Five provinces – British Columbia (BC), Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island (PEI) – have invited candidates for provincial immigration this week.
Every Canadian province and territory, except Nunavut and Quebec, selects economic immigrant candidates through regional immigration programs called Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). These programs are designed to help each participating province and territory welcome skilled immigrants whom each local government believes can best help address local labour market needs and demographic challenges.
Comment: The reason Quebec does not operate a PNP is that its government has an agreement with the federal government to retain authority over its own economic immigration.
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Provincial immigration results from April 27 to May 3
British Columbia
British Columbia will hold two provincial immigration draws on April 30, 2024.
In a draw for the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP), the BC government issued 47 invitations in a general draw. This draw, as with all other general BCPNP draws this year, considered candidates from each of the following five streams:
- skilled worker
- Skilled Workers – Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) Option
- International Graduates
- International Graduates – EEBC Option
- Entry Level & Semi-Skilled
In all but one of these streams, candidates were required to score a minimum of 131 marks to receive an invitation, with the exception of the entry level and semi-skilled candidate group (minimum score 107).
In addition to the general draw, BC also issued invitations in four additional draws, all of which considered candidates from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate streams (including the EEBC option). Specifically, candidates from the following four occupational categories received invitations. The exact numbers are as follows:
- Nine invitations were issued to candidates in child care occupations (minimum score 91)
- Nine invitations were issued to candidates in construction trades (minimum score 93)
- Nine invitations issued to candidates in healthcare professions (minimum score 100)
- Fewer than five invitations issued to candidates in veterinary care occupations (minimum score 80)
Quebec
Quebec is one of two provinces that publish the results of its provincial immigration draws retroactively, and has recently published the results of two separate draws.
The first of these draws took place on April 11, 2024. In this draw, the province received invitations to apply for permanent selection to 1,036 people.
Comment: Immigration to Quebec is handled by the Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI). Invitations for this round were drawn on April 8, 2024, from Arima Bank in Quebec.
Candidates must meet both of the following criteria to receive an invitation during this draw:
- Level 7 or higher oral proficiency in French as assessed by Quebec’s French proficiency level scale for adult immigrants or its equivalent. This scale is called the Échelle québécoise deslevels de proficiency en Français
- Hold a valid job offer outside of the Montreal metropolitan community area
In addition, the invitations issued during this draw went to candidates whose occupations fell into one of two grouped lists of National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes. More information about the specific NOCs that received invitations is available on the Quebec government website here.
Comment: A minimum of 536 marks were required for candidates with NOC in the first group of trades, while a minimum of 606 marks were required for candidates with NOC in the second group of trades.
25 April draw
On April 25, Quebec invited 1,415 more candidates to apply for permanent selection. Invitations for this round went out on April 22, 2024 from Arima Bank.
Candidates were required to meet the following three criteria to receive an invitation during this draw:
Next steps: Candidates who have received an invitation from the Quebec government can now apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate. If immigration candidates intend to settle in Quebec, they are required to obtain this certificate before applying for permanent residence with IRCC.
Alberta
Besides Quebec, Alberta is the other province that publishes the results of its provincial immigration draws retroactively.
This week, Alberta’s PNP – the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) – has released the results of the draw held by the province on April 17, 2024.
During this draw, AAIP issued Notification of Interest (NOI) letters to 49 candidates who were eligible for its “Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta Job Offer” category. All of these candidates were required to have a minimum CRS score of 302.
Manitoba
On April 30, Manitoba posted new results of the recent PNP draw. This particular draw was dedicated to welcoming immigration candidates in accordance with the provincial government’s special immigration measure for Ukraine.
During this draw, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) issued 451 Advice Letters to Apply to eligible candidates under this special immigration measure.
Manitoba then invited candidates from three streams in another draw on May 2.
In a first for occupation-specific selection from the Skilled Workers in Manitoba stream, the MPNP issued 488 Letters of Advice to Apply.
These letters were issued to the following eligible candidates:
People with the following NOC 2021 occupations:
- 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service aides
- 60020 – Retail and wholesale trade managers
People with occupations under the following NOC 2021 sub-major group:
- 731 – General construction trades
People with occupations under the following three NOC 2021 major groups:
- 12 – Administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupations
- 14 – Administrative and Financial Support and Supply Chain Logistics Business
- 22 – Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences
In addition to the above, the MPNP issued 66 letters to candidates eligible for the province’s international education stream. No minimum score requirement was stated for these candidates.
Finally, the PNP issued letters to 26 candidates through the Skilled Worker Overseas stream. These candidates needed a minimum of 796 points to be considered.
Comment: Of the total 941 letters issued on May 2, 181 letters were given to candidates who declared a valid Express Entry profile number and Job Seeker Validation Code.
Prince Edward Island
On May 2, the PEI Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) issued six invitations to candidates working in two employment sectors: healthcare and construction.
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