If you’re hoping for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the coming weeks, here’s the latest snapshot of the Express Entry pool and what it might mean for your chances.
How Many Candidates Are in the Express Entry Pool?
As of August 17, 2025, there are 254,113 active profiles in the Express Entry pool. This marks a decrease from 256,224 candidates on August 5 — a net drop of 2,111 profiles. Over 3,500 invitations were issued during this period, which helps explain the decline.
We received two glimpses into the pool this month: August 5 and August 17. Between those two snapshots, the 501–600 CRS range dropped from 23,292 to 22,930 candidates (−362).
If you’re curious about where you stand in comparison to others, our CRS calculator can help you measure your competitiveness.
Current CRS Distribution – August 17, 2025
Here’s how the candidates in the pool break down by score range:
Keep reading to get our full breakdown on what this data means for your chances of scoring an invitation in 2025.
How Many People Have a CRS Score of 500+ in August 2025?
The pool was sitting at 21,348 in the 501-600 range on July 20, 2025, that’s where things were left last month. We saw the massive 4,000 invitation Healthcare draw after that data was released, though the score for that was 475 so we weren’t completely sure what the impact would be on the 501-600 range. Turns out, there would be a significant swell in the Express Entry pool at this range after this draw. In fact, between the July 20 and August 5 glimpses into the pool, the 501-600 range increased by +2,817 candidates, hitting 23,292. It then eased a little by August 17, hitting 22,930 candidates on that date.
We do expect to see that swell in the 501-600 range when the month ticks over if we don’t see consistent draws. This is because, as we understand it, IRCC tends to add additional points for Canadian work experience to eligible profiles at the beginning of each month. So, the pool swells at the start of the month when this transition takes place. Then, the later draw that month only sees increases from new profiles and profile updates other than eligible work experience (like improved language testing results).
Will You Get an Invitation in 2025?
We will say, it’s very hard to predict what the CRS cut-off will drop to in 2025 without consistent draws. If IRCC continues the trend of one smaller CEC draw each month, then we would be surprised to see the CRS cut-off dip below 520 this year — it would likely remain elevated far above that. But, if we see more consistent draws for CEC, it’s possible the score will dip to 515 or even 510 with consistent, bi-weekly draws inviting 3,000 or more.
But what about category-based draws?
We would expect to see more French category-based draws, given that it’s widely expected French targets will increase in 2026 and 2027. This means more candidates with French-language proficiency will be invited — and CRS cut-offs are likely to dip. That said, IRCC really slowed down in terms of the numbers of invitations issued for French draws in the second-half of 2024 (opting instead to do a very large draw early this year). So, that trend may continue with fewer, smaller French draws for the rest of this year, followed by a large one early in February 2026. Regardless of when the draws happen, learning intermediate French to qualify for a French draw remains a very strong strategy to receive an invitation for Express Entry.
As for healthcare, four draws in four months bucks the trends from the past two years. We wouldn’t be surprised to see another healthcare draw next month, with a slightly lower cut-off. But we will need to wait and see.
Finally, there’s trades. We are still holding out for a trades draw in 2025. It was listed as a priority category in the government’s immigration levels plan, and it’s currently the only priority category that has not seen a draw so far in 2025. That said, it is likely that the CRS cut-off will be higher than what we saw in past years for trades draws, given the low frequency and high competition in the Express Entry pool.
We aren’t sure that we will see a STEM draw this year. So if you’re in the pool hoping for a STEM draw, we’d suggest working on your CRS to qualify for a CEC draw instead. We do hope we’re wrong though!
