Hi Friends 🖐️,

Good morning, and happy Sunday!🌞 and it’s February 23

Today’s email has updates on:

1. This week’s immigration Draw 

2. Tips & News: CEC draw cut-off may go down to 470 and Agri-Food Pilot is closed now

3. Closed: Open Work Permits for Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon

So, why wait?

Don’t keep us a secret😀 Forward this email to friends who might find it useful.

And, as always, send us feedback at 2canindian@gmail.com

This Week’s Immigration Draws

🔔Express Entry Draw

• February 19^th: In this draw, 6500 candidates were invited under the French Language Proficiency.

• February 17^th: In this draw, 646 candidates were invited under the Provincial Nominee Program.

Previous Express Entry draws (this year)

🔔Manitoba PNP Draw

February 20^th: In this draw, 19 invitations were issued in the International Student Stream draw and 22 were invited under the Skilled Worker Overseas program with a cutoff score of 711 or higher.

🔔PEI PNP Draw

February 20^th: In this draw, 87 invitations were issued in the Labour and Express Entry Program.

The focus was on those who have been living and working in the province for at least one year. Additionally, international graduates from UPEI, Holland College, and Collège de l'Île were given priority in the invitation process.

• Draw Tracker: Find draws for any occupation using this tracker.

• All Draws: Find all the draws here.

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Tips & News

Express Entry: Based on the draws in 2025, it’s evident that IRCC is placing a stronger emphasis on the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and French proficiency categories. There have been no draws so far in the healthcare, trade, or STEM categories.

As per the Immigration Plan 2025-2027, the target for Federal Economic Priorities is set to ~41,000, and for In Canada-focus is ~82,000.

The 2025 Federal Economic Priority categories include: healthcare occupations, trade occupations, and French-language proficiency.

Additionally, IRCC's target for overall French-speaking Permanent Resident Admissions outside Quebec is set at 29,325. The majority of these admissions will come through the Express Entry category draw, as there is a very limited allocation to all provinces, leaving approximately ~11,000 spots for the healthcare and trade categories. Most of these will likely go to healthcare applicants, as seen in 2024.

In 2024, the focus was primarily on healthcare. However, if you are in STEM or trade, it's advisable to work on improving your CRS score, as this could also enhance your chances for CEC.

CEC Score Trend: With ~82,000 spots allocated for In Canada-focused, there will be a primary focus on Canadian Experience Class candidates.

Based on this, we can expect more CEC draws, which could potentially bring the cutoff closer to 470 (down from the recent cutoff of around 521). Currently, there are 234,644 profiles in the pool, with 21,203 profiles in the 501-600 CRS range, most of whom are likely to be invited in PNP draws. However, there could be 2-3 CEC draws for this range that may help clear these profiles. In the second half of this year, we may see the cutoff drop to below 500 for CEC.

The CRS range distribution is as follows as of Feb 10, 2025:

• 491-500: ~13,000 applications

• 481-490: ~13,000 applications

• 471-480: ~15,000 applications

We will continue to monitor how many new profiles get added each week to get a better idea of CEC draw.

Agri-Food Pilot: It’s Shocking!

The Agri-Food Pilot program, which was launched earlier this year with a cap of 1,010 applications and a deadline of May 14, 2025, is now closed.

What's going to happen to the Caregiver Pilot? Just imagine. Be ready!

Closed: Open Work Permit for Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon

The temporary public policy which was allowing eligible foreign workers from Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon to apply for an open work permit has been extended until December 31, 2025 is now Closed.

In The Know

💵 SINP: Hiring Workers for Permanent Jobs

📢 Ottawa commits to resettling 4,700 Sudanese refugees, reopens family pathway following outcry

🚫 Open work permit for foreign workers with a support letter from a province or territory Closed to new applicants

Find NOC Codes, Draws, and PR Pathways for Canada – Complete Guide!