Key Summary & Stats
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Program: Express Entry – Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)-only draw
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Invitations issued: 714 CRS cutoff: 738
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Profile deadline (tie-breaker): Submitted before February 22, 2025 at 2:12 a.m. UTC
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36,718 PNP / PR eligible jobs available in Canada @Questjobs.
What Happened?
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 714 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in a dedicated PNP-only Express Entry draw. To receive an ITA in this round, candidates needed a provincial nomination (worth +600 CRS points), and a minimum CRS score of 738, meaning base scores in the 130s+ range before nomination. So far in 2025, IRCC has issued over 81,000 ITAs across Express Entry categories, with a heavy tilt toward PNP, French-language, CEC, and targeted occupation draws (healthcare, education, trades).
A CRS cutoff of 738 in a PNP-only draw makes one thing clear: the Provincial Nominee Program is no longer optional. Under Canada’s new multi-year plan, the system leans heavily toward provincial control, employer-backed pathways, and candidates directly tied to real labour needs—meaning those who secure a provincial nomination operate in a significantly stronger position, while applicants relying solely on a high CRS score without provincial support or an employer connection face a far riskier path to permanent residency.
If you’re serious about permanent residency, stop focusing only on your CRS score and start aligning with a province: target PNP streams where your NOC is in demand, you have a valid job offer or genuine ties (study, work, community), build a clear PNP strategy using employer job offer streams, occupation-specific rounds, and regional or community pilots that fit your profile, and rely on tools that filter for real PR pathways—like QuestJobs, where you can zero in on PNP-linked employers and PR-eligible roles instead of wasting time on jobs that lead nowhere.
As of today, there are 36,718 jobs that are eligible for permanent residency and provincial nominee program sponsorship. Ontario remain to be the province with the most eligible jobs and employers to sponsor. The two main pathways are Ontario Employer Offer - International Student Stream and Ontario Employer Job Offer In Demand Skills Stream.
Sample PR and PNP jobs in Ontario:
Support Care Worker | In Home Assisted Living Inc | https://questjobs.io/pr-pathway/ontario-employer-job-offer-in-demand-skills-stream/personal-support-worker-psw-north-yorkpersonal-support-worker-psw-north-york
French Outdorr Sales | Uline | https://questjobs.io/pr-pathway/ontario-employer-job-offer-in-demand-skills-stream/outside-sales-representative-french-outside-sales-representative-french-with-verification-3
Production Hand | New Zealand & Australia Lamb Company | https://questjobs.io/pr-pathway/ontario-employer-job-offer-in-demand-skills-stream/production-lead-hand
Buthcer | Mrakovic Fine Foods | https://questjobs.io/pr-pathway/ontario-employer-job-offer-in-demand-skills-stream/butcher-for-meat-plant
The latest draw confirms Canada’s post-2026–2028 Levels Plan direction: fewer random pathways, more power in the hands of provinces and employers, and greater rewards for candidates who can clearly map their job to a province, to a program, and ultimately to PR.
If you have a nomination (or can realistically get one), you’re exactly the kind of profile IRCC is signaling it wants. If you don’t, now is the moment to pivot—toward provinces, programs, and employers that can actually carry you over the line.