Express Entry Pool Points Distribution
If you are immigrating to Canada, you likely need to get here through Express Entry. See who you are competing against.
Draws are still proceeding, despite the pandemic. However, processing times are much, much slower as a result of the pandemic.
If you are planning immigrating to Canada, or changing your status to permanent, you are most likely using or going to be using Express Entry, the way skilled workers immigrate to Canada. This page contains the current distribution of CRS scores in the Express Entry pool. Find your range below and see how many candidates you are competing with.
The draws used to cap out at a maximum of 3,000 candidates but draws now routinely cap out at somewhere between 4,500 and 5,000 candidates for general draws and CEC draws (with lower caps for PNP and FST draws).
And then, without warning, in February 2021, a draw of 27,332 canadidates, but Canadian Experience Class only.
We believe the Canadian government is trying to give everyone stuck in Canada due to the pandemic the opportunity to apply for PR if they qualify.
Normally, if there are at least 3,000 candidates in the pool with scores higher than your own, you need a better score. You owe it to yourself to figure out how you get more than 450 points. See this page for an in-depth explanation of how the score is calculated. See these other articles on how to improve your CRS score so you get an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
- Credentials Assessment for Express Entry
- Improving Your Language Test Scores for Express Entry
- Common Mistakes when Applying for Express Entry
- Canadian Headhunters Get You More Points
Good luck!
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool as of July 15, 2021*
Find your current score on the left and see how many competitors you have on the right. Green means good (few to none), yellow means poor (many), red means bad (too many). Where this is not colour to the font at all, it indicates that there is no chance of getting selected, though those applying for Federal Skilled Trades at these levels still have a chance.
*The source page at IRCC’s website has not been updated since July 15, 2021.
| CRS Score Range | Number of Candidates |
|---|---|
| 601-1200 | 595 (-152 candidates since June 10) |
| 501-600 | 2,204 (+256 candidates since June 10) |
| 451-500 | 34,133 (+1,962 canadidates since June 10) |
| 491-500 | 1,330 (+207 candidates since June 10) |
| 481-490 | 3,666 (+357 candidates since June 10) |
| 471-480 | 9,951 (+844 candidates since June 10) |
| 461-470 | 10,013 (-112 candidates since June 10) |
| 451-460 | 9,173 (-346 candidates since June 10) |
| 401-450 total | 40,117 total (+359 candidates since June 10) |
| There Hasn’t Been a Regular (Non-Program Specific) Draw with This Low a Threshold Since May 2019 | |
| 441-450 | 8,385 (+88 candidates since June 10) |
| 431-440 | 8,502 (+106 candidates since June 10) |
| There Hasn’t Been a REGULAR (NON-FST) Draw with This Low a Threshold Since January 2019 | |
| 421-430 | 6,476 (-29 candidates since June 10) |
| 411-420 | 7,700 (+86 candidates since June 10) |
| Candidates with scores below this threshold have only ever been invited for the Federal Skilled Trades-only draws in May/November 2017, May/September 2018 and May/September 2019 and CanadiAn Experience Class in February 2021 ONLY | |
| 401-410 | 9,091 (+159 candidates since June 10) |
| 351-400 total | 52,595 total (-2,379 candidates since June 10) |
| 301-350 Total | 31,381 total (+867 since June 10) |
| 0-300 | 5,305 total (+162 since June 10) |
| Total | 166,851 total (+65 since June 10) |
The total number of applicants in the pool is nearly 170,000. (And that’s after the all-time-record draw on February 13.) That’s bad news for candidates with scores lower than the lowest historical cut offs.
The cut off score of 75 for the draw on February 13, 2021 is rare and may never happen again. It’s a weird circumstance, due to the pandemic, and we have no idea if this will ever happen again. Also, these applicants were all Canadian Experience Class, meaning they have work experience in Canada, which most candidates don’t.
There is only one thing to do now, for those who have scores below 450 who want to immigrate to Canada: do everything you can to make sure your score is 460 or higher for draws going forward. Beyond getting a nomination from a province or getting a job offer, we have other suggestions as to how you can improve your score below:
- Get Accredited for Canada
- Avoid Common Errors
- Improve Your Language Skills
- Prove Your Language Skills
- Find How to Improve Your Score in Other Ways
Good luck!
Express Entry Historical Points Cutoffs by Draw
Express Entry Historical ITAs by Draw
PNP Draw Points Cut-Offs
Some of the PNP streams for the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba use the same scoring system as Express Entry. Here are the cut-offs for 2021:
PNP Invitations
British Columbia PNP Points Cut-Offs
British Columbia uses its own scoring system:
British Columbia PNP Notifiations
BC Entrepreneur PNP Points Cut-Offs
BC Entrepreneur PNP Notifications
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program Points Cut-Offs
Saskatchewan uses its own scoring system?
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program Notifications
If you would like information about other PNPs not listed here, please let us know by emailing us or posting in our forum.
