April 24, 2018 – The Canadian government is placing increasing importance on provincial nomination programs to attract economic immigrants who meet specific provincial labour market needs.
The success of provincial programs – which allows Canada’s provinces and territories to manage their own immigration streams – means Ottawa will expand the PNP allocation by 33 per cent between now and 2020.
This is good news for immigration candidates to Canada who do not meet the requirements of federal economic class programs. Expanded provincial thresholds means more chances of securing a coveted provincial nomination worth 600 points and an Invitation to Apply under the Canada immigration Express Entry system.
Canada’s Provincial Nomination Programs
- Ontario
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland
- Nova Scotia
- Saskatchewan
- Prince Edward Island
For the thousands of candidates in the Express Entry Pool with a score in the 300’s, a qualified job offer from a provincial nomination program is the only way to receive the extra points needed to qualify for Canadian permanent residence.
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Provincial nomination programs play a key role in facilitating the distribution of new immigrants across Canada. Three-quarters of those admitted under a PNP between 2010 and 2015 settled in provinces other than Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
Source: Government of Canada
This compares with the Federal Skilled Worker Program, through which two-thirds of all immigrants ended up in Ontario between during the same period.
PNP totals for 2017 confirm the importance of this stream to the smaller provinces, with Saskatchewan welcoming 10,530 immigrants through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP), against a total of 11,645 under the federal skilled worker program.
The figures for Manitoba tell a similar story, with 9,425 PNP immigrants welcomed in 2017, against an economic class total of 10,055.
Atlantic Canada is also reliant on provincial immigration streams. In Nova Scotia, 2,735 out of 3,315 economic class immigrations came through the PNP in 2017; in New Brunswick the figure was 2,585 out of 2,860.
Without the PNPs, these provinces would be struggling to welcome any economic class immigrants.
Source: Government of Canada
* Does not include Quebec, which controls its own immigration policy
Tellingly, Ontario saw its most prolific year to date under its province-specific streams in 2017, welcoming 6,980 PNP immigrants, having previously and largely ignored the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). However, the figure of 6,980 was against a total of 53,310 federal economic immigrants welcomed to Canada’s largest province.
While the Atlantic provinces numbers are clearly lower in the graph above, it is important to note the provincial populations in the region are dwarfed by the likes of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and even more so Ontario.
Provincial programs offer the provinces a key power to target specific labour shortages through immigration. Whether it be doctors in Nova Scotia, nurses and truck drivers in Saskatchewan, farmers in Manitoba, technology workers in British Columbia or Ph.D. or masters’ Graduates in Ontario, the provinces have the power to pick exactly in line with labour market demand.
Interestingly, the provinces also target temporary workers and international students already established in the province to become permanent residents of Canada. Often these individuals do not meet the standards required to qualify under federal programs, but they can often meet the less onerous requirements of PNP streams.
PNPs and Express Entry
Some provinces also manage their own Express Entry streams, allowing them to hand-pick candidates from the Federal Express Entry Pool for expedited immigration recruitment and processing.
With provincial nomination now the only single factor worth 600 points, candidates are almost assured nomination with a qualified job offer backed by a province. This can allow those with mediocre Comprehensive Ranking System scores rise to the top of the list for permanent residence, overnight and ahead of others in the pool.
The figures show how provincial programs continue to grow in Canada.
More than 25 per cent of new economic immigrants now come through PNPs, compared to 10 per cent 10 years ago.
Source: Government of Canada
* Does not include Quebec, which controls its own immigration policy
In 2017, the total threshold for Canada’s provincial program was 51,000 new immigrants. This figure is set to rise to 67,800 by 2020, an increase of 33 per cent.
The profile of candidates selected by provinces is vastly different to federal programs, where the emphasis tends to be on education and languages.
Just 54 per cent of provincial nominees between 2010 and 2015 were university educated. Over the same period, 83 per cent of Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates had a university degree.
More than 50 per cent of nominees were skilled trades, technical, intermediate and clerical or general labour. Under the FSWP, more than three-quarters of successful candidates were for professional and managerial occupations.
Expect Canada to continue expanding use of the Provincial Nomination PNP program to welcome new immigrants in the years to come.
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