Canada's October 14, 2020 Express Entry draw was a record-breaker. A total of 4,500 invitations to apply for permanent residence were issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This is tied for the largest Express Entry draw ever, with the 4,500 ITAs that were issued in Canada's February 19, 2020 draw.

Successful Express Entry candidates needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 471 in today's draw. This CRS cut-off was the same as the Express Entry draw held on  September 30.

Complete our FREE Express Entry form to see if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada!

Canada uses Express Entry to manage the applications of three federal skilled worker programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Candidates who are eligible for at least one of these three programs submit a free profile on IRCC's website. IRCC then evaluates their age, education, language skills, work experience, and ties to Canada. Candidates receive a CRS score based on this criteria.

Candidates with the highest CRS scores receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence. Express Entry draws happen every two weeks on Wednesday. The draws have continued throughout the entire coronavirus pandemic.

In recent months, successful candidates have needed a CRS score of around 470. CRS scores have been higher when IRCC only invited Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates and lower when it has only invited CEC and FTSP candidates.

Canada inviting more immigrants despite COVID-19

Canada entered 2020 aiming to invite 91,800 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residents.

However, Canada is set to exceed this target by the end of the year despite COVID-19 interruptions around the world.

So far, following today's draw, Canada has issued 82,850 invitations. This means Canada is on its way to potentially issuing 100,000 or more invitations by the end of this year.

Canada's new immigration targets will be announced by the end of the month. This announcement will tell us Canada's Express Entry plans for 2021-2023.

Complete our FREE Express Entry form to see if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada!