Express Entry Year-end Report 2017

Express Entry Year-End Report 2017 (PDF, 602.90 KB)

Express Entry overview

Express Entry is Canada’s flagship application management system for key economic immigration programs. These programs are the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the Canadian Experience Class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.

Potential candidates express their interest in immigrating to Canada by first completing an online profile. The profile is electronically screened to determine if the candidate meets the criteria of at least 1 of the 3 federal immigration programs mentioned above. Using the same information, candidates are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. They are then placed in the Express Entry pool and ranked relative to each other based on their CRS scores.

The pool is dynamic and a candidate’s rank can change as other candidates join and leave the pool, or when the ranking criteria are adjusted according to ministerial instructions. CRS scores can also change as a candidate’s circumstances change. (For example, a candidate gains more work experience or is nominated by a province or territory.) Only top-ranked candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence.

A candidate’s CRS score is divided into 2 components: the “core” CRS component and the additional points component. The core CRS score can reach a maximum of 600 points and is based on a combination of the candidate’s age, education, official language proficiency and work experience. These factors are strongly correlated to higher earning potential.

Additional points have been a component of Express Entry since launch. The original 2 types of additional points were given for a qualifying offer of arranged employment, and a provincial or territorial nomination to ensure candidates receive an invitation in the next ITA round. As part of the targeted improvements made on November 19, 2016, Express Entry began awarding additional points to candidates with Canadian post-secondary education credentials. Arranged Employment additional points were reduced to rebalance the CRS towards candidates working in higher skilled fields. Conditions for obtaining Arranged Employment additional points were also relaxed.

On June 6, 2017, further improvements were made to Express Entry by introducing 2 new types of additional points:

• French-language proficiency points are granted to candidates who score 7 or higher on Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens for all 4 of their French language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). These candidates receive:
  • Fifteen additional points if they scored 4 or lower on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for all 4 of their English language skills.
  • Thirty additional points if they scored 5 or higher on their CLB for all 4 of their English language skills.
• Sibling in Canada points are granted:
  • If the candidate, or if the candidate’s accompanying spouse or common-law partner, has a sibling who is:
    • living in Canada
    • a citizen or permanent resident of Canada
  • The sibling needs to be:
    • eighteen years or older
    • related by blood, marriage, common-law partnership or adoption, and
    • have a parent in common

IRCC made other improvements to Express Entry:

• Job bank registration became voluntary for all candidates. Candidates who meet minimum entry criteria for Express Entry are automatically placed into the pool and immediately eligible for invitations rounds. Candidates still have the option to create a Job Match account with Job Bank to look for employment in Canada. Canadian employers are still able to find high-skilled Express Entry candidates in Job Bank.
• IRCC introduced a new-tie breaking rule. At the time of invitation, candidates in the pool are ranked by their CRS score. When there is a tie between candidates at the targeted invited-to-apply (ITA) cut-off score, all tied candidates are ranked again based on the date and time of their profile submission. The tie-breaking rule was first implemented in November 2017, and only the top-ranked candidates based on the planned number of invitations issued were invited. Breaking CRS ties using profile submission date and time resulted in a more precise alignment between monthly invitations sent and IRCC’s multi-year immigration levels plan.

Express Entry results to date

Between January 2017 and August 2017, IRCC increased ITA round sizes to create a working inventory of applications as pre-Express Entry backlog for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class was almost depleted. Once the working inventory of Express Entry applications was created, ITA rounds were reduced to ensure a steady application intake to meet our committed processing time for Express Entry applications.

The Express Entry pool is now the main source of permanent residence applications for the economic immigration category of IRCC’s multi-year immigration levels plan. In 2017, 86,022 invitations were sent, 109,497 applications were received, 93,596 visas were issued and 65,401 permanent residents and their families were admitted into Canada.

Profiles submitted to the Express Entry pool

As of January 3, 2018:

• There were 71,087 active candidates in the Express Entry pool.
• ITA candidates who had not yet applied for permanent residence totalled 9,569.

Table 1: Profiles submitted to the Express Entry pool

Composition of the Express Entry pool

Express Entry automatically assigns a CRS score to candidates who submit a profile. A candidate’s CRS score is divided into 2 portions. The candidate’s “core” CRS score can reach a maximum of 600 points and is based on the candidate’s age, education, official language proficiency, work experience and combinations of these human capital attributes.

