The seventh Express Entry draw of 2023 was conducted by IRCC on 15th March. Invitations were sent to 7,000 candidates by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490.

This draw’s ITA total surpasses the previous high of 5,500 applicants invited in the most recent all-program draws on January 18. Candidates from all three Express Entry programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)—are taken into account in an all-program draw.

This draw deviates from the trend of program-specific draws that had been happening over the previous two months. There have been four program-specific rounds of invites since the last all-program draw, three for PNP-only candidates and one for FSWP candidates. Only 697 individuals earned ITAs from the most recent draw, which was PNP-only, on March 1.

Between July and November 2022, all Express Entry draws were all-program draws that each welcomed over 1,000 applicants. As the minimal CRS score dropped, the number of applicants increased until 2023.