistent draws for Canadian Experience Class and since we’re only getting one glimpse into the pool each week, so we can’t see the nuances of each draw’s impact on the pool.
Forecasts suggest that unless the rate of new high-scoring entries slows, Canadian Experience Class draws at the 3,000 invitation range become consistent, or draw sizes increase, cut-offs are likely to remain above 520 — or even 530 — in 2025.
While the future remains uncertain, candidates are encouraged to focus on boosting their scores through language improvements, additional education, or targeting occupations eligible for category-based draws.
What a ‘good’ CRS score is in Canada’s Express Entry pool changes over time, though a ‘good’ score is generally any score that make it likely that you will receive an invitation in the next few rounds. At the moment, this means a relatively high score — around 530+. Why? Well it’s based on how many candidates in the pool have scores higher than yours.
Here’s an overview of the candidate score ranges in the Express Entry pool:
This range doesn’t typically see the huge numbers of candidates that we see in the 501+ and 451-500 ranges. This is because the numbers of provincial nominations are limited each year at the provincial level. Since those are limited to align with IRCC’s immigration targets for PNPs, this range generally stays relatively small.
We discussed this range in depth above. Check out the discussion there for our thoughts.
The 451–500 band weakened through September: 74,183 on Sept 1 → 71,427 on Sept 14 → 70,583 on Sept 28 (net −3,600 from Sept 1). This is quite interesting, since we saw a number of category-based draws with a CRS cut-off in that range.
We can’t conclude that this means that 3,600 of the 9,250 candidates invited in September were in the 450-500 range, since it’s likely new candidates joined the pool at this range in September. But it does mean that it is likely that thousands of candidates in the 501+ range were drawn in September in category-based draws.
The 401–450 band stayed steady through the month: Increasing from September 1, where the pool had 74,314 candidates to 74,481 on September 28, 2025. The net change from Sept 1→Sept 28 was +167.
In short: the lower half of the mid-400s is holding steady and even edged up slightly by month-end. That small net gain shows continued pressure below the 451–500 band.
If you’re within this range, it’s very important to continue working on your CRS score. This is true even if you’re hoping to receive an invitation for a category-based draw, which are also seeing high scores this year. That said, French category based draws may continue to attract lower scores than other categories this year and candidates with French proficiency in this range may be well placed to receive an invitation in a targeted draw.
491–500: 12,443 → 12,341 (−102) → 12,255 (−86) — Total: −188481–490: 12,443 → 12,555 (+112) → 12,473 (−82) — Total: +30471–480: 16,077 → 15,569 (−508) → 15,150 (−419) — Total: −927461–470: 17,252 → 16,158 (−1,094) → 15,781 (−377) — Total: −1,471451–460: 15,968 → 14,804 (−1,164) → 14,924 (+120) — Total: −1,044
All together: 74,183 → 71,427 → 70,583 (Total: −3,600)
441–450: 15,220 → 14,719 (−501) → 14,806 (+87) — Total: −414431–440: 16,245 → 16,312 (+67) → 16,354 (+42) — Total: +109421–430: 14,813 → 14,822 (+9) → 14,820 (−2) — Total: +7411–420: 14,542 → 14,714 (+172) → 14,839 (+125) — Total: +297401–410: 13,494 → 13,611 (+117) → 13,662 (+51) — Total: +168
All together: 74,314 → 74,178 → 74,481 (Total: +167)
52,798 → 52,883 (+85) → 53,066 (+183) — Total: +268
19,955 → 19,978 (+23) → 19,963 (−15) — Total: +8
8,053 → 8,074 (+21) → 8,081 (+7) — Total: +28
Summary:Between the three September snapshots, the 451–500 block declined sharply (−3,600 total), driven mainly by losses in the 461–470 and 471–480 subranges. The 401–450 band was roughly stable with a small net gain (+167), while the lower bands (351–400, 301–350, 0–300) showed modest increases.
Determining how your CRS score compares to others in the pool is a necessary component to a successful immigration strategy.
If you have a strong CRS score in comparison to others in the pool, your chances of receiving an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw are high therefore you may just need to wait for the next draw.
On the other hand, you may find that your CRS is not competitive enough, forcing you to look at ways to increase your score or explore Express Entry alternatives.
Whether or not you’re invited to apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry system depends on:
Once you have submitted your Express Entry profile, you will receive your CRS score. Bear in mind that this score may change due to factors like age therefore it is important to keep a note of your CRS and competitiveness.
Staying informed about immigration in Canada can help you prepare for your Express Entry journey. Join today to Moving2Canada community can help. You’ll receive free access to our newsletters, immigration checklists, and a host of other settlement resources — all tailored to your immigration journey. Sign up here.
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