A maximum of 600 points is awarded to the candidate if they meet policy or other objectives such as: having a provincial nomination, a qualifying offer of arranged employment, Canadian educational credentials, French-language proficiency and a sibling in Canada. Candidates can have different combinations of additional point types. A candidate’s maximum CRS score is 1,200 points.

All information is self-reported and must be supported with appropriate documentation at the application stage or the application will be refused.

The CRS score distribution of candidates in the pool as at January 3, 2017, and January 3, 2018, are presented in Table 2.

To raise their ranking in the pool, candidates are encouraged to upgrade their human capital attributes. (For example, by improving their knowledge of official languages, finding arranged employment, or obtaining a Canadian educational credential.) Candidates can also increase their CRS score by providing an Educational Credential Assessment for their education acquired abroad, or information on their accompanying spouse or partner’s education and language proficiency.

Table 2: CRS score distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool

Results of Express Entry invitation rounds to apply for permanent residence

The following tables show the distribution of candidates invited by economic immigration programs managed within Express Entry, country of residence, country of citizenship and occupation. Over time, we expect these distributions to continue to evolve as the composition of invited candidates changes.

IRCC may choose to conduct program-specific rounds of invitations. On May 26, 2017, and November 1, 2017, only candidates from the Provincial Nominee Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program were invited.

Between January and August 2017, processing permanent residences applications received prior to the launch of Express Entry was well advanced. The pre-Express Entry backlog for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class was almost depleted. During this time, IRCC increased invitations sent per ITA round to create a working inventory of applications, which will be processed over the next 6 months in the majority of the cases.

Excluding the program specific rounds held on May 26, 2017, and November 1, 2017, IRCC sent, on average, 3,257 invitations per round. The CRS cut-off reached a low of 413 points during the May 31, 2017, invitation round.

Towards the end of 2017, as planned, 2,750 invitations per round were sent. With the working inventory created, ITA round sizes were reduced to ensure a steady application intake to meet our committed processing time for Express Entry applications.

In total, 86,022 invitations were issued in 2017, an increase of 52,240 from 2016^{Footnote 3}. Candidates may be invited more than once if they decline their first invitation. There were 31,676 unique candidates invited in 2016 and 79,869 unique candidates invited in 2017. Between 2016 and 2017, the biggest increase in invitations issued by economic program was in the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Invitations issued to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class rose from 15,102 in 2016 to 35,020 in 2017. Invitations issued to candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program rose from 8,332 in 2016 to 41,364 in 2017. Invitations issued to provincial nominees remained similar between 2016 and 2017.

Reducing Arranged Employment additional points from 600 to 50 (or 200 points for senior executive positions) had a significant impact on candidates who qualified for the Federal Skilled Trades Program as they generally have a lower core CRS score but often have qualifying arranged employment due to that program’s requirements.

IRCC held 2 rounds specifically for the Federal Skilled Trades Program on May 26, 2017, and November 1, 2017, to provide more candidates with work experience in a skilled trade an opportunity to apply for permanent residence. From these 2 rounds, a total of 905 invitations were sent to candidates who qualified for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. To ensure provincial nominees were also invited, a Provincial Nominee Program-only round was held on the same day.

Even though IRCC held 2 Federal Skilled Trades Program-only rounds, the number of invitations sent to qualified candidates decreased between 2016 and 2017. Before November 19, 2016, a steady but small number of invitations were sent to candidates that qualified for the Federal Skilled Trades Program during each general invitation round. A total of 1,550 invitations were sent to candidates that qualified in 2016^{Footnote 4}. In 2017, 905 invitations were sent to Federal Skilled Trades Program-qualified candidates, which marks a decrease of 645 invitations between 2016 and 2017.

Table 3: Invitations issued to candidates in 2017 by their economic immigration program

Round results: Country of residence and citizenship of invited candidates

Tables 4 and 5 show the top 10 countries of residence and citizenship of invited candidates in 2016 and 2017. Relative rankings for each year also appear in Tables 4 and 5. Showing the relative ranking provides an easy comparison on how the number of invitations issued to candidates by their country of residence and country of citizenship has changed between 2016 and 2017. For example, total invitations issued to candidates residing in the Philippines was ranked 8^th in 2016, but was ranked 16^th in 2017.

