Express Entry Invitation Statistics — ITAs Issued by Year and Category
Total Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued by year, category, and draw type — tracking how IRCC’s immigration volumes have changed since Express Entry launched in 2015.
How Many People Does IRCC Invite Through Express Entry?
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to Express Entry candidates through regular draws. After receiving an ITA, candidates have 60 days to submit a complete permanent residence application.
Invitation volumes vary significantly by year and reflect Canada’s immigration targets, economic needs, and processing capacity. In the first four months of 2026 alone, IRCC issued over 65,000 ITAs across more than 20 draws.
Invitation Volume Trends
- 2015 — Express Entry launched. First draws were small, under 1,500 invitations.
- 2016–2019 — Volumes grew steadily as IRCC gained confidence in the system.
- 2020–2021 — COVID-19 reduced volumes. Many draws were PNP-only.
- 2022 — IRCC cleared the COVID backlog with massive draws of 10,000–27,000 ITAs.
- 2023–2024 — Category-based draws split volumes across specific occupations.
- 2026 — High volumes continuing across 10 active categories.
Express Entry Invitation Statistics — ITAs by Year and Category
Total Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued by IRCC through Express Entry — broken down by year, category, and draw type. Updated after every draw.
Invitations by Year
Invitations by Category
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