Canada holds largest all-program draw ever

 This is the first all-program draw since January 18.

Ottawa-Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued invitations to 7,000 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490.

The number of ITAs in this draw beats the previous record of 5,500 candidates invited in the last all-program draw on January 18. In an all-program draw candidates are considered from all three Express Entry programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

This draw breaks a pattern of program specific draws that have been occurring over the past two months. Since the last all-program draw there have been four program-specific rounds of invitations, three for PNP-only and one for FSWP candidates. The most recent draw was PNP-only and just 697 candidates received ITAs on March 1.

Prior to 2023, all Express Entry draws between July and November 2022 were all-program draws that invited over 1,000 candidates each time and grew as the minimum CRS score decreased.