Among all the applicants who are either interested in this program or have already submitted the EOI, I wonder how many of them is actually living in NB or have an employment in NB?
From what I understand, if the cap is indeed 425 this year, the immigration department of NB will definitely give the first priority to the applicants who actually have a job in NB or who currently live in NB. For the applicants who is outside NB and have no job offer from NB employer, NB immigration Department will likely give the least priority or even not consider them at all.
And this might be the reason that NB temporarily closed PNP EE program for now. Too many applicants applied, but few of them or even none of them are beyond their expectations. I believe they are going to modify their screening procedure, so that they can effectively pin point the ideal applicants among all the non-ideal applicants.
So, for the applicants who is not ideal, why bother?
That's my personal thought, I apologize as this sounds crucial to most applicants, I mean no harm at all. But still, I believe this is most likely the truth.