Who is the most likely to receive an Express Entry ITA in 2023?
New data from the Government of Canada sheds further light on the human capital profiles of persons who were invited to apply for Express Entry between January and September 2023.
Canada awarded 53,455 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to Express Entry candidates during this time period.
The information does not include the ITAs awarded by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in Express Entry drawings held throughout October. In October, an additional 9,173 ITAs were granted.
The total number of ITAs is split down into numerous categories, including program, province, Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, age, and occupation.
Express Entry is a system for managing applications for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). It also oversees the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Each program has its own set of qualifying requirements, but all candidates are reviewed and scored using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which provides point values to human capital factors like job experience, age, language ability, and education.
The report also takes into account Express Entry candidates who were nominated through the PNP. A provincial nomination immediately adds 600 CRS points to the profile of an Express Entry candidate.
Overall, based exclusively on available data, CEC candidates in their twenties who work as software engineers and live, or intend to live, in Ontario are the most likely to acquire an ITA.
Invitations based on the program
The majority of ITAs were awarded to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class during the first nine months of 2023. Candidates for CEC must have at least one year of acceptable Canadian work experience and meet the IRCC’s language proficiency requirements. An ITA was issued to 23,910 CEC candidates (almost 45% of all ITAs).
Applicants for the Federal Skilled Worker Program received the second-most ITAs, with 15,855 (about 30% of total ITAs), while Provincial Nominee Program applicants received the third-most, with 13,655 (about 26% of total ITAs).
There were no ITAs awarded to FSTP candidates.
Top occupations
Top occupations There was some overlap in the occupations that obtained the most ITAs per program. Software engineers were among the top five vocations for the following three programs:
Canadian Experience Class
- Software engineers and designers: 1,725
- Computer programmers and interactive media developers: 1,745
- Information systems analysts and consultants: 1,375
- CEC Food Service Supervisors: 1,240
- Administrative assistants: 855
Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Financial auditors and accountants: 650
- Dentists: 570
- Software engineers and designers: 565
- Professional occupations in advertising, marketing, and public relations: 505
- Database analysts and data administrators: 420
Provincial Nominee Program
Other occupations: 970
820 software developers and designers
615 information systems analysts and consultants
595 computer programmers and interactive media developers
Invitations based on CRS score
Approximately half of all Express Entry candidates (26,070) got a CRS score of 451-500, while 11,640 obtained a score of 501-600.
Only 225 Express Entry candidates with scores ranging from 601 to 700 and 60 with scores ranging from 701 to 800 earned an ITA. Another 790 had scores ranging from 801 to 900.
Notably, over 7,7550 Express Entry candidates had CRS scores ranging from 901 to 1,000, with over 5,040 having scores higher than 1,000. A CRS score of around 600 can only be obtained by receiving a provincial nomination, which accounts for 600 of the maximum 1,200 CRS points an Express Entry candidate can achieve.
Province-specific invitations
More over half of all Express Entry candidates lived or planned to live in Ontario. According to data, 31,550 ITAs were awarded to these candidates.
British Columbia had the second-highest number of ITAs, with 10, 655, while Alberta had 5,280.
Nova Scotia was awarded 1,595 ITAs. The remaining provinces each had fewer than 1,500 people.
Invitations by age
The majority of candidates that received an ITA were between the ages of 19 and 29. ITAs were issued to a total of 28,970 individuals in their twenties.
A total of 20,865 people in their thirties were asked to apply. ITAs were awarded to fewer than 4,000 candidates in their 40s or older.
Based on a longitudinal research undertaken by Statistics Canada, IRCC awards a higher CRS score to younger candidates, indicating that newcomers who arrive younger have more time to integrate into the Canadian job market.
Express Entry immigration levels
The overall number of Express Entry candidates invited from January to September 2023 exceeds the total number invited in 2022 (37,335) but falls short of the 108,105 in 2021.
Due to the pandemic, the last two years have been outliers. In 2021, IRCC raised ITAs to CEC applicants to help meet its target of landing over 400,000 immigrants amid the pandemic, including border limitations. This, however, caused to a backlog and slower service standards, resulting in IRCC decreasing Express Entry ITAs in 2022.
Since the epidemic, Canadian Experience Class candidates have received the vast majority of ITAs. Prior to the pandemic, the FSWP was the main ITA program.According to Statistics Canada, age is one of the most powerful determinants of immigrant labor-force integration. Younger newcomers have more time to strengthen their English and/or French abilities, get Canadian work experience, and build a Canadian professional network. A single Express Entry candidate between the ages of 20 and 29 receives 110 CRS points. A single candidate aged 19 receives 105 points.
Moving forward, the IRCC has set a target of 110,770 permanent resident admissions to Canada through Express Entry programs in 2024, rising to 117,500 in both 2025 and 2026. Because successful Express Entry candidates are eligible to land with their partners and children who also match IRCC criteria, the number of ITAs granted tends to be smaller than the number of admissions.
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