This week, three Canadian provinces issued nominations to immigration candidates under their respective Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs).
These programs are run by all provinces in Canada (except Quebec and Nunavut) and are a pathway for economic class immigrants to settle and work in the territory that nominates them.
For clarity, note that all provinces apply their own scoring systems independent of each other to evaluate candidates under their PNP, resulting in wide variation in the results seen below.
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Provincial Nomination Results January 19-26
British Columbia
On January 23, British Columbia (BC) invited immigration candidates through six different streams of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP), and issued at least 216 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in total.
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 of 120 points. Another general draw was held under the Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled stream, which invited candidates with a minimum of 98 points. These draws resulted in 79 ITAs for candidates in total.
In addition, BC held targeted draws under its Skilled Worker, International Graduate (EEBC option included) stream, targeting immigrant candidates who had work experience in four professional categories. These were childcare (66 ITA), construction (34 ITA), healthcare (36 ITA), and veterinary care (<5 ITA). The minimum score for candidates to be considered in these draws was 60, with only the construction category having a high score of 75.
Manitoba
On January 25, Manitoba issued Notifications of Interest (the Manitoba PNP (MPNP) equivalent to the ITA) in three different streams.
From the Skilled Worker in Manitoba stream, the MPNP issued 156 Notifications of Intent (NOI) to candidates with at least 772 points. 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. No cut-off immigration score was given for this draw.
Finally, through the Skilled Worker Overseas stream, the MPNP issued 41 NOIs to candidates with a minimum of 713 marks.
Of the total 275 NOIs issued by the MPNP this week, 29 were issued to candidates who had declared an Express Entry profile.
Ontario
This week, the Ontario PNP (OINP) invited candidates in two separate draws.
On Jan. 19, the province invited 1,654 candidates through its Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker stream. To be considered for this draw, candidates needed a minimum of 50 points. On Jan. 24, 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 providing employers with a new pool of qualified candidates to fill job vacancies.
On January 24, Ontario invited candidates in two more separate draws, both under the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams. Candidates in the Masters Graduate stream were considered who had scores of 50 or higher, while candidates in the PhD Graduate stream had to have a minimum score of 45. Ontario has not disclosed how many candidates received ITAs in these draws.
Finally, the OINP announced on January 19 that it had reached its enrollment allocation for 2023. Last year, the program issued 16,500 enrollments (or ITAs) across all of its streams.
Growing importance of the PNP
While currently holding a low 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 a fifth of all annual immigrant allocations across Canada.
These programs exist to spread the benefits of immigration across Canada, with an emphasis on regions where smaller provincial labour markets and demographics could benefit from the presence of newcomers. To learn more about Canada’s PNPs, see our dedicated webpage here.
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