Canadian Immigration News

On March 1, 2017, 3,884 Invitations to Apply (ITA) were issued to candidates in the pool for the Express Entry immigration selection system with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) point score of 434 or above. For the third time in a row, the number of CRS points a candidate requires to receive an ITA has dropped to a level never before seen since the introduction of the Express Entry immigration selection system in January, 2015. Coming just seven days after the last draw, this draw also represents the highest number of ITAs ever issued in a single draw, and brings 2017's total number of ITAs issued to over 20,000.

The government of Ontario has extended the deadline for candidates to submit an online application to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), from seven calendar days to 14 calendar days. The move affects the following OINP streams: the Human Capital Priorities Stream, the International Masters Graduate Stream, and the International PhD Graduate Stream.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) continues to invite skilled workers to immigrate to the province. In the latest draw for skilled workers, which took place on February 27, a total of 324 skilled workers who had made an Expression of Interest (EOI) in settling in Manitoba were issued a Letter of Advice to Apply (LAA), also known less formally as an invitation.

The government of Canada and the government of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) are each investing $2.3 million to develop infrastructure at Holland College, Prince Edward Island. The investment forms part of Canada's Innovation Agenda, which aims to develop the country's capacity for innovation, job creation, and industry growth.

Employers in Quebec can enjoy a simplified, or facilitated, hiring process of foreign workers in certain occupations after the government of Quebec expanded the list of occupations that are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) advertising requirement in the province.

The International Masters Graduate Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has reached its intake limit for the time being, just days after reopening. No registrations will be accepted through this stream until registration reopens. The OINP has alerted stakeholders that an update on when the stream will reopen once again is scheduled to be provided on May 1, 2017. The OINP will resume accepting applications for this stream within the next three months.

British Columbia (BC) has invited another 343 candidates to immigrate to the province through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) in draws that took place on February 23. This is the second batch of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) that have been issued in the past week, with the previous draws — which saw 459 ITAs issued — having taken place on February 17.

The number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points required by candidates in Canada's Express Entry immigration selection system to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) continues to decrease. On February 22, a total of 3,611 candidates with 441 or more CRS points received an ITA. This is comfortably the lowest points threshold of any draw since Express Entry was first launched more than two years ago.

As of February 21, 2017, Ontario has reopened three popular streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP): the Human Capital Priorities Stream, the International Masters Graduate Stream, and the International PhD Graduate Stream. The province has introduced a new online application system for these streams, which is expected to improve customer service and processing times, in addition to simplifying the application process.

More and more workers, international graduates, and entrepreneurs are being given the opportunity to make British Columbia (BC) their new home. The latest British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) draws, which took place on February 17, saw a total of 459 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued, of which 19 were issued to candidates in the Entrepreneur Immigration stream. The remaining 440 ITAs were divided among various categories of the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams, which are managed under the province's unique Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS).