{"id":97785,"date":"2022-04-01T21:13:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T01:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/express-entry-first-quarter-review-dramatic-fall-in-ita-numbers-as-ircc-tackles-backlog"},"modified":"2022-04-01T21:13:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T01:13:14","slug":"express-entry-first-quarter-review-dramatic-fall-in-ita-numbers-as-ircc-tackles-backlog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/fr\/express-entry-first-quarter-review-dramatic-fall-in-ita-numbers-as-ircc-tackles-backlog\/","title":{"rendered":"Express Entry First Quarter Review: Dramatic Fall In ITA Numbers As IRCC Tackles Backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada saw an Express Entry<\/a> first quarter like none seen before in 2022, issuing the lowest number of Invitations to Apply<\/a> ever seen with not a single one going to a federal program candidate.<\/p>\n

As Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) dealt with an enormous backlog of applications, the federal component of Express Entry was effectively put on hold.<\/p>\n

It meant that just 6,470 ITAs were issued, lower than even the first quarter in the history of the selection system, in 2015 when 6,851 invitations were sent out.<\/p>\n

The 2022 number is just 15 percent of the record-high number of ITAs issued in the first quarter of 2021, when 43,840 invitations were sent out, boosted by more than 27,000 in a single draw on February 13.<\/p>\n

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Records That Tumbled In Q1 2022<\/h3>\n

Least ITAs issued in a first-quarter: 6,470<\/strong> (previous record 6,851, 2015)<\/p>\n

Most ITAs in a PNP draw: 1,082 <\/strong>(previous record 1,032, December 13, 2021)<\/p>\n

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While Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has indicated federal program ITAs will resume in the spring, candidates continue to wait for that resumption. The last Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw took place on September 14, 2021, when 2,000 ITAs were issued, while the last all-program draw dates back to December 2020.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s application backlog was caused by the record number of ITAs issued in 2021, plus the impact of the TR to PR Pathway, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

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What is Express Entry?<\/h3>\n

Express Entry is an immigration system implemented by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on January 1, 2015 which manages skilled worker applications under federal economic programs. This includes the\u00a0<\/strong>Federal Skilled Worker Program<\/strong><\/a>, the\u00a0<\/strong>Federal Skilled Trades Program\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>the\u00a0<\/strong>Canada Experience Class<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and parts of the\u00a0<\/strong>Provincial Nominee Program<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Comparing this year\u2019s first quarter to the eight that have been seen since 2015, when Express Entry began, shows exactly how few ITAs have been issued between January and March.<\/p>\n

Five of the eight quarters saw 17,500 or more ITAs issued, with four over 20,000 and one over 40,000.<\/p>\n

The only quarters in any way comparable to this year were 2015 and 2016, the first two years of Express Entry when IRCC was still clearing the backlog from the previous first-come, first-served system.<\/p>\n

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\"ITAS<\/p>\n

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In fact, the first quarter of 2021 is second only to the second quarter of 2021 as the largest two Express Entry quarters of all time.<\/p>\n

IRCC followed by the 44,124 ITAs issued between January and March last year by beating that total between April and June, issuing 44,591 ITAs. These two quarters are part of the reason for the significant application backlog being tackled by IRCC.<\/p>\n

The two quarters since way in front of the next largest for Express Entry ITAs \u2013 the 29,855 issued in the second quarter of 2017. At the time this was an unprecedented number of ITAs, as IRCC looked to create an inventory of profiles in the new system.<\/p>\n

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Watch the Video<\/strong><\/p>\n