The Canadian Express Entry system helps skilled workers immigrate to Canada and become residents. Recent changes were made to the system in 2024, which will affect Canada’s 2025 immigration programs. This article seeks to highlight the major trends affecting the Canadian Express Entry system in 2025. It will further showcase the effects that the changes will have on candidate selection.
Higher Immigration Targets
In the year 2025, we expect an increase in Express Entry’s overall immigration targets. This is due to the changes made by the government to increase the targeted admissions. The federal government has increased admissions under the federal economic programs to 124,590. This increment was made from a previous target of 110,770 in 2024.
The increment results in a 20% reduction in overall immigration compared to 2024 targets. The shift allows the government more control over immigration. This results from fewer admissions being processed through regional and provincial immigration pathways.
Express Entry falls under the Federal High Skilled allocation. This allocation is responsible for a significant portion of the immigration targets. As a result, Express Entry will play a major role in Canada’s immigration system in 2025. In 2024, the planned permanent resident admissions in the FHS were 22.8%. Currently, the FHS is split into the “In Canada Focus” and “Federal Economic Priorities.” With the two allocations, FHS is expected to make up 31.5% of all the admissions.
This change is accompanied by the scaling back of Provincial Nominee Program allocations. In 2024, there were 11,000 planned admissions, and in 2025, 55,000. This means that the larger immigration category will occur through express entry. For this reason, Express Entry-Managed programs have become crucial for skilled worker immigration in 2025.
Job Offer Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Points Elimination
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a change to Canada’s immigration system in 2024. The change stated that CRS points would no longer be available for job offers. Currently, an Express Entry candidate is awarded 50 or 200 points from a valid job offer. The number of points awarded depends on the level of the job offer. The adjustment is termed as temporary though the IRCC has not provided the timeline conclusion. The change will affect only those candidates in the Express Entry pool during its implementation.
Job offer points elimination may result in decreased CRS scores for many candidates. It is difficult to predict its impact on 2025 CRS cut-off scores and results. Candidates receiving points for job offers may need to rely on other human capital factors. These include work experience and language proficiency scores.
Federal High Skilled Allocations Replacement
Canada’s immigrant allocations through Express Entry have always been done under the FHS allocation. This information is provided in the Immigration Levels Plan. In 2025, the Federal High Skilled allocation is being replaced under the Immigration Levels Plan. It is divided into two sub-categories: the In Canada Focus and Federal Economic permanent residence:
In-Canada Focus
The In-Canada focus comprises allocations under Express Entry, (82,890). It also includes candidates already in Canada, in various classes. Candidates already in Canada are categorized into the following:
- Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
