Question Period Note: EXPRESS ENTRY

Status of the Express Entry system which is used for managing applications in a number of economic immigration categories.

• Immigration is key to addressing Canada’s demographic challenges and labour shortages.

• Express Entry is Canada’s flagship application management system for a number of economic immigration programs, which focus on Canada’s long-term economic growth. Top-ranked candidates are regularly invited to apply for permanent residence.

• In June 2023, category-based selection launched in Express Entry, allowing better targeting of invitations to candidates who meet specified economic goals.

• Informed by labour market information and input from consultations with partners and stakeholders, categories were established for French-language proficiency, and work experience in healthcare, STEM, trade, transport and agriculture and agri-food occupations, for 2023.

• Category-based selection makes Express Entry more responsive to Canada’s changing economic and labour market needs, while building on the high human capital approach that has been a hallmark of Canada’s successful economic immigration system.

If pressed
• By placing a special focus on Francophone immigration, the Government of Canada is ensuring that French communities can continue to live and prosper in the official language of their choice.
• Economic results for Express Entry applicants are positive: These individuals are becoming economically established with high employment rates and employment income, and over 80 percent of them are working in their primary occupations.

If pressed on category-based selection
• The Government is seeking to build on the success of Express Entry to better respond to a range of evolving economic needs and Government priorities, through category-based selection.
• Categories for 2023 focus on helping address chronic labour market shortages, and supporting economic growth through Francophone immigration.
• Since its launch in June 2023, IRCC has held seven category-based selection invitation rounds with nearly 11,000 invitations sent through three French-language proficiency rounds, two healthcare, one STEM and one trades round (as of August 23, 2023).
• IRCC will report annually to Parliament on category-based selection, and recently consulted on priorities to inform the use of category-based selection in Express Entry for 2024.
If pressed on physicians
• In April 2023, IRCC implemented measures to facilitate permanent residence eligibility and access to the Express Entry system for physicians providing publicly-funded medical services in Canada.
• The Department also introduced a health-specific occupational category for selection in Express Entry, to help address shortages in the health care system.
If pressed on housing
• IRCC introduced a trades-specific occupational category for selection in Express Entry, which will help Canada’s construction sector address shortages and attract the skilled talent to support the housing supply.
If pressed on wait times
• Leveraging Express Entry’s application management functions and a focus on clearing old inventory has allowed the Department to offer six month processing times to Express Entry clients who have applied since July 2022.

• Launched in January 2015, Express Entry is an online application management system for three federal high skilled immigration programs (the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program) and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.
• Express Entry allows IRCC to control application intake through an expression of interest and invitation to apply model.
• Foreign nationals interested in applying through Express Entry must first create a profile. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for at least one of the federal programs managed in the system are then entered into a pool, and receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is based on a combination of human capital and other factors. Top ranked candidates are then invited to apply for permanent residence through regular invitation rounds.
• Invitation rounds in Express Entry can be general (i.e. based solely on CRS score), program specific, or based on category eligibility (i.e. for the recently launched category-based selection).

Current Status
System performance
• An evaluation on early outcomes of individuals admitted through Express Entry was published in 2020, which found that applicants generally demonstrate high levels of labour market participation and employment income, and are working in their primary occupations. The Express Entry system was designed to select candidates with high human capital, who have the potential to achieve economic success in the Canadian labour market over the longer term.
• Express Entry applicants also generally outperform their non-Express Entry counterparts. Nearly all Express Entry principal applicants had a job in their first years as a permanent resident (95% in the first year following their admission). Of those who were working at the time of the evaluation:
o 83% reported doing so in their primary occupation;
o Express Entry principal applicants earned 20% more than non-Express Entry principal applicants; and,
o 43% of Express Entry principal applicants were in occupations usually requiring university education (i.e. National Occupation Classification (NOC) TEER 1) for their first job as a permanent resident compared to 25% for non-Express Entry principal applicants.
• The Department is implementing an action plan to address the recommendations of the evaluation, namely monitoring the CRS, making improvements to the electronic application system, a more systematic approach to managing integrity, and addressing certain gaps in information collection.
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2019) also examined “Expression of Interest” systems and identified Canada’s Express Entry as a model for successful economic immigration management, noted for its refinement in ranking of candidates, ongoing testing and adaptation to evidence, and focus on human capital factors.
• IRCC continues to monitor and report Express Entry results, engage with partners and stakeholders and consider international comparators, with the aim of ensuring that Canada continues to benefit from immigrants with high human capital, and the diverse skills and experience needed to grow our economy.
Express Entry in 2022
• 428,391 candidate profiles were submitted through the system, with the CRS scores of eligible candidates in the pool being concentrated in the 301–500 range.
• IRCC held 24 invitation rounds and sent 46,539 invitations, a decrease from the 114,431 invitations issued in 2021. This is due to changes in regular invitation rounds as a result of the pandemic, including a historically large draw in early 2021 and the Department’s decision to temporarily pause invitations to federal high skilled immigration programs from September 2021 until July 2022.
o Candidates invited were highly educated, with 90% claiming a post-secondary educational credential of at least three years.
o Some of the most common primary occupations of candidates invited included software engineers and designers, information systems specialists and computer systems developers and programmers.
o Ontario was the most popular intended province of destination for candidates invited, followed by British Columbia and Alberta.
• 116,228 principal applicants and their accompanying family members were admitted as permanent residents through Express Entry. Candidates have six months to submit their application after receiving an invitation to apply, and IRCC’s processing standard, is finalizing 80% of all applications within six months.

