Canada to target ‘in-demand occupations’ in Express Entry instead of ‘highest points’ in 2023.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced in December 2022, that it will use new authorities to hold Express Entry draws that invite candidates based on in-demand occupations rather than their overall CRS score.

The expected changes to Express Entry were made possible by Bill (C-19) which received Royal Assent, or passed in both houses of parliament, on June 23. Under the Bill, the immigration minister has the authority to invite candidates with any in-demand skills or abilities.

Immigration minister Sean Fraser said that the new bill will allow IRCC to invite active candidates in the Express Entry pool based on the most pressing economic needs and urgent labour shortages in Canada.

Why is the Express Entry system changing in 2023?

Around 9 million Canadians will get retired who are the age of 65 by the year 2030.

Canada finds challenges in filling these positions due to fewer younger Canadians and the vacant jobs have been increasing due to this. Hence, the country depends on immigration as its last resort to hire a workforce and make the economy stronger.

Canada has already set its immigration levels to plan 2023-2025 to grow & maintain its workforce and has targeted around 500,000 new Permanent Residents for every year by 2025.

Out of 500,000 new Permanent Residents, 110,000 will be invited through Express Entry programs, which include:

1- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

2- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

3- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

There is no confirmation of the “full” targeted occupations as yet; however, Healthcare and Technology occupations have been the highest in-demand occupations last year. Hence, they will be potentially included in the in-demand targeted list of occupations. The minister said he would be consulting with provinces, business councils and other stakeholders to best evaluate which occupations to target.