The Express Entry System was introduced in 2015. It is the system that the IRCC uses to manage Permanent Residence applications which are ranked according to a comprehensive ranking system (CRS).
Canada’s C-19 bill is looking to amend the immigration act that could do away with the CRS as the government seeks to change the way in which it selects candidates from the Express Entry pool.
How will the C-19 Bill change the Express Entry system?
The proposed changes would see candidates in the pool receive an invitation to apply based on “groupings” set out by the minister of immigration based on a specific economic goal they seek to support at the time. Economic goals, as well as eligibility criteria for each round, would be published on the IRCC website.
Groupings would likely be based on factors such as education, work experience, or language proficiency. As an example, a round of invitations may be issued to Francophones or candidates who have experience in a particular occupation in demand. However, this has not yet been confirmed by the Canadian government.
How the current CRS works
The current system ranks candidates in the pool on a points-based system and invitations are issued based on a minimum CRS score. The immigration minister cannot issue invitations based on factors such as education, occupation, or language.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), can, however, invite applicants based on the aforementioned additional factors. Examples of this include Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities and French-Speaking Skilled Worker streams and Nova Scotia’s Labour Market Priorities Stream.
Under the proposed changes, the federal process may be akin to how these PNP’s currently select candidates from the pool currently.
Canada is facing a growing labor shortage and the intended changes aim to respond to this with these new changes.