Nova Scotia will increase its annual quota by 350 under its new provincial nomination stream beginning January 2015. The new stream – “Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry” will enable the province to increase intake by 50% in 2015. It will replace the previous Regional Labour Market Demand Stream as a pilot project and will account for a total of 1050 skilled workers.
The program, “is intended to provide a faster route for skilled immigrants to enter Nova Scotia in response to labour-market demands,” said a provincial Office of Immigration news release. It will complement the existing streams already in place.
Nominees will be highly skilled, have post-secondary education and the qualifications to help them successfully settle in Nova Scotia and demonstrate an intention to reside in the province.
To develop the stream provincial immigration authorities collaborated with private business, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, immigrant settlement organizations and industry professionals.
The new Nova Scotia demand express entry stream will operate in conjunction with the federal government’s Express Entry immigration system that will also launch on January 1, 2015. Successful applicants must first meet one of the Federal economic immigration programs, including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class. The province will be able nominate applicants from the federal Express Entry pool.
Nova Scotia follows the Province of Manitoba which also announced plans to harmonize Provincial Nominee Programs with the new federal express entry immigration system scheduled to launch on January 1, 2015.