Table 4: Invitations issued to candidates by country of residence

Table 5: Invitations issued to candidates by country of citizenship

Round results: Invitations issued to candidates by occupation

Express Entry facilitates a direct employer role in the immigration process. Employers may connect with foreign nationals through recruitment techniques such as Job Bank, private job boards, recruiters, or job fairs. An employer can give a candidate a job offer that will elevate the candidate’s ranking. The foreign national must become an Express Entry candidate before receiving an ITA.

As economic immigration programs are designed for skilled immigration, all qualifying offers of arranged employment are in professional or skilled trade occupations as defined by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) maintained by Employment and Social Development Canada.

Tables 6.1 and 6.2 show the number of invitations sent to candidates in 2016 and 2017 by their primary occupation. Within each table, occupations were ranked by the total number of invitations issued per year. Top-10 occupations and their relative ranking in that year appear in both tables.

Targeted improvements made to Express Entry in November 2016 appear to have significant impact on the occupation mix of candidates that received an invitation. The Arranged Employment additional points are now balanced with the core CRS (that is, human capital), which means that candidates with a qualifying arranged employment need a sufficiently high core CRS to receive an invitation.

Starting on November 19, 2016, candidates are eligible for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-exempt qualifying offer of arranged employment if they meet certain criteria. Candidates working in Canada temporarily with a work permit issued under a temporary LMIA exemption – under categories such as international agreement, intra-company transferees, and significant benefit to Canada – may qualify for Arranged Employment additional points.

The qualifying Arranged Employment duration requirement also changed from indeterminate to at least 1 year. As of January 5, 2018, there were 579 candidates in the pool with LMIA-exempt Arranged Employment additional points^{Footnote 6}. In 2017, 43% of all invited candidates with Arranged Employment points benefited from a LMIA exemption.

Table 6.1: Invitations issued to candidates in 2016 by occupation

Table 6.2: Invitations issued to candidates in 2017 by occupation

Applications for permanent residence through Express Entry^{Footnote 7}

IRCC received a total of 109,497 applications in 2017, resulting in 96,182 approved applications, 93,569 visas issued and 65,401 admissions. As of January 3, 2018, 28,371 applications were still in progress.

The number of applications received are related to the changes in the number of invitations sent to candidates throughout 2017. During the first half of 2017, the volume of invitations issued rose to create a working inventory of applications. In the second quarter of 2017, IRCC had received 33,520 applications, which is about 2,000 applications less than the total applications received in 2015. As these applications were processed and final decisions were made, applications approved also increased to 33,953 by the third quarter of 2017. Visas issued in the third and fourth quarter of 2017 will have a major impact on admissions in 2018.

Between 2016 and 2017, the total number of invitations issued to provincial nominees remained roughly the same. In 2016, 8,798 invitations were sent to provincial nominees and 8,732 were sent in 2017^{Footnote 4}. Yet, the total of applications received in 2017 was greater than the total of applications received in 2016. This is because candidates nominated towards the end of 2016 submitted their applications in early 2017.

Table 7: Permanent residence applications received, approved and visas issued through Express Entry (total persons)

Applications in progress as of January 3, 2018: 28,371

Table 8: Applications for permanent residence received by province of destination in 2016 and 2017 (total persons)

Express Entry processing time

The processing standard for applications sourced via Express Entry is 6 months for 80% of cases. Processing times are measured from the day a complete application is received until a final decision is made by an immigration officer. IRCC is meeting processing time commitments for all cases finalized.

In 2017, IRCC met the 6-month processing time by finalizing 80% of all applications in the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class. To meet IRCC’s multi-year immigration levels plan for high-skilled immigrants, extraordinary efforts were taken to accelerate processing time for applications in those categories.

Table 9: Processing time for Express Entry based on final decision date

Admissions

Preliminary admissions data show that in 2017, Canada admitted more than 286,600 permanent residents, which is within the approved levels range of 280,000 to 320,000 for all immigration categories (Economic, Family, Refugees and Protected Persons, and Humanitarian and Other). While total admissions were within the approved range, admissions for the Federal High Skilled category fell below the low end of the approved 69,600 to 73,700 range. Express Entry manages 3 programs (Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program) that fall under Federal High Skilled category.

There are a number of reasons for this outcome. Client behavior (when a client chooses to use their visa and arrive in Canada), fluctuating approval rates (which affect the number of admissions per application processed), and world events can all have an impact on the number of admissions in a given year.

One key factor is that the majority of applicants were coming from overseas, as compared to 2016, when a much higher percentage of applicants were already in Canada on a temporary visa. As shown in Table 4, total invitations issued to candidates residing in Canada dropped from 64% to 49% between 2016 and 2017. As more candidates living abroad were invited, and their applications ultimately approved, these immigrants took longer to land in Canada than expected.

In 2017, 65,401 applicants and their family members were admitted into Canada through Express Entry as permanent residents. The following tables show the characteristics of these immigrants including their province of destination and country of citizenship.

Table 10: Admissions by province of destination and immigration categories under Express Entry in 2016 and 2017 (total persons)

Table 11: Admissions in 2016 and 2017 under Express Entry by top 10 countries of citizenship  (total persons)

Special topics: Additional points

Additional points have been a component of Express Entry since its launch. At the beginning, Express Entry awarded 600 additional points to candidates with a qualifying arranged employment and 600 points to candidates with a nomination from a province or territory.

On November 19, 2016, Express Entry began to award additional points to candidates with Canadian educational credentials. Qualifying Arranged Employment additional points were reduced from 600 to 50 for a NOC 0, A, B occupation or 200 for a NOC 00 occupation.

On June 6, 2017, further changes were made to Express Entry. Candidates are awarded additional points if they have French-language proficiency or a sibling in Canada. No changes were made to the value of additional points given to candidates with a provincial nomination.

Candidates in Express Entry can qualify for up to 5 different types of additional points:

• Provincial Nomination (600 points)
• Arranged Employment (maximum 200 points)
• Canadian Educational Credentials (maximum 30 points)
• French-language Proficiency (maximum 30 points)
• Sibling in Canada (15 points)

Candidates can obtain any combination of additional point types. However, the maximum additional points a candidate can receive is 600. While provincial nominees are eligible for any additional point type (for example, Sibling in Canada) with their provincial nomination, their total additional points cannot exceed 600. In the tables below, candidates with a provincial nomination, or a provincial nomination and any other additional point type, are reported together within provincial nomination additional points.

The following tables provide an overview of the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, and invitations sent in 2017 to candidates with and without additional points. Because candidates can have multiple types of additional points, the data is presented in 2 ways: candidates grouped by their additional point type (not mutually exclusive), and candidates presented separately by their additional point type combination (mutually exclusive).

The following subsections provide a more detailed analysis on each additional point type.

Table 12.1: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without additional points, by additional point type combination^{Footnote 12}

Table 12.2: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without additional points by additional point type combination^{Footnote 13}

Table 13.1: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without additional points, by additional point type combination^{Footnote 14}

Table 13.2: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without additional points, by additional point type combination^{Footnote 13}

Arranged Employment

Tables 14 and 15 show the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool and invitations sent to candidates with Arranged Employment (AE) by NOC, respectively. With the reduced Arranged Employment point value, candidates now rely less on additional points and more on their human capital attributes to secure an ITA for permanent residence. In the Express Entry pool, 2,335 candidates, or 3% of all those in the pool, have AE^{Footnote 15}. Candidates with AE received 8,195 invitations – 10% of all issued.

While the maximum CRS score a candidate can get is 1,200 points, this only applies if the candidate is a provincial nominee. Candidates who are not provincial nominees can get a maximum 875 points if they are senior executives (primary occupation NOC 00), or a maximum 725 points in all other cases.

Table 14: Candidates in the Express Entry pool as of January 3, 2018, with and without arranged employment by NOC and other additional point types

Table 15: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with Arranged Employment by NOC and other additional point types

Canadian Educational Credentials

In this section, former international students in Express Entry are defined as candidates with a Canadian education credential above high school. Not all former international students are eligible for Canadian Educational Credentials (CE) additional points. For example, former international students who took English or French training for more than half of their program are excluded.

