Last week four provinces held Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws. Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba held PNP draws last week.
The PNP is the primary route for economic immigrants to enter Canada (as of the most recent immigration levels plan). The programme was created to assist in distributing the positive effects of immigration across Canada and to assist the various provinces in managing their unique labour and demographic issues.
As part of its upgraded PNP nominations, the PNP also offers streams that are connected with Express Entry. Candidates from the federal Express Entry pool are accepted into these streams. Applicants may apply to the expanded PNP streams of a particular province and, if qualified, may receive a provincial nomination or Notification of Interest (NOI). Candidates will then receive an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, which will virtually surely ensure that they get an ITA for the particular enhanced PNP stream.
Recently, the fifth and sixth Express Entry draws of 2023 were exclusive to candidates in enhanced PNP streams, issuing a total of 1,366 ITAs.
PNP Results March 17-24
Ontario
The Ontario PNP (OINP) held a draw on March 23 for the Skilled Trades stream and issued 746 NOIs to applicants with CRS scores between 250 and 489. Anytime between March 23rd, 2022, and March 23rd, 2023, applicants who obtained an NOI had created profiles in the Express Entry pool.
Certain professions have been targeted for draws under the OINP’s economic streams, as noted in the programme updates.
British Columbia
On March 21, the British Columbia PNP (BCPNP) held a draw and gave at least 254 notices of interest to applicants in 6 streams.
The BCPNP organized three targeted draws for early childhood educators and assistants, candidates in healthcare professions, and candidates in other positions that are considered priority occupations under the Skilled Worker International Graduate stream.
Manitoba
The Manitoba PNP (MPNP) held a draw on March 23rd, issuing a total of 566 NOIs (known under the Manitoba PNP as Letters of Advice to Apply).
The breakdown of NOIs issued by the stream are as follows:
- Occupation-specific selection—266 NOIs, targeting candidates in specific, in-demand professions, with a minimum CRS score of 612;
- All occupations—200 NOIs, with consideration to profiles not selected in the specific profession draw, with a minimum CRS score of 672;
- International Education Stream—52 NOIs; and
- Skilled Worker Overseas stream—48 NOIs to candidates who were invited by the MPNP under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative, with a minimum CRS of 708.
Saskatchewan
Two draws were held on March 23 by the Saskatchewan PNP (SINP), accepting applicants from the Express Entry and Occupations in Demand streams.
NOIs were given to 184 Express Entry applicants with a minimum score of 82. In contrast, the Occupations in Demand stream gave candidates 312 NOIs, again with an 82-point cutoff. A candidate’s profession must NOT be on the SINP excluded occupation list in order for them to be eligible for the Occupations in Demand stream.
Upcoming PNP Draws
As was previously indicated, the PNP currently serves as the main entry point for people coming to Canada for economic reasons; in the years to come, it is projected that this function will grow.
A recent Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) conference further stressed the significance of these provincial programmes in addition to the PNP receiving further consideration. After the conference, it was revealed that provincial immigration will now have its own multi-year levels plan. This would let the provinces to know their immigration allocation years in advance and make plans accordingly.
In addition, following the meeting many provinces saw an increase in future immigration allocations:
- Alberta saw a significant increase in allocations, to 9,750 spots this year;
- Manitoba’s allocation for 2023 increased to 9,500 spots;
- Ontario noted an increase in allocations to 18,000 spots by 2025; and
- Saskatchewan will see an increase in allocations to 8,500 in 2025.
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