According to a recent survey, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is considering updating the categories it uses for category-based draws in 2025.

IRCC frequently collaborates with stakeholders to guide its immigration planning. Every year, it seeks input from the public and various groups to shape its Immigration Levels Plan. Right now, it’s holding a 2024 consultation to gather feedback for the 2025-2027 plan, which includes a survey on proposed immigration targets.

In addition, IRCC sends out surveys to certain organizations to get their thoughts on strategic initiatives, like the categories it uses. These surveys aren’t public and don’t promise any changes, but they offer a glimpse into the different strategies IRCC is exploring.

Which Occupations Might Be Added to Category-Based Draws?

The survey revealed a plan to add Education as a category for the 2025 category-based draws. It also hinted at specific occupations within this category that might be included, such as:

Elementary school and kindergarten teachers (NOC 41221)
Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants (NOC 43100)
Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202)
Secondary school teachers (NOC 41220)
Educational counsellors (NOC 41320)
Instructors of persons with disabilities (NOC 42203)

Besides education, there could be occupations selected from fields like natural resources, new technologies, and applied sciences. While the survey didn’t detail their intentions for these categories, it mentioned examples from various industries, including:

Clean/green technology, quantum
Biotechnology, biomanufacturing
Critical mineral extraction for electric vehicle battery production

Which Categories Might Be Removed?

According to the survey, IRCC is not planning to remove any categories in 2025. However, they might adjust the number of occupations within each category, either reducing or expanding them. The survey doesn’t specify if they intend to do this.

The survey also included questions about the effectiveness of targeting skilled workers with strong French language skills. Given IRCC’s goal to increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec to 8% by 2026, it’s unlikely that the French language category will be removed.

What to Do If Your Work Experience Matches One of the Proposed Categories?

Given the high CRS cutoffs for general draws in 2024, these category updates could be a game-changer for eligible candidates.

Although changes to IRCC’s categories are unlikely in the immediate future, if your occupation might appear on the 2025 list, it’s wise to start planning and enter the Express Entry pool as soon as possible.

When new occupations are introduced, there will likely be high interest. By getting your profile in early, you may benefit from the tie-breaking rule, which ranks candidates with the same CRS score by the date they entered the pool, favoring older profiles.

The survey also mentioned that IRCC is considering focusing category-based selection on temporary residents already in Canada, rather than new skilled workers from abroad.

This could mean merging category-based draws with the requirement that applicants qualify under the Canadian Experience Class program.

As this situation evolves, stay informed by subscribing to our newsletter through your free Moving2Canada account for updates on changes to Canada’s Express Entry system.