The government of British Columbia (B.C.) has stated that it has asked the federal government for a significant boost in the number of immigrants who can come to the province through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). B.C. is asking for its allocation to be increased from 5,500 to 9,000.

The request was made by B.C. Premier Christy Clark at a national jobs roundtable in Ottawa on Thursday. The government of B.C. and other stakeholders, including business leaders, are lobbying for higher immigration numbers to fill vacancies for which not enough people can be found in the province. B.C. is expected to lead the country in economic expansion in 2016 and beyond.

“They are open to hearing the argument,” Ms. Clark said. “The most important component of it is the PNP , which allows the province to decide which specific skills are being allowed into the province. It’s at about 5,500 now; we need it to be 9,000 because we need to skills match people who are going to become Canadian citizens.”

Last week, B.C. launched a dynamic intake management system that allows the province to prioritize candidates for provincial nomination through the BC PNP. The Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) is a points-based system whereby candidates receive a score based on the information they provide upon registration. This score will determine whether a candidate receives an Invitation to Apply for nomination from BC PNP through the Skills Immigration and Express Entry B.C. streams.

The SIRS was featured in this week's issue of the Canada Immigration Newsletter on CICNews.com.