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New Opportunities! Major Adjustments to Canada's Express Entry Immigration Policy: Significant Expansion of Trade Occupations List

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officially launched an in-depth optimization and expansion of the Trade category within the Express Entry immigration selection system on February 27, 2025. This is considered the most significant and far-reaching adjustment among all Express Entry changes in 2025. It not only added up to 19 new occupations but also adjusted some existing ones, bringing the total number of eligible trade occupations to 25. IRCC clearly stated that this adjustment aims to prioritize the intake of skilled tradespeople who can quickly fill gaps in the domestic labor market.

Trade Category Occupation List Updated: 25 Major Occupations Now Included

The updated trade occupations list is more focused on positions currently in high demand for Canada's economic development. Below is the complete list of trade occupations effective in 2025 and their corresponding National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 version codes. Newly added occupations are marked in bold:

Occupation2021 NOC code
Bricklayers72320
Cabinetmakers72311
Carpenters72310
Concrete finishers73100
Construction estimators22303
Construction managers70010
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics72400
Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services82021
Cooks63200
Electrical mechanics72422
Electricians (except industrial and power system)72200
Floor covering installers73113
Gas fitters72302
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics72402
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics72401
Home building and renovation managers70011
Industrial electricians72201
Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors72100
Other technical trades and related occupations72999
Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)73112
Plumbers72300
Roofers and shinglers73110
Sheet metal workers72102
Water well drillers72501
Welders and related machine operators72106

The immigration department emphasizes that for these trade occupations, work performed and experience accumulated during an apprenticeship can usually be considered equivalent to work experience in the formal occupation, provided it can be demonstrated that the individual performed most of the core duties of that occupation.

Precise Positioning: How to Determine if Your Occupation Qualifies Under the New Policy?

To successfully enter the candidate pool for the trade category, applicants must not only meet the basic eligibility criteria of the Express Entry system but, more crucially, must have accumulated at least six months of continuous full-time (or an equivalent amount of part-time) work experience in a single occupation from the 25 certified occupations listed above within the last three years. The immigration department specifically stresses that these six months of work experience must be exclusively under one NOC code; mixing work experience from different NOC codes is not permitted for this duration.

Applicants can self-assess using the following steps:

  1. Visit the Government of Canada’s NOC site and use the “Filter items” search bar to find the NOC code(s) that best match(es) your work experience. Try keyword searching different title variations if needed.
  2. Verify each NOC code on the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) site under the “Search by NOC Code” tab. Review the example lead statements and main duties. Your role must closely align with the lead statement and include a substantial number of listed duties to qualify.
  3. Check if your NOC code appears in the table above. If it does, your occupation is eligible under the Trade category.

Understanding the Details: New Trade Occupations and Their Common Alternate Titles

To help applicants more accurately identify their occupation, below are some of the occupations newly added to the trade category in February 2025, along with alternative or example job titles that may appear in real-world work scenarios:

NOC Occupation TitleExample Job titles
BricklayersApprentice bricklayer
Brickmason
Refractory bricklayer
Stonecutter
Stonemason
CabinetmakersCabinetmaker apprentice
Custom wood furniture maker
Furniture cabinetmaker
Concrete finishersCement finisher apprentice
Cement mason
Concrete mason
Precast concrete finisher
Construction estimatorsChief estimator - construction
Cost estimator - construction
Principal estimator - construction
Professional quantity surveyor
Quantity surveyor - construction
Construction managersCommercial construction manager
Construction project manager
Construction superintendent
General contractor
Housing construction manager
Industrial construction manager
Pipeline construction manager
Residential construction manager
Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and servicesFracturing supervisor
Multi-service operator - oil field services
Rig manager
CooksApprentice cook
Dietary cook
First cook
Grill cook
Hospital cook
Institutional cook
Journeyman/woman cook
Licensed cook
Line cook
Second cook
Short order cook
Electrical mechanicsArmature winder repairer
Coil winder and repairer
Electric motor systems technician
Electrical mechanic apprentice
Electrical rewind mechanic
Electrical transformer repairer
Industrial motor winder-repairer
Power transformer repairer
Transformer repairer
Floor covering installersCarpet layer
Floor covering installer apprentice
Floor covering mechanic
Hardwood floor layer Residential floor and wall covering installer
Resilient floor installer
Vinyl floor installer
Gas fittersGas fitter apprentice
Gas servicer
Gas technician
Industrial gas fitter-tester
Heavy-duty equipment mechanicsAgricultural equipment technician
Construction equipment mechanic
Diesel mechanic - heavy equipment
Farm equipment mechanic
Heavy equipment mechanic
Heavy mobile logging equipment mechanic
Heavy mobile mining equipment mechanic
Heavy-duty equipment mechanic apprentice
Heavy-duty equipment technician
Locomotive mechanic
Tractor mechanic
Home building and renovation managersHome builder
Home renovation contractor
Home renovator
Renovation contractor
Residential homes contractor
Industrial electriciansIndustrial electrician apprentice
Marine electrician
Mill electrician
Mine electrician
Plant electrician
Plant maintenance electrician
Shipyard electrician
Machinists and machining and tooling inspectorsAutomotive machinist
Aviation machinist
General machinist
Machine shop inspector
Machined parts inspector
Machining inspector
Machinist
Machinist apprentice
Tooling inspector
Other technical trades and related occupationsAircraft patternmaker
Blacksmith
Commercial diver
Die setter
Explosive ordnance detector
Farrier
Gunsmith
Locksmith
Reclamation diver
Restoration steeplejack
Safe maker
Saw fitter
Small arms repairer
Toolsmith
Underwater contractor
Vault repairer
Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)Construction painter
Maintenance painter
Painter and decorator apprentice
Paperhanger
Roofers and shinglersApprentice roofer
Asphalt roofer
Built-up roofer
Flat roofer
Residential steep roofer
Single-ply roofer
Sheet metal workersApprentice sheet metal worker
Sheet metal fabricator
Sheet metal mechanic
Tinsmith
Water well drillersCable tool driller - water well drilling
Churn drill operator - water well drilling
Water well driller apprentice

Targeted Invitations: A "Green Channel" for Trades Talent

Express Entry's targeted invitation mechanism, especially for draws specific to categories like trades, offers a significant competitive advantage to eligible applicants. The core reason is that the invitation score (CRS cut-off) for such categories is often much lower than for regular "general" or "Canadian Experience Class (CEC)" draws.

For example, looking back at the 2024 draw data, the CRS score for general draws typically hovered between 524 and 549 points. However, for targeted draws for trade occupations in the same year, the minimum invitation score dropped significantly to the 433 to 436 point range. This means that applicants in priority areas like trades have a substantially increased probability of receiving an invitation for Canadian permanent residency based on their professional skills, even if their CRS score is not absolutely dominant.

This strategic expansion of Canada's Express Entry trade occupations list not only clearly outlines the future focus of Canada's skilled talent attraction but also opens wider doors of opportunity for tradespeople worldwide with relevant professional backgrounds. Faced with this policy benefit, potential applicants should actively study the details of the new regulations, accurately assess their own qualifications, and promptly update their profiles in the Express Entry system to seize this rare immigration opportunity and realize their dream of settling in Canada sooner.

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