Express Entry Draw 303: PNP Candidates Issued Invitations on July 16

Key Takeaways for Express Entry Candidates

• Type of draw: Provincial Nominee Program (Program Specific Draw)
• Invites issued: 1,391
• CRS score: 670
• Tie-breaking rule: May 4, 2024
• Prediction for the next draw: Canadian Experience Class by July 18
• 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

This week’s Provincial Nominee Program draw is interesting. We were a little surprised to see it, given the French draw on July 8. However, the timing of this draw makes us wonder whether IRCC plans to complete general and program specific draws every other Tuesday going forward. It is far too early to tell, but we have noted the PNP draws on July 2 and June 19 — which means we have three PNP draws in a row at two-week intervals.

Based on this bi-weekly PNP draw trend, and the lack of general draws since April 2024, we do wonder whether IRCC plans to stay away from general draws into the future to prioritise candidate who are already in Canada in addition to the aggressive targets for cultural and skills priorities seen in the category-based draws.

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

• 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. 

As you can see, the number of invitations issued to those in in-demand occupations eligible under Canada’s current Express Entry categories are significant. It’s likely that a high proportion of invitations for the rest of the year will go to those eligible for category-based draws throughout the rest of 2024 too. 

That said, there is hope for those eligible for Canada’s PNP and CEC program-specific draws. And it is still possible that IRCC will conduct general draws at some point.

Comparisons to Previous PNP Draw

The July 16 draw is a larger PNP draw than the prior draw on July 2, which only saw 920 invitations issued. The CRS also dropped from 739 to 670, which shows that competition may be easing among candidates eligible for PNP. We expect to see this given the bi-weekly draw schedule.

It’s also interesting to compare the PNP draw numbers to the category-based invitation numbers. Each PNP draw in the last six weeks has invited fewer than 1,500 candidates, while the category-based rounds range from 1,800 for trades to 3,750 for healthcare occupations. The lion’s share of invitations are going to category-based applicants, even when we account for the more regular PNP draws.

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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