Significant changes will be made to Canada’s Express Entry system in 2024, many of which will impact Canada’s largest economic immigration program in 2025.
This article details the key trends impacting Canada’s Express Entry system in 2025 and how they may impact this year’s candidate selection.
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Increase in Express Entry share of total immigration population
In 2025, the relative share of Express Entry in the total immigration population is expected to increase. The federal government has increased its immigration target under the federal economic program from 110,770 to 124,590 in 2024.
Furthermore, this increase is accompanied by a 20% reduction in overall immigration levels compared to the 2024 target. This shift would give the federal government greater control over immigration and reduce the number of people entering the country processed through state and local immigration channels.
Express Entry will therefore play a more important role in Canada’s immigration system in 2025, as the Federal Highly Skilled Persons (FHS) quota to which Express Entry applies will account for a significant portion of immigration coverage. . In 2024, FHS accounted for 22.8% of all planned permanent resident admissions. In 2025, the FHS (currently divided into “Intra-Canadian Focus” and “Federal Economic Priority” quotas) is planned to account for 31.5% of total enrollment.
Coupled with a reduction in Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) quotas (from a projected 110,000 admissions in 2024 to just 55,000 students in 2025), this has meant that economic immigrants, the largest category of immigrants to Canada, This means that the proportion of students enrolled will increase. This happens through Express Entry. The program managed by Express Entry is therefore likely to become an important pathway for skilled workers looking to immigrate to Canada in 2025.
Deleting CRS points for a job offer
In December 2024, Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced important changes that will come into effect in spring 2025. Active job openings will no longer receive Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.
Currently, candidates in the Express Entry system can receive either 50 or 200 additional points (based on the level of the requisition) if they have a valid requisition. This point removal is considered a “temporary measure”, but IRCC has not yet said when it will end.
This change will only affect candidates in the Express Entry pool at the time of implementation.
If points are removed from a job offer, the CRS scores of many candidates in the Express Entry pool may decrease. However, the impact on CRS cutoff scores and overall outcomes in 2025 remains difficult to predict.
Candidates who currently receive points for a valid job offer may find they need to rely on other human capital factors scored by CRS, such as language skills and work experience, to improve their scores. I don’t know.
Federal economic priorities and Canadian domestic focus to replace federal advanced skills quotas
Previously, annual quotas for immigrants admitted through Canada’s Express Entry (detailed in the Immigration Levels Plan) were designated based on FHS quotas.
In 2025, the FHS allocation will be replaced and divided into two new subcategories based on immigration level planning: Federal Economic Priorities and Canadian Domestic Focus.
The introduction of these subcategories will bring significant changes to the selection of candidates for permanent residence.
Different emphasis on category-based selection
In 2025, IRCC expects to place greater emphasis on the use of Express Entry based on category-based selection aligned with Canada’s labor market priorities (through the assignment of “Federal Economic Priorities” in the annual Immigration Levels Plan) has been done.
Starting in 2023, IRCC launched a category-based lottery to invite candidates from specific classes based on specific skills, training, and language abilities.
According to the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027, IRCC has designated the following as priority categories to be targeted through the Express Entry system in 2025:
Medical worker; trade occupation. and French proficiency.
While 2024 saw fewer draws for health care and trade jobs through the Express Entry system, IRCC will increase the number of draws for these jobs in 2025 as they are designated as priority sectors under the federal Economic Priority Allocation. There is a possibility that further drawings will be held.
In contrast, the French proficiency category has already attracted stable participation throughout 2024 and will continue to be a strong candidate for Express Entry in 2025, especially given Canada’s efforts to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec. This will be an important focus.
Canada has set a target of 8.5% of total new immigrant enrollment in the French proficiency category in 2025. This goal will rise to 9.5% of enrollment in 2026.
Please note that the above is not a complete list of categories from which IRCC can choose, but only the categories that the Ministry has stated to prioritize in 2025. A complete list of priority categories includes:
Health Care Workers; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Occupations. trade profession. Transport industry; agriculture and agricultural products related occupations. and French proficiency.
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