Tables 16 and 17 show the number of former international students in the Express Entry pool and invitations sent to former international students. Tables 18 and 19 show the number of former international students with CE additional points in the Express Entry pool and the number of invitations sent to former international students with CE additional points.

Table 16: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without a Canadian education credential^{Footnote 17} by CRS score

Table 17: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without a Canadian educational credential^{Footnote 17} by CRS score

Table 18: Candidates in the Express Entry pool as of January 3, 2018, with and without Canadian Educational Credentials (CE) additional points, by CRS score

Table 19: Invitation issued in 2017 to candidates with and without Canadian Educational Credentials (CE) additional points, by CRS score

French-language Proficiency

Express Entry has the potential to contribute to the vitality of Canada’s francophone communities outside Quebec. In this section, French-speakers are divided into 3 groups:

• Candidates in Express Entry are French-speakers if they have submitted a test result for the Test d’évaluation de français for their first official language^{Footnote 19}.
• Permanent residence applicants and admitted permanent residents are French-speakers if they declare French as their mother tongue, or a mother tongue other than French but with French as their official language spoken.
• French speakers in Express Entry can also receive French-language Proficiency (FL) additional points^{Footnote 20}.

Tables 20 and 21 show the number of French-speakers (first tested in French) in the Express Entry pool and the number of invitations issued to French-speakers. Tables 22 and 23 show the number of French-speakers that have submitted an application for permanent residence and those admitted into Canada. Tables 24 and 25 show the number of French-speakers with FL additional points in the Express Entry pool and the number of invitations sent to French-speakers with FL additional points.

Since introducing FL additional points on June 6, 2017, the number of invitations issued to French-speakers (first tested in French) have risen. Between January 1, 2017, and June 5, 2017, 1,001 invitations were issued to French-speakers out of a total of 47,875 invitations. Between June 6, 2017, and December 31, 2017, 1,490 invitations were issued to French-speakers out of a total of 38,146 invitations^{Footnote 21}. This represents an increase from 2.1% to 3.9% of French-speakers invited throughout 2017.

The rise in invitations issued to French-speakers led to an increase in application intake in the latter half of 2017. Some of these applications are still in progress and most French-speaking foreign nationals have not yet landed in Canada. It is expected that these French-speaking foreign nationals will land in Canada in 2018. Since the FL additional points were introduced in the middle of 2017, their full impact is likely not yet evident.

Table 20: French-speakers in the Express Entry pool as of January 3, 2018

Table 21: Invitations issued to French-speakers

Table 22: Applications for permanent residence received from French-speakers in 2016 and 2017 (total persons)

Table 23: French speaker admissions in 2016 and 2017 (total persons)

Table 24: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without French-language (FL) additional points, by CRS score

Table 25: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without French-language (FL) additional points, by CRS score

Sibling in Canada

Tables 26 and 27 show the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool and the number of invitations sent to candidates with Sibling in Canada (SB) additional points in 2017. SB additional points were introduced into Express Entry on June 6, 2017, and seem to be the most common additional point type. Some 9,553 candidates in the pool have SB additional points. Between June 6, 2017, and December 31, 2017, 3,781 out of 38,146 invitations (10%) were issued to candidates with SB additional points.

Table 26: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without SB additional points, by CRS score

Table 27: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without SB additional points, by CRS score

Special topics: Gender-based analysis

The Express Entry profile builder requests a candidate’s personal details, such as gender and date of birth as shown on the candidate's passport, travel document, or national identity document. Gender is self-identified when the candidate creates their MyCIC account and options include: male, female and unspecified.

Below is an extension of the initial gender-based analysis presented in Express Entry: Early Observations on November 2016 Improvements. The data tables are ordered by stages starting with the Express Entry continuum, through to application for permanent residence stage and ending at admission stage. Each table divides the data by gender whenever possible. In some instances, the number of candidates and permanent residents with either gender unspecified or gender not stated were too small to be distinct. In such instances, these candidates and permanent residents were included in the total.

As of January 3, 2018, there were 71,087 candidates in the Express Entry pool. Of these, 27,824 (39%) were female, 43,274 (61%) male and 16 candidates (less than 1%) did not specify a gender. Table 29 shows that a slightly higher percentage of female candidates were in CRS ranges 400-449 and 350-399.

