The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is an immigration program that allows Canadian provinces and territories to attract immigrants fitting the province’s needs.
This program promotes a decentralized policy toward attracting newcomers and enables provinces and territories to respond to their local workforce needs.
Canada immigration levels plan policies for the next three years show a focus on Provincial Nominee Program.
Accordingly, applicants nominated by a province automatically receive an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, ensuring they will receive an invitation to apply (ITA).
What are Provincial Nominee Programs?
In short, PNPs enable Canadian territories and provinces to nominate candidates who are seeking permanent immigration to Canada.
PNPs are comprised of two forms:
- Base nominations
- Enhanced nominations.
Because they are administered by the provinces, base nomination streams operate independently of the Express Entry system. The base nominations are bound by specific Provincial Nominee Program streams and processing procedures. The process to go from a successful base nomination to permanent residency is comprised of two stages which most of the candidates are usually needed to go through.
Before applying, candidates must determine whether they meet the criteria for a PNP approach. They will be able to apply for permanent resident status with the federal government once they receive their nomination certificate.
Conversely, enhanced nomination streams are associated with the Express Entry system. They enable provincial immigration authorities to browse the Express Entry candidate pool for primary applicants who meet specified requirements. These individuals are then invited to apply for a provincial nomination by the provinces.
The Express Entry system oversees the pool of candidates for Canada’s three primary federal-level economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.
Candidates that receive a provincial nomination through the enhanced provincial streams receive 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. This almost ensures them an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in a forthcoming Express Entry draw.
Thus, the Provincial Nominee Program provides an immigration pathway for applicants who may not qualify under the federal program. Additionally, it supports local economic growth and addresses regional specific workforce shortages.
Summary of the August 2021 PNP of Canada
Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) has invited more than 3,000 people to sign for a provincial nomination in the previous month.
Except for Quebec and Nunavut, almost every Canadian province and territory has its own Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Local immigration programs allow provinces to choose the best candidates for their local labour markets and to regulate the regional settlement of immigrant populations within their jurisdiction.
When choosing foreign workers for permanent residency in Canada, each province has its own set of criteria.
Since its inception in 1998, the Provincial Nominee Program has grown to rank second among the most significant pathways to permanent residence in Canada. PNPs alone are anticipated to result in more than 80,000 immigrants being accepted as permanent residents each year between now and 2023.
Highlights of the August 2021 PNP-Focused Express Entry
The majority of participating provinces and territories have at least one PNP stream that is aligned with the federal Express Entry system, which is Canada’s primary source of economic immigration.
Since the beginning of 2021, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has held PNP-specific Express Entry draws, every two weeks on average.
IRCC held two Express Entry draws in August, targeting PNP candidates, granting 512 ITAs (Invitation to Apply) on August 4 and 463 on August 18. Although the number of Express Entry invitations given in August was lower than in June and July, the number of invitations issued via Express Entry is at record highs. This year, the IRCC has granted over 100,000 ITAs.
Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) arranged four invitation rounds in August, issuing 948 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination under the Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand sub-categories of the International Skilled Worker Category. This is a considerable increase over the province’s 575 invitations issued in July.
The province specially attracts entrepreneurs in the farming sector to enrich its rural areas and help the local economy. With a growing economy, the province welcomes skilled newcomers.
British Columbia
During August, the province has invited over 900 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination via the Express Entry British Columbia, Skills Immigration streams, almost mirroring the number of invitations given in previous months.
British Columbia focuses on attracting skilled workers in sectors such as technology, healthcare, and skilled trades. Also, the province addresses labor shortage in rural areas.
Ontario
Through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), the province conducted five draws in August.
On August 6, the province held the first draw, giving two invitations to apply under the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Workers and Employer Job Offer: International Student streams. A targeted draw in the Economic Mobility Pathways Project led to this selection.
The province conducted its second draw on August 11 under its new intake system, the In-Demand Skills stream, for the second time since its beginning, inviting a total of 48 immigration candidates. Candidates of this stream needed to be qualified for the jobs listed under the targeted sectors.
Ontario conducted its first round of invites for the Master’s Graduate and Ph.D. Graduate streams on August 18, 2021. The province invited 479 international student graduates to apply for a provincial program in two draws.
More precisely, Ontario invited 402 candidates to apply for the Master’s Graduate stream and 77 candidates to apply for the Ph.D. Graduate stream. The students needed their Expression of Interest (EOI) scores to be at least 17.
Ontario held the second round of Masters Graduate stream draw on August 25, inviting 326 candidates with a minimum score of 37.
Finally, on August 26, the OINP sent out 20 invitations to applicants with scores between 142 and 200 in its Entrepreneur Stream.
The province of Ontario invited a total of 875 immigration candidates to apply for provincial nomination.
Alberta
The Express Entry Stream of the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) held the widest draw of 2021 in August. The draw was conducted on August 10th, and 396 applicants with CRS scores of at least 300 were invited.
Alberta is attracting immigrants skilled in different categories aligned with the province;s needs, such as technology, agriculture, etc. Alberta seeks to support the province’s rural areas and encourages newcomers to settle in the smaller areas rather than larger cities.
Manitoba
Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program focuses on attracting skilled workers and entrepreneurs with strong connections to the province such as family ties or previous education in the province.
The province of Manitoba performed only one draw for three streams of International Education, Skilled Workers in the province, and Overseas in August 2021. As a result, on August 12, a total of 275 Letters of Advice to Apply were issued, with 36 of them going to individuals who declared a valid Express Entry profile.
Prince Edward Island
On August 19, Prince Edward Island held a pre-scheduled draw and granted a total of 161 invitations to immigration candidates. The majority of the invitations, 152, went to Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates. The remaining nine invites were given to Business Impact candidates who scored at least 75 points.
