The province of Alberta has formally requested that the federal government lift the lid on the number of economic immigrants it may nominate for Canadian immigration each year.

Citing Alberta’s growing labour market needs, the provincial Minister of Jobs, Ric McIver, stated in a letter to the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander, that the government of Alberta “would like the federal government to take the cap off of the maximum number of provincial nominees that we can appoint so that we can bring in the people that we need.

“We think we are going to be 96,000 workers short by 2023 and most of those skilled and good-paying jobs.”

Under the existing Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), Alberta may issue 5,500 provincial nomination certificates per year to skilled and semi-skilled workers. Once a final decision on a certificate holder’s Canadian immigration case has been made by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), he or she may immigrate to Canada as a permanent resident, along with his or her spouse and any dependent children.

All of Alberta’s quota for the 2014 AINP has been issued, and they were not enough, said Minister McIver. “The amount we need will change from year to year, depending on how good the economy is, whether it is up or down,” he said. “Removing the cap seems like a responsible thing to do.

“If you haven’t got people to feed and water the cattle, then the rancher goes home. If you don’t have someone to wash the dishes, make the beds and wash the floors, then the whole hotel closes. You could extend that example across a whole bunch of other business models all over Alberta.”

CIC has not yet responded publically to the letter.