Launching Category-based Selection
• As announced in the 2022 federal Budget, the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act was amended in June 2022 to authorize the Minister to invite foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence via Express Entry, on a new basis – their eligibility to be members of a category that would support an identified economic goal.
• Express Entry’s category-based selection authorities launched in summer 2023, and increase the flexibility to select those with the skills and talent needed to support Canada’s changing and diverse economic and labour force needs, long term growth and prosperity.
• As of August 23, 2023, seven category-based rounds have taken place:
o French-language proficiency: July 7, 2023 (2,300 invitations; minimum CRS of 439), July 12, 2023 (3,800; minimum CRS of 375), August 2, 2023 (800 invitations; minimum CRS of 435)
o Healthcare occupations: June 28, 2023 (500 invitations; minimum CRS of 476), July 6, 2023 (1,500 invitations; minimum CRS of 463)
o STEM occupations: July 5, 2023 (500 invitations; minimum CRS of 486)
o Trade occupations: August 3, 2023 (1,500 invitations; minimum CRS of 388)
• Categories will be reviewed annually and will continue to be informed by labour market information, engagement with provincial and territorial partners and public consultations with stakeholders.
• The Department will report annually to Parliament on the list of categories established, selection criteria used and the process applied to establish categories.

Snapshot of Candidates in the Express Entry Pool
• The composition of candidates in the Express Entry pool is constantly changing as new profiles are submitted, candidates with existing profiles take steps to improve their CRS score, profiles expire after a year and candidates invited to apply are removed from the pool.
• As of July 4, 2023, the Express Entry pool had over 214,500 eligible candidate profiles. Profile submissions have steadily increased over the last year, and the announcement of category-based selection appears to have increased profile submissions from eligible candidates.
o Gender distribution in the Express Entry pool was approximately 52% men and 48% women.
o The monthly average CRS score of profiles in the pool was 411, which follows an upward trend since 2017, reflecting greater competitiveness among candidates.
o Top occupations included: software engineers, food service supervisors, information systems analysts, software developers and administrative assistants.

Express Entry Reforms
• A number of reforms to Express Entry have been implemented since 2016.
• The adjustments have demonstrated that the Express Entry system can adapt to changing contexts and priorities, and has proven to be a flexible tool to select and admit applicants through economic immigration programs.
• Key changes have included:
o Launch of category-based selection (2023).
o Update to align with NOC 2021 (2022). IRCC implemented the latest iteration of ESDC and Statistics Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 version. The NOC defines and categorizes occupations and is used across IRCC lines of business for the purposes of immigration selection. Implementation of NOC 2021, meant sixteen new occupations (e.g. truck drivers) became eligible for the programs managed through Express Entry.
o Bonus points for candidates with strong French-language skills (introduced 2017, increased 2020). This has been successful at increasing French-speaking admissions and helping deliver on the Government’s target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by 2023.
 Since 2018, an average of 50% of all French-speaking permanent resident admissions outside of Quebec have come through programs managed by Express Entry.
o Points for Canadian study credentials for former international students (2016), giving them a competitive edge against candidates who studied elsewhere.
o Reducing the points assigned for offers of arranged employment (2016), so more candidates are invited based on their high human capital.

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