Express Entry is the program that handles federal immigration applications for three types: the Federal Skilled Workers Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Canadian Experience Group.
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Candidates are ranked in the Express Entry system based on their CRS score, which takes into account multiple factors including their age, work experience, education and French or English proficiency. In some cases, a ranking factor is also the date and time the Express Entry profile was created at.
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Now, Canada has issued Invitations to a total of 3,343 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. This draw required a minimum 445, 14 points higher Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score than the previous CEC draw.
The cut-off score for CRS today was 14 points higher than the previous CEC-specific draw on June 25, which had a cut-off score of 431 for CRS. The increase in points is due to more candidates entering the pool over the past month following Canada holding an all-program draw on July 8.
Read More: Express Entry Draw: Lowest CRS for CEC Candidates Since 2017
These program-specific draws have been held by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) since the coronavirus pandemic caused Canada’s border to close in March.
They all took place shortly after specific draws for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and the number of ITAs from the two drawings combined add up to a round number.
Yesterday the IRCC returned with 557 PNP candidates receiving ITAs to program-specific draws.
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Today’s draw saw the implementation of the tie-break rule. Based on the date and time the profile was created, the tie-break rule is used to rank candidates who have the same CRS score (at the cut-off).
The tie-breaking rule for today’s draw was put into effect at 15:16:55 UTC on July 12, 2020. This means that candidates with a CRS score of 445 would only be invited if they submitted their profile before this date and time. That draw brings to 57,700 the total number of invitations issued in 2020.

This number, despite coronavirus, still exceeds the number of invitations issued both last year and the year before at the same time. Candidates wishing to submit their Express Entry profile may still do so despite any restrictions in place relating to coronavirus. IRCC continues to accept Express Entry Submissions.