The Atlantic Canadian province of New Brunswick is hitting the pause button on nominations to two of its Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) its after hitting its total number of allocations granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Although New Brunswick does not publicly release its annual PNP allocation figure, it is believed to be allowed about 2,000 nominations every year.
The province hit that level of PNP nominations in mid-August and so will no longer be nominating foreign nationals for permanent residency through its Express Entry and Skilled Worker programs until the new year.
“Demand often outpaces the number of people who can be nominated,” a spokesperson for the province’s Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Department reportedly told the CBC.
“Applications must be paused from time to time so potential applicants understand it would be better to wait until a new window opens, rather than wasting efforts on an application that cannot be accommodated at this time.”
The latest IRCC data reveals New Brunswick welcomed 11,455 new permanent residents last year and roughly half of those, or 6,660 new permanent residents, immigrated through the province’s PNP.
By June of this year, the province’s PNP program had helped 4,900 foreign nationals gain their permanent residence in the province, or 55.1 per cent of the total number of 8,890 new permanent residents to New Brunswick in the first half of the year.
“The New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream is intended to help New Brunswick employers recruit foreign nationals and international graduates whose skills are in limited supply in the province,” notes Statistics Canada.
“Employers must have been unable to fill job vacancies with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.”
The streams under the province’s PNP include:
- Skilled Worker
- New Brunswick Express Entry
- New Brunswick Business Immigration
Under the Skilled Worker stream, applicants must have an offer of employment from a New Brunswick company and commit to living in the province permanently, with standard requirements such as language skills. Employers must demonstrate they cannot find a Canadian to fill the job.
More Than Half Of New Brunswick’s Immigrants Are Welcomed Through The PNP
The Express Entry stream is for temporary foreign workers currently living in New Brunswick and working in an occupation at a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system skill level 0, A or B, or foreign students studying in New Brunswick with at least one year of high-skilled job experience.
The Business Immigration stream is for individuals willing to start or purchase a business in selected industries in New Brunswick.
Last year, New Brunswick also welcomed 10,730 temporary foreign workers under the International Mobility Program (IMP) and another 4,420 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The province also issued 10,910 study permits to international students in 2023.
Even with the province temporarily stopping nominations under its PNP, Canada’s two-tier immigration system still allows foreign nationals to immigrate to New Brunswick through federal immigration programs.
The federal Express Entry system’s Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) all provide other pathways for foreign nationals to gain their permanent residency in New Brunswick.
Candidates can also qualify for New Brunswick immigration via the Atlantic Immigration Program.
In its population growth strategy, New Beginnings: A Population Growth Strategy for New Brunswick 2019-2024, the province set out to steadily increase the number of immigrants coming to the province every year.
That strategy had targeted immigration of 7,500 new permanent residents by this year, a level the province has already surpassed.
Bullish on immigration, New Brunswick also sought to support the retention of newcomers to New Brunswick, hoping to reach a retention level of 85 per cent retention by this year.
“This will enhance the success of increasing the population by encouraging more people to settle, stay in and contribute to New Brunswick communities,” noted that report.
