Minister Fraser has stated that Canada is resuming Express Entry invitations to immigration candidates from all over the world in early July. This is major news since Express Entry is the main way the Canadian government manages skilled worker applications.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada put a pause on Federal Skilled Worker draws as of December 2020.

The Canadian government continued to pause these draws as the immigration application backlog grew. As of September 2021, IRCC paused all Federal High Skilled Worker draws (including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program).

Express Entry will be a major route for Canada to attract qualified candidates to grow its economy. Due to the importance of skilled immigrants to the Canadian economy, Minister Fraser has said the government will process most Express Entry applications within six months. In a January 2022 teleconference, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser confirmed the pause would continue as IRCC worked at reducing the backlog. To help reduce the backlog in time to resume draws this spring, Canada has allocated significant funds in the federal budget to speed up immigration application processing.

Following the progress made in reducing the application backlog, Canada is now able to resume all-program draws by July.