Changes To Occupations in Canada’s Category-Based Draws in 2025

But, while the healthcare, trades, STEM, and agriculture categories are still in force for 2025 (alongside French), there have been shifts to the eligible occupations under the categories. If you currently work in any of the eligible sectors, it’s worth reading on to confirm if your occupation is eligible in 2025.  

Key Takeaways 

• 8 occupations have been added to the list of eligible occupations for category-based Express Entry draws targeting healthcare workers.  
• 19 trades occupations have been added to the eligible occupations list for 2025.  
• There have been significant changes to the STEM and Agriculture occupations.
• You can read our earlier post announcing the Express Entry category changes for 2025.

Changes To Eligible Healthcare Occupations for Category-Based Express Entry Draws in 2025 

Canada’s healthcare category has had 8 eligible occupations added for 2025, and 6 occupations removed.  

Healthcare occupations that are now eligible for category-based draws include: 

• Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians 

• Cardiology technologists and electrophysical diagnostic technologists 

• Dental hygenist and dental therapists 

• Other medical technologists and technicians 

• Pharmacists  

• Pharmacy technicians 

• Social and community service workers 

• Social workers. 

The health occupations that were removed for 2025 were Education counsellors, Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment, other assisting occupations in support of health services, other practitioners of natural healing, and Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists. Instructors of persons with disabilities was also removed from the healthcare occupations list, but added to the education category so it has moved, as opposed to being removed.  

• Learn more about the health category for 2025 Express Entry.  

Changes To Eligible Trades Occupations 

19 trades occupations were added to the eligible list for 2025 – highlighting just how drastic the trades shortage in Canada truly is. Just four occupations were removed.  

Trades Occupations Added for 2025 

• Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services  

• Floor covering installers  

• Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)  

• Roofers and shinglers  

• Concrete finishers  

• Other technical trades and related occupations  

• Water well drillers  

• Electrical mechanics  

• Heavy-duty equipment mechanics  

• Bricklayers  

• Cabinetmakers  

• Gas fitters  

• Industrial electricians  

• Sheet metal workers  

• Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors  

• Home building and renovation managers  

• Construction managers  

• Cooks  

• Construction estimators.  

Trades Occupations Removed for 2025 

The following four occupations were removed from the eligible occupations list for 2025 and will not be eligible for dedicated trades category-based draws this year:  

• Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers 

• Elevator constructors and mechanics 

• Machine fitters 

• Residential and commercial installers and servicers.  

You can learn more about the Express Entry Trades Category.  

Changes To Eligible STEM Occupations for Category-Based Express Entry Draws in 2025 

19 occupations have been removed from the STEM category for 2025, while 6 occupations have been added. First, let’s look at the occupations that have been removed from the STEM category for this year.  

The following occupations will not be eligible for STEM category-based draws for 2025: 

• Architects  

• Business systems specialists  

• Computer and information systems managers  

• Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)  

• Computer systems developers and programmers  

• Data scientists  

• Database analysts and data administrators  

• Engineering managers  

• Information systems specialists  

• Land surveyors  

• Landscape Architects  

• Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries  

• Metallurgical and materials engineers  

• Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers  

• Software developers and programmers  

• Software engineers and designers  

• Urban and land use planners  

• Web designers  

• Web developers and programmers. 

The following occupations have been added to the list of eligible occupations for 2025: 

• Civil engineering technologists and technicians  

• Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians  

• Geological Engineers  

• Insurance agents and brokers  

• Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians  

• Mechanical Engineers. 

However, we remain uncertain whether STEM draws will take place in 2025. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not stated that it will complete targeted draws for STEM in 2025. It seems as though it is keeping its options open for STEM draws this year. In other words, it’s not likely but it’s possible we’ll see STEM draws this year.  

Changes to Eligible Agriculture Occupations for Express Entry in 2025 

There is just one occupation left on the eligible list for the agriculture category – Butchers retail and wholesale.  

Landscaping contractors and agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors have been removed from the eligible list.  

Education Category Added  

Education occupations being targeted in 2025 are teaching assistants, instructors of persons with disabilities (moved from the healthcare category), early childhood educators and assistants, elementary school and kindergarten teachers, and secondary school teachers.  

For those instructors of persons with disabilities, the movement from the healthcare category to the education category may offer additional opportunities – or it may reduce them.  

The most recent healthcare draw issued 3,000 invitations with a CRS cut off of 463, in November 2024. The lowest score we’ve seen so far for healthcare is 422, in February 2024.  

So, this change could be a benefit for instructors of persons with disabilities if the score for education category-based draws is lower than that for healthcare. We’ll keep you updated on these trends in our analyses of the Express Entry draws, as they happen. 

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