Table 28: Profiles submitted to the Express Entry, by gender

Table 29: CRS score distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, by gender

Tables 30.1 and 30.2 show the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool with and without additional points by gender. Table 30.1 groups all candidates by additional point types and Table 30.2 separates all candidates by each additional point type combination.

In absolute terms, more male candidates in the Express Entry pool have additional point types but the percentage distribution for each additional point-type combination is similar for male and female candidates. In relative terms, neither gender has more additional point-type combinations than the other.

Table 30.1: Candidates in the Express Entry pool on January 3, 2018, with and without additional points, by additional point-type combination and gender^{Footnote 12}

Table 30.2: Candidates in the Express Entry pool as of January 3, 2018, with and without additional points, by additional point-type combination^{Footnote 13} and gender

Table 31 shows the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool with AE additional points by NOC and gender. Female candidates are concentrated in occupations that usually require college education. Male candidates are split between management occupations that require university and college education.

Table 31: Candidates in the Express Entry pool as of January 3, 2018, with and without AE by NOC, other additional point types and gender

Table 32: CRS score distribution and invitations issued in 2017 by gender

Table 33 shows the percentage distribution of invitations issued to males and females in each economic program under Express Entry. Males received more invitations than females in every economic program, especially in the Federal Skilled Worker Program where the difference is greatest. The Federal Skilled Worker Program has the least difference. For the Federal Skilled Trades Program, 42% of all invitations issued in 2017 were to females and 58% to males.

Tables 29, 33 and 38-40 show that a similar ratio between female to male candidates in Express Entry, at application for permanent residence stage and at admission stage. In the Express Entry continuum, at profile submission, in the Express Entry pool and at ITA, the ratio of female to male candidates is about 40 to 60. Historical trends for female and male permanent residence applicants show an approximate ratio of 40 to 60, which is similar to the current female-to-male permanent residence applicant ratio. Total admissions in 2017 by principal applicant gender also shows a consistent 40 to 60 female-to-male ratio.

Table 33: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates by their economic immigration program and gender

Table 34.1: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without additional points, by additional point type combination and gender^{Footnote 14}

Table 34.2: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates with and without additional points, by additional point type combination and gender^{Footnote 13}

Table 35: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates by their country of residence and gender

Table 36: Invitations issued in 2017 to candidates by their country of citizenship and gender

Table 37.1: Invitations issued in 2017 to female candidates by their occupation

Table 37.2: Invitations issued in 2017 to male candidates by their occupation

Tables 38 and 39 show applications received for permanent residence by economic programs before and since the launch of Express Entry, from years 2005 to 2017, by the principal applicant’s gender. In the first year of Canadian Experience Class (2008), the percentages of female and male applicants were 45% and 55%, respectively.

However, over time, as greater emphasis was placed on Canadian work experience over Canadian study experience, the percentage of males applying to Canadian Work Experience increased. In 2015, 30% of all applications received for permanent residence were from females and 70% were from males. By 2017, those figures were 38% and 62%.

Table 38: Applications received between 2005 and 2014 (pre-Express Entry) by Express Entry’s economic programs and applicant's gender (cases)

Table 39: Permanent residence applications received through Express Entry by applicant's gender (total persons)

Table 40: Admissions under Express Entry in 2017 by principal applicant's country of citizenship and gender (cases)

Conclusion

The statistics shown here are consistent with those in the Express Entry: Early Observations On November 2016 Improvements. These reports support the initial assessment that the targeted improvements made to Express Entry in 2016 and 2017 are aligned with Canada’s Global Skills Strategy and Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages. These improvements not only attract a diverse range of talents from around the world including former international students and French-speakers but they can also reunite families. These targeted improvements are the result of internal monitoring coupled with feedback from candidates and stakeholders such as provinces, territories and employers.

IRCC will continue to monitor Express Entry results, and adjust processes and policies as needed. We expect that the recent system changes, including all of the additional improvements introduced in 2016 and 2017, will result in Canada welcoming more immigrants with the diversified skills and experience needed to grow our economy by fulfilling regional and labour market needs.