This draw came on the heels of two others earlier in the week on December 18 and 19. The December 18 draw was all-encompassing, inviting 1,325 candidates with a minimum CRS of 542.

On December 19, IRCC specifically invited 1,000 candidates in a second category-based draw for trade’s occupations in the same year. For eligibility, candidates were required to have a minimum CRS score of 425. The initial draw of this kind occurred on August 3, when 1,500 candidates were invited.

The preceding week also saw IRCC conducting three draws. On December 8, a category-based selection draw for candidates in STEM occupations resulted in 5,900 candidates with a minimum CRS of 481 receiving invitations. Additionally, on December 7th, a draw focused on individuals with French language proficiency invited 1,000 candidates from the Express Entry pool with a minimum CRS of 470.

December 6 featured an all-program draw for candidates with a minimum CRS of 561, marking the first draw in over a month. Before that, the most recent draw occurred on October 26, a category-based selection draw for candidates in healthcare occupations.

IRCC did not provide a specific reason for the temporary pause in draws. However, on November 14, the department acknowledged an IT issue with the Express Entry profile builder for candidates attempting to upload their final application to IRCC’s website after receiving an ITA. Although the glitch was fixed on November 16, draws did not immediately resume.

Possible reasons for the delay in Express Entry draws include meeting targets in the Immigration Levels Plan, IT issues, staffing changes, or updates to the Comprehensive Ranking System.