Canada plans to hold targeted Express Entry draws in early 2023
IRCC expects to implement Express Entry reforms in the first quarter of next year.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is planning to start holding Express Entry draws for candidates based on labour market goals in the first quarter of 2023, a spokesperson says.
The recently passed Bill C-19 allows the immigration minister to invite Express Entry candidates based on criteria that support regional economic needs. It allows IRCC to hold Express Entry invitation rounds based on a candidate’s occupation, language, or educational attainment, for example, rather than their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The new legislation also states the minister must engage in a public consultation process and report the draw details, including the economic goals, to parliament annually.
Why change Express Entry?
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser explained in a recent CIC News interview that the Express Entry system, without the amendments, does not allow for IRCC to tailor Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to meet in-demand skills or qualifications.
“If you’re in a circumstance where you have an abundance of applications that are all in one particular sector, and that sector doesn’t have high needs in Canada the Express Entry system as it exists today, is likely to bring in people that might not be perfectly matched to the needs of the Canadian economy,” Fraser said.
IRCC demonstrated throughout the pandemic that it can invite as many candidates as it wants in any program it wants, as we saw throughout the pandemic. One prominent example took place on February 13, 2021, when Canada invited every Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidate in the pool, representing more than 27,000 invitations.
All-program draws continue in the meantime
On July 6, IRCC held its first all-program draw since December 2020, which means candidates were invited regardless of which Express Entry-managed program they were eligible for.
A total of 1,500 candidates were invited, and the minimum CRS score was 557.
The next Express Entry draw is expected to take place on July 20.
source: cicnews.com
