Express Entry Draw 376: 6,000 Invited in a French Language Proficiency Draw

Key Takeaways From the French Language Draw on October 29, 2025

• Type of draw: French Category-Based Draw
• Invites issued: 6,000
• CRS score: 416
• Tie-breaking rule: September 8, 2025 at 15:27:09 UTC
• Prediction for the next draw: Provincial Nominee Draw on November 10, 2025.

This round targeted candidates with French language results equivalent to CLB 7 or higher in all abilities (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). Invitations were issued to eligible candidates across all three Express Entry programs – the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

If you’re new to the excitement of Express Entry and you’re not sure what French draws are, check out our dedicated page covering French Language Category-Based Express Entry draws.

Our Analysis of This Week’s French-Language Express Entry Draw

This was the 7th draw of 2025 targeting French-speaking candidates under category-based selection. So far this year, 36,000 invitations have been issued to francophone candidates. This total far exceeds any other category or program-specific draw, representing 44% of all Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued in 2025.

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

While we’re genuinely happy for everyone who received an invitation in yesterday’s draw, we really do have to address the elephant in the room — CEC applicants must be fuming right now.

Yesterday, IRCC wrapped up its fourth consecutive CEC draw which invited only 1,000 candidates. It’s hard not to wonder whether IRCC’s ongoing emphasis on the French-speaking category is about more than just language — perhaps an effort to boost diversity in their selection profile as well.

We can speculate all we want, but the truth is, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict why French draws have become so dominant — certainly more so than anyone anticipated at the start of the year.

French-Speaking Candidates Leading by a Mile

Let’s look at the numbers:

• French-speaking category
  • 2024: 23,000 ITAs
  • 2025 (to date): 36,000 ITAs
• PNP category
  • 2024: 15,483 ITAs
  • 2025 (to date): 7,885 ITAs — likely to end around 9,000
• CEC category
  • 2024: 26,500 ITAs
  • 2025 (to date): 22,850 ITAs — likely to finish around 25,000.

The French-speaking category continues to grow year over year, showing a sharp and consistent upward trend, while every other category seems to be losing momentum. The PNP stream is in free fall, and the CEC program is virtually stagnant in comparison.

Some might argue that this increased focus on French candidates is partly due to the higher refusal rates among francophone applicants, which could justify the additional draws. But for those still waiting in the pool, many of whom already have higher CRS scores and stronger approval prospects, that’s probably little consolation.

This shift makes it increasingly clear that IRCC’s focus on francophone immigration isn’t just a passing phase — it’s becoming the defining feature of Express Entry in 2025.

Immigration Levels Plan

The 2025 Immigration Levels Plan set a target for 8.5% of all new permanent residents, roughly 29,325 people, to be French-speaking. From the looks of it, IRCC is well on track to hit that goal, and they appear to be doing so almost entirely through the Express Entry system.

And now, the big question on everyone’s mind: what happens next?

This latest draw is likely the last one before the release of the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which means all eyes are on IRCC’s next move.

In the 2025 plan, the national target for French Category in 2026 was already set to 9.5% — a clear signal that the government intends to keep ramping up its emphasis on francophone immigration. Given how dominant French selection has been this year, it’s fair to ask whether that target could rise even further in the new plan. We’ll know when the new plan is released on November 4, 2025.

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