IRCC invites 1,500 Express Entry candidates in third round of invitations this week
CIC News > Latest News > > > IRCC invites 1,500 Express Entry candidates in third round of invitations this week
IRCC has invited Express Entry candidates for the third day in a row.
Today, invitations were issued to candidates who are eligible for category-based selection in healthcare occupations. In total, 1,500 candidates were invited. Candidates required a minimum CRS score of 463. This is lowest CRS score of any Express Entry round of invitations issued in 2023.
Find out if you are eligible for Express Entry
This is a developing story. CIC News will continue to update it as IRCC releases additional Express Entry results today.
The healthcare category draw was expected as last week IRCC confirmed it would have a round of invitations this week for 1,500 healthcare workers. This followed the first-ever category-based draw on June 28 in which 500 healthcare workers with a minimum CRS of 476 received ITAs.
Today’s draws follow the first-ever invitations issued to candidates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions on July 5. In yesterday’s round of invitations, 500 STEM candidates with a minimum CRS score of 486 received ITAs.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also invited 700 candidates in an all-program draw with a minimum CRS score of 511 in a surprise all-program draw on July 4. In an all-program draw, Express Entry considers candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Healthcare occupations for category-based selection
Among the six new categories, healthcare occupations make up the largest number of eligible occupations with 35 in total:
Audiologists and speech language pathologists
Chiropractors
Dentists
Dieticians and nutritionists
Education counsellors
General practitioners and family physicians
Instructors of persons with disabilities
Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment
Licensed practical nurses
Massage therapists
Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
Medical laboratory technologists
Medical radiation technologists
Medical sonographers
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
Nurse practitioners
Nursing coordinators and supervisors
Occupational therapists
Optometrists
Other assisting occupations in support of health services
Other practitioners of natural healing
Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
Paramedical occupations
Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
Physiotherapists
Psychologists
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
Specialists in surgery
Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
Veterinarians
In Canada, immigrants make up 23% of registered nurses, 36% of registered physicians and 54% of dental technologists. Canada relies on immigration to fill urgent gaps in the labour force. The most recent job vacancy data from Statistics Canada shows that there were 153,000 vacant positions in health care and social assistance in April 2023. This is the highest level of vacancies across all employment sectors.
Category-based selection draws
On May 31, Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, announced that new categories had been finalized for new category-based selection Express Entry draws.
The announcement was expected following a change to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in June 2022. The change gives Canada’s immigration minister the authority to select economic immigration candidates who have key attributes that align with Canada’s economic priorities or the minister’s mandate to promote the French language outside of Quebec.
The new categories are as follows:
Healthcare
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
Trades, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
Transport
Agriculture and agri-food
Strong French-language proficiency
The categories were chosen based on labour market projections and discussions with IRCC partners and stakeholders as well as with provincial and territorial governments.
