On April 14, Canada welcomed 266 Express Entry applicants to apply for permanent residency.
Candidates required a score of 753 to be invited to this draw.
This minimum score requirement may seem high when compared to the average all program, or Canadian Experience Class-only draw, but that is because invited candidates required to have previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
PNP candidates rewarded with 600 points for being nominated by the provincial government. The lowest-scoring candidate would have 153 points if they were not nominated.
According to the tie-break rule, candidates with a minimum score of 753 were only invited if they submitted their Express Entry profile before March 1, 2021, at 15:22:18 UTC.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publish the cut-off time for the tie-break rule as an administrative requirement, irrespective of an actual tie.

Express Entry draws in 2021.

“It has been a record-breaking first quarter for the Express Entry system,” said David Cohen, Senior Attorney of Campbell Cohen. “If all goes well for the rest of the year, Canada might just meet its ambitious immigration targets for 2021.”
To meet its immigration goals for 2021, Canada is increasing its Express Entry intake. The federal government announced to invite 401,000 newcomers in 2021, around a quarter of them would through the Express Entry system.
Canada has held 12 draws since the start of 2021, such draws were based on either CEC or PNP candidates.