Question Period Note: EXPRESS ENTRY

Status of the Express Entry application system which is used to manage a number of economic immigration programs.

• Through immigration, Canada continues to attract skilled workers needed to support growing industries – and much of this has been accomplished through Express Entry.

• Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System, is an evidence-based points system designed to identify candidates most likely to achieve high employment earnings.

• A recent evaluation found that one year after admission, Express Entry principal applicants earned, on average, 20% more than applicants admitted outside of Express Entry.

• However, as global conditions change, the labour market tightens, and the types of skillsets we look for in our future workforce evolves, so should our policies.

• In fact, last June we refined our Express Entry system to be more targeted and provide invitations to candidates with skills in shortage.

• As Canada’s economy evolves, we also seek to improve our immigration tools, including the Express Entry system and welcome perspectives from organizations such as the Business Council of Alberta.

If pressed
• Through category-based selection, Express Entry can now pursue candidates with French-language proficiency, and also those with work experience from in-demand sectors such as healthcare, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as trade, agriculture and transport.

If pressed on the Minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score
• Foreign nationals express their interest in immigrating to Canada by submitting a profile; eligible candidates enter the Express Entry pool and are assigned a score (i.e. the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
• Express Entry is an Expression of Interest model where candidates must be invited to submit an application, they cannot directly apply for Express Entry programs. Individuals in the Express Entry pool are not guaranteed to receive an invitation to apply. Only top-ranked candidates in a round are invited to apply for permanent residence through regularly-held rounds of invitations.
• Express Entry does not have a minimum score requirement to receive an invitation, but there is a minimum eligibility criteria that candidates must meet in order to qualify for Express Entry.
• The minimum score of a given Express Entry invitation round varies, based on various factors including the number of invitations sent and the candidate composition in the pool at the time.

If pressed on success of Express Entry
• Permanent and temporary immigration account for almost 100% of Canada’s labour force growth, which contributes to addressing labour shortages in key sectors and supporting our economy
• Express Entry is a tool to achieve these aims and helps us attract immigrants with high potential to establish well, and who can help address labour market needs. Express Entry has also contributed to faster and more efficient processing of applications.
• Principal applicants admitted through Express Entry demonstrate strong economic outcomes. In fact, a 2020 evaluation found that one year after admission, principal applicants earned, on average, 20% more than applicants who were not selected through Express Entry. These individuals demonstrate both high employment rates and employment income; over 80 percent are working in their primary occupations.
o Between 2016 and 2019, each Express Entry cohort had higher median employment earnings than the Canadian median.
• By managing application intake using Express Entry, the Department has returned or is close to returning to service standards for several key permanent resident categories, such as the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the portion of the Provincial Nominee Program that operates through Express Entry.
• We are constantly looking to improve the Express Entry system. To this end, we welcome perspectives from organizations such as the Business Council of Alberta on how Express Entry can be further enhanced.
If pressed on category-based selection:
• Categories chosen for Express Entry are selected based on labour market data, consultations with partners and stakeholders, and are intended to address the labour market as it evolves.
• As the Department works towards meeting specific objectives, such as the selection of French-speakers outside Quebec, or candidates with work experience in specialized occupations, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of invited candidates will fluctuate. However, all candidates must still meet federal program criteria and thresholds.

If pressed on housing
• Addressing the housing pressures in Canada is a whole of government effort, requiring close collaboration with provincial, territorial and municipal governments.
• IRCC is doing its part by managing Express Entry and specifically, introducing a trades-specific category, which will help Canada’s construction sector address housing shortages and attract the skilled talent to support that industry.
• We are also exploring other ways we can help with recruitment and selection of in-demand construction trades workers, including to support residential construction.

• 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 that meet the criteria for a particular round 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 (i.e. based on candidates’ eligibility for a specific program), or based on category eligibility (i.e. for the recently launched category-based selection).
• Candidates have 60 days to submit their application after receiving an invitation to apply. IRCC’s service standard is to finalize 80% of Express Entry applications within six months, which is currently being met.

Current Status
System performance
• An evaluation on early outcomes of individuals admitted through Express Entry was published in 2020, and 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.
• The evaluation also found that Express Entry applicants 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) training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER) category 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, adopting a more systematic approach to managing integrity, and addressing certain gaps in information collection.
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development also examined “Expression of Interest” systems (2019) 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, including the impact of system changes and innovations. IRCC actively engages with partners and stakeholders and considers 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 2023
• Between January-December 2023, 488,571 candidates submitted profiles, the largest number of profile submissions in a year since the launch of Express Entry in 2015.
• The composition of candidates in the Express Entry pool is constantly changing. This is due to new profiles being submitted, candidates upgrading skills to improve their CRS score, profiles expiring after a year, and candidates being removed from the pool when invited to apply.
• Between January-December 2023, IRCC held 42 invitation rounds and sent 110,266 invitations. Information on candidates invited between January-December 2023 indicates the following:
o Candidates invited were highly educated, with 92% 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 (7%), software developers and programmers (5%), and food service supervisors (3%).
o Top countries of citizenship of candidates invited to apply were India (47%), Nigeria (7%), and China (5%).
o Ontario was the most popular intended province of destination for candidates invited (59%), followed by British Columbia (18%) and Alberta (11%).
• Between January-December 2023, 120,654 principal applicants and their accompanying family members were admitted as permanent residents through Express Entry, a 4% increase from 2022.

Category-based Selection
• Changes to the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act (IRPA) in June 2022 authorize the Minister to invite groups of 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.

• Category-based selection launched on June 28, 2023. Between June 28, 2023 and December 31, 2023, the Department held 17 category-based rounds :
o French-language proficiency: 6 rounds and 8,700 invitations
o Healthcare occupations: 3 rounds and 5,600 invitations
o STEM occupations: 2 rounds and 6,400 invitations
o Trade occupations: 2 rounds and 2,500 invitations
o Transport occupations: 2 rounds and 1,670 invitations
o Agriculture and agri-food occupations: 2 rounds and 1,000 invitations
• The Department will continue running category-based rounds in 2024, and since January 1, 2024, it has held 8 category-based rounds [As of May 8, 2024]:
o French-language proficiency: 4 rounds and 12,400 invitations.
o Health care occupations : 1 round and 3,500 invitations
o Agriculture and Agri-food occupations: 1 round and 150 invitations
o Transport occupations: 1 round and 975 invitations
o STEM occupations: 1 round and 4,500 invitations
• Categories will be monitored, reviewed, and will evolve over time. They 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.

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 Changes to facilitate access to Express Entry for physicians working in Canada’s public health care (2023). Previously, these physicians were ineligible for Express Entry’s work experience and arranged employment points as they are considered to be self-employed.
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. This 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 supporting related Government targets.
 Since 2018, an average of 50% of all French-speaking permanent resident admissions outside of Quebec have come through Express Entry.
o Points introduced for Canadian study credentials for former international students (2016).
o Reduced points for offers of arranged employment (2016), so more candidates are invited based on their human capital.
• The Department continues to monitor Express Entry and explore opportunities to further strengthen it, including adjustments to the Comprehensive Ranking System, to ensure that it continues to support Canada’s economic growth and prosperity.

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