On May 26, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted a new Express Entry invitation round. In draw #189, IRCC invited candidates under the Provincial Nominee Program. Immigration Department issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to 500 provincial candidates, and the lowest score in this draw was 713 points, 39 points fewer than in the previous PNP-specific draw. The tie-breaking rule for this round April 6, 2021 at 09:50:14 UTC. In total, Canada invited 68,817 candidates to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry in 2021.