Atlantic Immigration Program: Designated Employers

What “designated employer” means under the Atlantic Immigration Program

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is an employer-driven pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers and international graduates who want to live and work in one of Canada’s four Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. To hire through the program, an employer must first be designated by the province where the candidate will work. A candidate cannot apply under the AIP without a job offer from a designated employer.

Note: being on a designated-employer list does not mean the employer is currently hiring. Designated employers must advertise their vacancies; check each company’s careers page or provincial job boards for open positions.

How an employer becomes designated

Designation is handled by each Atlantic province (not by the federal government), there is no cost to apply, and an employer only needs to be designated once per province — not for each candidate. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to be designated an organization must:

not be in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or its Regulations;
be in good standing and comply with employment-standards and occupational health-and-safety legislation;
not recruit or hire workers in order to build a pool of candidates to later transfer or contract out to other businesses;
have been in continuous, active operation under the same management for at least two years in an Atlantic province (or show continuous active operation elsewhere, with approval from the province where it is applying);
work with a settlement service provider organization to help candidates access settlement services;
complete the free onboarding training; and
complete the free intercultural-competency training, unless exempted by the province.

Once approved, the employer receives a Confirmation of Designation from the province. (Source: IRCC — Hire through the Atlantic Immigration Program: Get designated, current as of 2024-09-11.)