This week, three of Canada’s provinces issued nominations to immigration candidates under their respective Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs). These programs are run by all provinces in Canada (apart from Quebec and Nunavut) and are a pathway for economic class immigrants to settle and work in the region that nominates them. Note for clarity that all provinces implement their own scoring systems for assessing candidates under their PNPs, independent of each other, resulting in the wide variance seen in the results below.
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Provincial Nomination Results January 19th —26th
British Columbia
On January 23rd, British Columbia (B.C.) invited immigration candidates through six different streams of the B.C Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP), issuing a total of at least 216 invitations to apply (ITAs). General draws were held in the Skilled Worker, Skilled Worker—Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option, International Graduate, and International Graduate EEBC option streams—all of which invited candidates with a minimum score of 120. Another general draw was held under the Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled stream, inviting candidates with a minimum score of 98. These draws cumulatively resulted in 79 ITAs for candidates.
In addition, B.C. held targeted draws under its Skilled Worker, International graduate (includes EEBC option) stream, targeting immigration candidates who had work experience in four professional categories. These were Childcare (66 ITAs), Construction (34 ITAs), Healthcare (36 ITAs), and Veterinary care (<5 ITAs). The minimum score for candidates to be considered in these draws was 60, with only the Construction category commanding a higher score of 75.
Manitoba
On January 25th, Manitoba issued Notifications of Interest (the Manitoba PNP (MPNP) equivalent of an ITA) across three different streams. From the Skilled Worker in Manitoba stream, the MPNP issued 156 Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to candidates with a score of at least 772. Candidates were considered for this draw if the candidate or their spouse indicated they completed their post-secondary education in Manitoba. From the International Education Stream, the MPNP invited 78 immigration candidates. A cut-off immigration score was not given for this draw. Lastly, through the Skilled Worker Overseas stream, the MPNP issued 41 NOIs to candidates with a minimum score of 713. Of the total 275 NOIs issued by the MPNP this week, 29 were issued to candidates who declared an Express Entry profile.
Ontario
This week, the Ontario PNP (OINP) invited candidates in two separate draws. On January 19th, the province invited 1,654 candidates through its Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker stream. To be considered for this draw, candidates needed a minimum score of 50. On January 24th, the OINP also issued 12 targeted invitations under the same stream to candidates who qualified for the federal Economic Mobility Pathways Project. The Economic Mobility Pathways Project targets skilled refugees and helps them immigrate to Canada under existing economic pathways, while also giving employers a new pool of qualified candidates to fill job openings.
Also on the 24th of January, Ontario invited candidates in two more separate draws, under the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams. Master’s Graduate stream candidates were considered if they have a score of 50 or above, while PhD Graduate stream candidates had to have a minimum score of 45. Ontario has not stated how many candidates received ITAs in these draws. Lastly, the OINP announced on the 19th of January that it had reached its nomination allocation for 2023. Over the last year, the program issued 16,500 nominations (or ITAs) across all of its streams.
The Growing Significance of the PNP
While currently holding a lower allocation in the immigration levels plan (2024-2026), the PNP is set to become Canada’s main economic pathway for immigrants, starting in 2025. With an annual allocation of over 110,000, PNPs cumulatively already make up more than a fifth of all annual immigrant allocations across Canada. These programs exist to spread the benefits of immigration across Canada, with emphasis areas where smaller provincial labour markets and demographics can benefit from the presence of newcomers.
