On 2025-07-22 IRCC held a record Express Entry health draw, issuing 4,000 ITAs with a CRS cutoff of 475. The category-based round underscores Canada’s targeted approach to ease healthcare staffing shortages while maintaining high competition.
Soheil Hosseini
July 22, 2025
Jurisdiction
Federal
Week
Week 30
Impact
Moderate
Programs Affected
Historic Express Entry Health Draw: 4,000 ITAs Issued with 475 CRS Cutoff
Summary: On 2025-07-22, IRCC conducted its largest-ever targeted draw in the Express Entry health occupations category, issuing 4,000 Invitations to Apply with a CRS cutoff of 475, underscoring Canada’s continued sector-specific approach to address healthcare labour shortages. On 2025-07-22, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a record-setting, category-based Express Entry draw focused on health occupations, inviting 4,000 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 475. The draw highlights Ottawa’s sustained emphasis on targeted admissions to alleviate national healthcare staffing gaps. Program affected: Express Entry (EE-Health category)
Source: IRCC
Date of update: 2025-07-22 Why it matters
- Largest-ever health-focused draw: signals a strong policy commitment to sector-specific immigration.
- Elevated threshold: a CRS 475 cutoff keeps competition high, even in targeted rounds.
- Labour market alignment: prioritizes candidates positioned to fill critical roles across Canada’s health system. Independent analysis
- Positive impacts:
- Accelerates inflow of internationally trained healthcare professionals, potentially easing pressures in hospitals, primary care, and long-term care.
- Offers clearer pathways for health candidates under category-based selection, supporting workforce planning for employers and provinces.
- Potential challenges:
- A high CRS 475 bar may exclude many experienced practitioners, tempering short-term gains.
- Actual deployment depends on licensing/credential recognition and settlement capacity, which can delay time-to-practice.
- Larger targeted draws can reduce room for non-health profiles in concurrent/all-program rounds, affecting broader applicant pools. Outlook
This draw reaffirms Canada’s use of category-based Express Entry to target acute labour shortages. Watch for subsequent health-category rounds, provincial alignment via PNPs, and any processing or credentialing measures aimed at speeding workforce entry.
Tags: Canada immigration, IRCC, Express Entry, Health occupations, EE-Health, CRS 475, ITA, Category-based selection, Healthcare labour shortage, Skilled immigration, 2025 immigration updates End of article.
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