The Government of Canada recently released data detailing the type of Express Entry candidate, based on a variety of factors*, who most often received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in Canada.

The results of this data came from an assessment of all Express Entry draws conducted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) between January and September 2023. During the nine-month period that was assessed, a total of 53,455 ITAs were issued to Canadian immigration candidates. 

Note: Express Entry is the name of Canada's federal application management system for immigration applications to three economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). It also manages a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

*The factors taken into account by the government data included such things as the number of ITAs issued by program, province, Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, age, and occupation.

Results

Based on the data available, the candidates most likely to receive an ITA in 2023 were CEC applicants who were in their 20s. This group was found to also most often be software engineers who lived or intended to live in Ontario. 

By Program

Broken down by the number of ITAs issued to candidates in each of the three programs managed by the Express Entry system, most invitations were issued to CEC candidates. Candidates from this program were issued 23,910 (nearly 45%) ITAs.

FSWP candidates received about 30% of all Express Entry ITAs between January and September this year (15,855 ITAs) while PNP candidates were issued 13,655 ITAs (some 26%). No FSTP candidates received an ITA over these nine months.

By Province

Based on the province of residence (or intended province of residence) for Express Entry ITA recipients, nearly 50% of all ITAs within the reference period were issued to people in or headed to Ontario. The next three top provinces by number of ITA recipients were British Columbia (10,655), Alberta (5,280), and Nova Scotia (1,595). 

No other province received more than 1,500 ITAs.

By Age

The following list breaks down ITAs issued by age between January and September 2023.

19-29: 28,970

30-39: 20,865

40+: Less than 4,000

More: A full breakdown of the government data on this subject, including results based on the top occupations of applicants to each Express Entry program and ITAs issued by CRS score, click here. 

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