Canada Announces New Selection Categories For Express Entry

Surya Rathee
[Published 01 Jun, 2023 | 04:33 AM]
About Author - 46 min read
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Canada’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, has announced the launch of category-based selection draws for Express Entry candidates. The Minister believes that by inviting more skilled workers in specific professions, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can help support Canada's commitment to welcoming in-demand professionals into communities across the country.

Categories chosen for 2023 selection draws

Express Entry draws will now be focused on candidates who have a strong French language proficiency or work experience in the following fields:

• Healthcare.
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professions.
• Trades, such as Carpenters, Plumbers and Contractors.
• Transport.
• Agriculture and Agri-food.

Express Entry selection draws under these new categories are anticipated to take place by late summer.

Why are there new Express Entry categories?

The introduction of new categories aims to address the vacancies mentioned on the Canada Occupation In-demand List. Immigration is considered crucial for supporting the labor shortage and sustaining the growth of the French language in French minority communities outside Quebec.

“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages. These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure that they have the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help businesses with labour shortages while also increasing the number of French-proficient candidates to help ensure the vitality of French-speaking communities. Put simply, Canada’s immigration system has never been more responsive to the country’s social or economic needs.”, says Fraser.

The launch of category-based draws, following the changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in June 2022, is expected to commence this year. These changes will allow the minister to select immigrants based on crucial attributes that align with Canada's economic priorities.

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How does IRCC choose and report on categories?

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) choose categories based on:

• Labour market information and projections.
• Input received from partners, including provinces and territories, and stakeholders across the country.

Each year, they report to Parliament on:

• The categories chosen the previous year.
• Why and how they chose them.
• The instructions to establish a category.
• The number of invitations issued for each category.

They also:

• Include information about category-based selection in the Express Entry Year-End Report.
• Monitor and assess categories on a regular basis.

Express Entry was created in 2015 to address Canada's evolving economic and job market requirements. It is a system that manages applications for three economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

These programs use a scoring system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) aka CRS score calculator - to evaluate candidates based on factors like their work experience, language skills, occupation, education, and more. Candidates with higher CRS scores are more likely to be invited to apply for Canada PR.

Source: canada.ca