I could be wrong, but in order to qualify for Express Entry, as a nurse, you are held to the same standard as everyone else: you would send your transcripts to one of the approved organisations and they simply assess it and verify that it is equivalent to a degree in Canada. The credentialing organisations do NOT assess licenses, but I think it is well within their scope to look at a transcript from a nursing degree in Country X and compare it to the standards for an equivalent nursing degree in Canada.
I could be wrong, but this is my thinking. If her degree is equivalent to Canadian, then she can continue with the Express Entry as anyone else would.
Now, when it comes to licensing, the tricky part sets in. Canadian nursing regulatory bodies (except Quebec and territories) now require that Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) have their foreign nursing credentials assessed by NNAS (National Nursing Assessment Service) .. their job is to actually to compare the International Nursing Credential to that of Canada. They ensure that one has received a nursing education that encompasses the entire scope of practice for a Canadian Nurse and that the education received is up to Canadian standards. Their fee is
$650!! And for the IELTs language test, they only accept the ACADEMIC version, not the general version that is required for immigration purposes.
Your friend absolutely CAN have her credentials assessed before she arrives in Canada and there are many advantages to doing so. When NNAS has completed their part, they forward the report to the Regulatory board of the province she chooses. The regulatory board will then advise on what the next steps will be - if the nursing education is not found to be equivalent, they can recommend a bridge program that will bring her up to standard etc etc. The NNAS website actually has very gd info and outlines their process quite well.
Depending on how desperate the province or employer is for nurses, or on how highly skilled your friend is, she MAY get an employer or a province who will give her a job offer before she is licensed in Canada....again, really depends on many factors; how acute their need for a nurse is, whether any Canadians can do the job, how long they are willing to wait to be staffed, if they are willing to gamble on an International Nurse and your friend's skill set, etc, etc.
I hope this helps and my apologies if I have misunderstood or misstated anything, this is just my understanding of the process...hopefully someone can correct me if I have