ARCHIVED – 2025 consultations on economic priorities for category-based selection in Express Entry

Current status: Closed

August 6 to September 3, 2025

Canada’s immigration system is critical to supporting our economy and building a stronger Canada for all. That’s why Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced category-based selection in 2023.

Category-based selection provides more flexibility to the way economic immigrants are selected through Express Entry, the online system we use to manage immigration applications from skilled workers.

These categories also inform the eligibility criteria for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program, a temporary residence program which provides work experience opportunities to recent international graduates.

We regularly review these categories, and the overarching economic priorities that they support. This allows Express Entry to be more responsive to changing economic and labour market needs of communities across the country.

It builds on the high human capital approach that has been a hallmark of Canada’s economic immigration system. It maintains the focus on bringing in skilled workers who can integrate and contribute to Canada’s future.

On this page

• We want to hear from you
• Background on Express Entry and category-based selection
• Express Entry focus in 2025
• How your views help us to set priorities for the future
• Economic priorities and categories under consideration for 2026
• Links to other immigration pathways
• Past consultations and engagement initiatives
• Contact us

We want to hear from you

Background on Express Entry and category-based selection

Canada has a variety of economic immigration programs designed to balance filling current job vacancies with selecting people who have the skills that will make them successful over the long term. Federal economic programs are complemented by regional immigration programs which aim to spread the benefits of immigration across all regions of Canada.

What’s Express Entry?

Express Entry is an online system used to manage applications for 3 federal skilled immigration programs:

• the Canadian Experience Class
• the Federal Skilled Worker Program
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program

The system allows prospective immigrants currently living abroad, and many temporary residents (former international students and temporary workers) already in Canada to apply for permanent residence.

Occupations eligible for these programs require a high level of training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER categories 0, 1, 2 and 3).

Express Entry is designed to select individuals on the basis of factors (such as official language proficiency, education, work experience) known to predict positive economic outcomes, including higher employment rates and earnings.

Candidates interested in immigrating through Express Entry are ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System. Top-ranking candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence during invitation rounds, which are held regularly and documented online.

Invitations can be sent to top-ranking candidates eligible to one (“program-specific” invitation round), or any (“general” invitation round) of the 3 programs managed in Express Entry. A third invitation round type was introduced in 2023 with category-based selection.

The number of candidates invited to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry in a given calendar year is based on planned permanent resident admissions under Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan. Express Entry typically makes up more than 30% of economic immigration admissions.

Express Entry year-end reports on our website include data from across all stages of the Express Entry continuum, including a summary of invitations to apply (ITAs) that were issued, applications received, processing times, admissions, and economic outcomes of applicants. Read the latest Express Entry year-end report.

What’s category-based selection?

In 2023, we implemented a new way of selecting candidates through Express Entry with the introduction of “category-based” invitation rounds, where candidates eligible to a category defined by the Minister and with the highest Comprehensive Ranking Score are invited to apply for permanent residence.

Categories allow us to issue ITAs to candidates who have specific skills, training or language abilities linked to an economic goal. Category-based invitation rounds supplement other Express Entry invitation round types. A candidate may be eligible for selection via one or more invitation round types.

An annual target is set for each category, establishing the percentage of Express Entry invitations the department intends to send to eligible candidates. All invitations can count towards the achievement of these targets, irrespective of the type of round they were issued under. In some cases, targets can be reached without category-based invitation rounds being held.

The following table offers data on ITAs issued to category-eligible candidates in 2023 and 2024 by category:

Source: MBR – 2025-06-04. Data are operational and subject to change. All values exclude Provincial Nominee Program ITAs.

The province or territory of interest indicated in the Express Entry profile of these category-eligible candidates are shown in the below table, by category.

Source: MBR – 2025-06-04. Data are operational and subject to change. Cell values under 5 are indicated as (-). Candidates are restricted to enter one province or territory of interest in their Express Entry profile. This may not always reflect where these candidates decide to settle in Canada. All values exclude Provincial Nomination Program ITAs.

Express Entry focus in 2025

In February 2025, the department announced its intention to focus this year’s Express Entry invitations on candidates with work experience in Canada (Canadian Experience Class invitation rounds) and candidates who can help address labour shortages and support economic growth through Francophone immigration outside Quebec (category-based invitation rounds).

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Selection focused on candidates eligible for 2025 categories

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Current categories are:

• Healthcare and social services
• Trades
• Education (newly introduced in 2025)
• Agriculture and agri-food
• STEM

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Eligible candidates must have accumulated at least 6 months of work experience over the last 3 years in one of the occupations listed on our website. Listed occupations are anticipated to face long-term labour shortages according to projection results released by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

• French-language proficiency

Eligible candidates must have French-language test results that show a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (French version of the Canadian Language Benchmarks).

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Selection focused on candidates eligible for the Canadian Experience Class program

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The Canadian Experience Class program is for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.

Focusing selection on candidates eligible for this program in 2025 reflects the department’s priority to transition temporary residents to permanent residence.

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How your views help us to set priorities for the future

Categories are established to respond to specific, identified economic priorities, which can change over time. Before the Minister establishes a new category in Express Entry, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) requires us to gather feedback from provincial and territorial representatives, as well as members of industry, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations and immigration researchers and practitioners.

This input allows us to explore whether and how category-based selection can be used as a tool to address particular needs and priorities, and whether other immigration tools may be more appropriate (such as temporary programs, federal pilots, regional immigration programs, etc.).

