Canada’s provincial nominee programs (PNPs) continue to be very active across Canada.
More than 10 invitations rounds took place across the country last month, with Canadian provinces issuing close to 3,000 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence.
Many of the candidates who received invitations obtained them through so-called “enhanced“ nomination streams. These streams allow provinces to nominate candidates in the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada’s main economic immigration categories—the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class.
Express Entry candidates who receive a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and are effectively moved to the front of the line for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
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The following is a summary of the invitation rounds held by Canadian provinces during the month of October.
Alberta
Alberta announced it is launching a new expression of interest portal and a new immigration pathway for recent international student graduates from Alberta post-secondary schools.
British Columbia
British Columbia issued over 900 new invitations to apply for a provincial nomination through six different draws that took place between October 6 and 27.
Two draws were held under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)’s Tech Pilot, which is meant to support the province’s technology sector in its efforts to recruit talent. Candidates selected last month through tech draw were from Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories and needed a minimum provincial score of 80.
Another two draws issued invitations to skilled, entry-level and semi-skilled workers as well as international graduates through its Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams.
The province also held two draws through its Entrepreneur Immigration streams inviting a total of 20 candidates on October 20.
Manitoba
The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held two Expression of Interest draws in October. A total of 397 invitations were issued to candidates in the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas and International Education streams on October 8 and October 22.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia also held a PNP draw on October 22. Invited candidates needed to have a profile in the Express Entry pool and needed to have a primary occupation as computer programmers or interactive media developers.
Ontario
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has also been active in October, issuing invitations to entrepreneurs and those with work experience in one of six tech occupations.
The OINP Tech draw was held on October 15 and invited Express Entry candidates with Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores between 462 and 470.
Ontario also opened its Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream and accepted 1,250 applications on October 21.
Prince Edward Island
The Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) draw on October 15 and invited 211 Express Entry, Labour Impact and Business candidates.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan held three invitation rounds through its Immigrant Nominee Program last month and issued invitations to 1,073 immigration candidates on October 7 and 21.
Quebec
The province of Quebec does not have a provincial nominee program; instead, it has its own immigration pathways for those who want to live and work in the province.
In early October, the province announced the results of a selection round that invited 365 candidates who submitted an expression of interest via the Arrima portal, which manages applications for the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program.
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