Canada Express Entry Draw: Review of Year 2017
The year 2017 was a significantly busy year for Canadian immigration with fluctuating CRS curves and ITA numbers. While the neighbor country US has shown dropping number of immigration entry, Canada flooded ITAs to welcome immigrants in this year. There were a significant drop in CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) scores this year up to 199 points (for Federal Skilled Trades candidates only). Candidates were assigned CRS score on the basis of experience, qualification, English language ability and other essentials. Any candidate who had the required CRS number for respective Express Entry Draw were required to enter their profile as per scheduled timeline. For each draw, eligible candidates were assigned a scheduled date to submit their profile into the express entry pool system.
All the ITAs were issued under three major categories included:
- Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSW)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- Federal Skilled Trades Class (FST)
& Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).
A total of 78 draws took place with issuing 86,023 Invitations to Apply (ITA) to immigrants from different countries. Let’s take a look at the stats of the year 2017 including numbers and figures.
| Month | Number of draws | Minimum CRS score | Total ITA issued |
| January | January 4
January 11 January 25 |
468
459 453 |
9,744 |
| February | February 8
February 22 |
447
441 |
7,255 |
| March | March 1
March 24 |
434
441 |
7,633 |
| April | April 5
April 12 April 19 |
431
423 415 |
11,341 |
| May | May 4
May 17 May 26 May 31 |
423
415 199 (FST) & 775 (PNP) 413 |
11,903 |
| June | June 28 | 449 | 3,409 |
| July | July 12 | 440 | 3,202 |
| August | August 2
August 9 August 23 |
441
433 434 |
9,290 |
| September | September 6
September 20 |
435
433 |
5,643 |
| October | October 4
October 18 |
438
436 |
5,558 |
| November | November 8
November 15 |
458
439 |
4,750 |
| December | December 6
December 20 |
452
446 |
5,500 |
| Total | 78 Draws | Highest: 775
Lowest: 199 |
86,023 |
Source: Web search
From the table above, we can see that May & April were two significant months when highest number of ITAs were issued. May leads the competition of the highest number of ITAs issued with a total number of 11,903. In this month, two special draws also took place for Federal Skilled Trades Class (FST) and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). This two draws boosted the number of ITAs issued this month.
July was the month that has only one draw and issued the lowest number of ITAs. In this month, only 3,202 ITAs were issued and the minimum CRS score was kept to 440.
The highest CRS score of 775 points was seen in the month of May and as well as the lowest CRS score of 199 points. Rest of the year, the CRS score fluctuated between a range of 410-470 points.
However, in brief, 2017 was a delightful year for immigrants seeking Canadian immigration with the highest number of ITAs issued ever. The Canadian Government has also indicated that in 2018 also they intend to continue the tradition of welcoming a large number of immigrants.
If you are also interested to apply for Express Entry draw in 2018, get your free visa assessment done from expert visa immigration consultant.