New categories are posted on our website once they are approved by the Minister. Each year, we’ll report to Parliament on the selection process and the categories that were implemented during the previous year, including the rationale for doing so. We’ll keep measuring and reporting on outcomes of principal applicants coming through Express Entry, including those selected through category-based selection.

Lessons learned in implementing category-based selection also inform future work on enhancing the Express Entry system.

Economic priorities and categories under consideration for 2026

The department is considering where to focus its selection of economic immigrants while taking into account broader objectives, including a return to sustainable immigration levels, domestic capacity, and the need to ensure a well-managed immigration system.

This year, our proposed economic priorities for Express Entry include a continued focus on addressing long-term labour market shortages and supporting economic growth through Francophone immigration outside Quebec.

In addition, we’re considering a new priority to facilitate leadership and innovation to support Canada’s growth and innovation. We also will engage federal, provincial and territorial partners on these priorities, and review labour market information and past results on category-based selection.

Supporting economic growth through Francophone immigration

Canada’s bilingual character is an asset for diversified, expanded trade and economic activity. The Official Languages Act recognizes the contribution of Francophone immigration to the economy, and French-speaking immigrants bring a wide range of skills that are vital to Canada’s long-term prosperity.

Francophone immigration plays a crucial role in supporting Canada’s economic growth by promoting the vitality of Francophone minority communities and helping meet labour needs for French-speaking and bilingual workers across the country. One aim of our Policy on Francophone Immigration is to maximize permanent resident admissions of French-speakers outside Quebec, and category-based selection has been the primary mechanism to support this objective.

Other initiatives have been announced to leverage Francophone immigration outside Quebec, and support the successful socio-economic integration and contribution of French-speaking and bilingual newcomers, including:

• the renewal and the expansion of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative
• a new Francophone Immigration Support Program
• significant investment as part of the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages for 2023–2028
• the launch of the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot

The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan set admission targets for French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec at 8.5% in 2025, and notional targets of 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027.

In support of these objectives, and considering recent commitments to increase French-speaking permanent resident admissions to 12% by 2029, we’re considering maintaining the focus on Francophone immigration for category-based selection in 2025.

Addressing long-term labour shortages

Canada is experiencing skilled talent shortages in several key areas. Long-term labour shortages in health care, skilled trades (including in construction occupations that will help address housing needs), education, STEM, and agriculture and agri-food continue to have significant impacts across the country. This puts pressure on businesses to use the talent pool available and to find ways to attract and retain new talent.

Addressing these shortages will continue to support the country’s long-term growth and the sustainability of the Canadian economy. Finding the right labour force will help us boost Canada’s housing supply, and offer Canadians and their families timely access to the health and education services they need, when and where they need them.

Collecting feedback from stakeholders and partners as part of these public consultations will help interpret the evidence on long-term shortages. This includes the role that immigration, and Express Entry, should play in addressing these shortages relative to other policy levers, such as upskilling or retraining the domestic workforce.

We’re also interested to hear from sectors where the needs may be most acute, especially about the extent to which selection through Express Entry should focus on talent already in Canada (transitioning temporary residents to permanent residence) versus overseas, particularly with respect to the skilled trades and health care sectors.

Facilitating leadership and innovation

Canada must also position itself more proactively as a destination of choice for highly skilled professionals who can boost the country’s competitiveness and advance economic growth and prosperity. Facilitating this race for talent through a proactive immigration approach is important in a world where talent mobility shapes the global economy and where economic alliances and business strategies are shifting.

With this in mind, we are considering prioritizing the selection of senior managers. Senior managers are highly skilled workers who oversee the operations of a company or organization and who lead a team of employees. The value of ensuring these leadership positions in Canada are filled with the “best fit” candidate is high.

Selecting the right candidate is a strategic investment in a company’s future: they can bring fresh perspectives, accelerate digital transformation, enhance productivity, and contribute to achieving organizational goals. Implementing this category would contribute to the success of Canadian companies and businesses, and help build our economy.

We are also considering prioritizing the selection of certain researchers and scientists, to attract global talent and support innovation. Scientific research, and the innovations that originate from it, have transformed our economy and the way we live. These changes enhance productivity and performance and stimulate economic growth.

Scientific research and development also support human capital, educating and training today’s and tomorrow’s workforce to use new discoveries across industries. Such focus would recognize the pivotal role that scientists and researchers play in our economy.  

We can’t achieve a healthy, productive and prosperous economy without a strong national security environment. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting Canada’s sovereignty by rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces.

As such, we are considering supporting the Canadian Armed Forces efforts to hire highly skilled military recruits from allied countries who will help build Canada’s military capacity. Facilitating the selection of these candidates would ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces remains a robust, world-class military and defence team.

Links to other immigration pathways

Given our commitments to reduce the population share of temporary residents in Canada and to facilitate transition of temporary residents to permanent residence, the department is considering how the selection of skilled workers can support these transitions.

For example, Express Entry categories are also used to inform the field of study requirements for post-graduation work permit (PGWP) program eligibility for graduates of most non-degree programs (e.g. certificates, diplomas). The field of study requirement was introduced as part of reforms to the PGWP program in fall 2024, which are meant to create a pipeline of international student graduates whose skills match Canada's long term economic and labour needs.

Past consultations and engagement initiatives

• 2024 consultations on economic priorities for category-based selection in Express Entry – Final report
• 2022–2023 consultations on enhancing Express Entry through category-based selection – Final report

Contact us

If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to email our engagement team.