In the second week of April, draws for the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) were held in three provinces.
Except for Quebec and Nunavut, each of Canada’s provinces and territories runs its own PNP
to identify potential economic immigrants who they believe have the best likelihood of establishing in the province, becoming financially established, and making a contribution to the local economy.
Quebec and the federal government have a special arrangement that allows it complete control over all of its economic immigration programmes.
The PNP is the primary route for people moving to Canada for economic reasons. The Immigration Levels Plan aims to admit 117,500 new permanent residents to Canada annually through the PNP by 2025, which is greater than Express Entry (114,000).
Demonstrating the ability to become economically established
A PNP candidate must submit an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in order to get status as a permanent resident of Canada after receiving a provincial nomination.
IRCC says there are three main criteria they use when evaluating a permanent residence application. The candidate must:
- have the ability to become economically established in Canada.
- be named in a nomination certificate issued by the government of a province or territory.
- intend to reside in the province or territory that nominated them.
Being nominated by a province is typically deemed sufficient proof of the ability to establish one’s economic standing because the applications for provincial nomination and permanent residence sometimes have overlapping information.
However, if IRCC notices an applicant is solely dependent on family members for financial support or if there is a perceived skills gap between a candidate’s job or job offer and their resume, they may have more inquiries.
This may have an effect on a candidate’s expressed intent to live in the province making the nomination. Participants in the PNP must be able to demonstrate their intent to reside and conduct business in the province of nomination. The candidate will be invited to respond if the IRCC finds cause to doubt this aim.
Provincial immigration results in April 8-14
British Columbia
In a draw for tech jobs on April 11, British Columbia invited 99 individuals through the skilled worker and foreign graduate streams of the BC PNP. Candidates had to receive at least an 85.
The following factors may be used by the province to target invitations to apply to the Skills Immigration streams:
- Education – level and field of education and where it was completed
- Eligible professional designations in B.C.
- Language skills
- Occupation
- Duration and skill level of work experience
- Wage and/or skill level of job offer
- Intent to live, work and settle in a specific region
- Strategic priorities – factors that address specific labour market needs in B.C. or support government pilot projects and initiatives
There were two other targeted draws on April 11. The first invited 25 early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202) with a minimum score of 60.
The second draw invited eight candidates with healthcare occupations. They also needed a minimum score of 60.
Ontario
On April 11, Ontario held a draw for 295 applicants in the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream. Candidates have to receive at least a 30. It was a general draw, thus no particular profession was mentioned.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Programme (OINP) recently announced that it will double the amount of skilled immigrants that enter the province. It is spending $25 million over three years to do this. According to the province, bringing in more qualified immigrants will help fill labour gaps and boost the economy.
Ontario expects to welcome 18,000 newcomers through the PNP by 2025.
Manitoba
On April 6, three streams of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Programme (MPNP) invited 566 candidates. 157 of them were also Express Entry applicants.
There were two different draws through the Skilled Workers Stream. The first was a selection tailored specifically for retail sales and service managers. There were 225 applicants that were invited, and the required score was 615.
With a minimum score of 670, 226 applicants from all occupations were accepted to the second skilled worker draw.
A Strategic Recruitment Initiative was used by the province to invite 54 individuals for Skilled Worker Overseas and 61 candidates through the International Education stream. A 708 score was the minimum requirement.
Contact our expert Immigration Consultants for
