Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) issued more than 3,000 invitations to apply for provincial nomination during the month of December.
Nearly every Canadian province and territory, with the exception of Nunavut and Quebec which operates its own immigration programs has its own PNP. Having their own immigration programs allows provincial governments to select immigration candidates who meet their local labour market needs and to manage the regional settlement of the immigrant population within their jurisdiction.
Each province adopts its own criteria for selecting foreign workers eligible for Canadian permanent residence under its respective PNP.
The PNP complements federal immigration programs and enables Canadian provinces to play a key role in the selection of immigrants.
Ontario
On December 7, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issued invitations to 1,186 immigration candidates who had profiles in its Expression of Interest (EOI) system.
The invited candidates may be eligible for one of three streams under Ontario’s Employer Job Offer category: Foreign Worker, International Student and In-Demand Skills. Some of the invitations went to candidates registered for the Regional Immigration Pilot.
British Columbia
Over the past month, British Columbia held a total of five draws and invited 632 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination through the Express Entry British Columbia and Skills Immigration streams.
Manitoba
The province of Manitoba held three draws through the following three streams: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, International Education Stream, and Skilled Workers Overseas this past month. The draws were held on December 2, December 16, and December 30. The province issued total of 1,180 Letters of Advice to Apply, of which 208 went to Express Entry candidates.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island held a pre-scheduled draw on December 16 and issued a combined 125 invitations to immigration candidates. Most of the invitations, 114, were issued to Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates. The remaining 11 invitations went to Business Impact candidates who had a minimum point threshold of 67. PEI invited a total of 1,854 PNP candidates in 2021.
What are Provincial Nominee Programs?
PNPs allow Canadian provinces and territories to nominate individuals for permanent immigration.
There are two types of PNPs:
- Base
- Enhanced
Base nomination streams work outside of the Express Entry system, as they are managed by the provinces themselves. These types of nominations are subject to the processing standards of the specific PNP stream.
In order to go from a successful base nomination to permanent residency, candidates will generally have to go through a two-step process. First, candidates determine that they meet the criteria for a PNP stream, apply, and if successful, receive a nomination certificate. Once they have this certificate, they can apply for permanent resident status with the federal government.
Enhanced nomination streams, on the other hand, are linked with the Express Entry system. They allow provincial immigration officials to search the Express Entry pool of candidates for applicants who match specific criteria. The provinces then invite these candidates to apply for a provincial nomination.
The Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three main federal-level economic immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.
If candidates get a provincial nomination through an enhanced provincial stream, they are awarded an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. This practically guarantees that they will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in a subsequent Express Entry draw.
