The Express Entry candidate pool has seen significant changes in its composition following the removal of arranged employment points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
Thousands of candidates in the Express Entry pool have seen their CRS scores drop by either 50 or 200 points—a change that, in turn, greatly impacts their chances of receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence (PR).
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This article will cover major changes in the candidate pool and provide an overview of the current distribution of scores among Express Entry candidates.
Changes in the Express Entry candidate pool
By far, the greatest change in scores among Express Entry candidates occurred within the 501-600 CRS score range, which saw a drastic decrease of 5,740 profiles.
Similar decreases in profiles can be observed within score ranges between:
- 491 and 500 CRS points, which saw a decrease of 1,618 profiles; and
- 481 and 490 CRS points, which saw a decrease of 984 profiles.
Cumulatively, these three score ranges (representing above the 90th percentile of scores within the Express Entry candidate pool) saw the exodus of 8,342 profiles between 16 March and 14 April 2025.
With the removal of arranged employment points, these profiles (if they have not expired) will have been redistributed to lower score ranges within the candidate pool.
Note: Figures cited within this article do not distinguish between the natural expiry and addition of Express Entry profiles and those impacted by the CRS change on 25 March 2025.
Despite these radical decreases, the Express Entry candidate pool grew by a total of 7,373 candidate profiles within the same time frame, indicating that larger changes within the pool composition were likely due to the removal of arranged employment CRS points.
Several score ranges also saw marked increases in candidate profiles. The largest among these was the addition of 2,157 profiles within the score range between 461 and 470 CRS points.
As most candidates who had eligible arranged employment likely received an additional 50 CRS points, it is possible that many of the new 2,157 profiles within the 461-470 score range were redistributed from score ranges above 500 CRS points on account of the points removal.
The following table showcases the change in Express Entry profiles between 16 March (nine days before the removal of CRS points for arranged employment) and 14 April 2025 for all score ranges:
| CRS score range | Change in Express Entry profiles |
|---|---|
| 601-1200 | +123 |
| 501-600 | -5,740 |
| 451-500 | +1,487 |
| 491-500 | -1,618 |
| 481-490 | -984 |
| 471-480 | +182 |
| 461-470 | +2,157 |
| 451-460 | +1,750 |
| 401-450 | +5,814 |
| 441-450 | +1,817 |
| 431-440 | +1,722 |
| 421-430 | +1,465 |
| 411-420 | +1,101 |
| 401-410 | -291 |
| 351-400 | +1,677 |
| 301-350 | +1,496 |
| 0-300 | +2,516 |
| Total | +7,373 |
What is the current composition of scores within the Express Entry pool following the CRS points change?
The following table details the current composition of the Express Entry candidate pool as of 14 April 2025.
| CRS score range | Number of candidates |
|---|---|
| 601-1200 | 816 |
| 501-600 | 19,782 |
| 451-500 | 71,542 |
| 491-500 | 12,093 |
| 481-490 | 12,359 |
| 471-480 | 16,215 |
| 461-470 | 16,189 |
| 451-460 | 14,686 |
| 401-450 | 67,301 |
| 441-450 | 14,131 |
| 431-440 | 14,740 |
| 421-430 | 13,084 |
| 411-420 | 13,020 |
| 401-410 | 12,326 |
| 351-400 | 53,479 |
| 301-350 | 22,799 |
| 0-300 | 8,563 |
| Total | 244,282 |
While the Express Entry pool has seen a sharp increase in profiles throughout 2024 and 2025—ballooning to the largest number of total candidates seen in more than a year—the removal of CRS points for arranged employment means that the following CRS score ranges now have roughly the same number of candidate profiles as they did in December of 2024:
- 501-600;
- 490-500; and
- 481-490.
This is in spite of an increase of 25,792 candidate profiles between December 2024 and April 2025.
