New Brunswick pushing for more immigrants

The Premier of New Brunswick wants to increase the province’s population to one million in 2040.

Premier Blaine Higgs brought up the province’s aging population and labour market shortage during an annual “state of the province” speech, the Canadian Press reports.

The premiere referred to the province’s population growth strategy released this past summer, which says that nearly 120,000 jobs will become available in New Brunswick over the next decade.

The growth strategy also says that New Brunswick will raise the number of economic immigrants settling in New Brunswick each year to 7,500 by 2024. However, those numbers were set by the federal government, and Higgs told the audience of business people and reporters that the province would be pushing for an intake of 10,000 each year.

He said the province is opening new offices in India and Europe in order to promote New Brunswick immigration to foreign talent and investors.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Immigrating to New Brunswick through Express Entry

Foreign nationals who want to bring their skills, education, and work experience to New Brunswick may qualify for the New Brunswick Express Entry Stream.

The provincial immigration stream is aligned with the federal government’s Express Entry system, which manages applications through three immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class.

In order to qualify for the New Brunswick Express Entry stream, candidates first need to create an Express Entry profile, where they will be given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on their work experience, education, age and language proficiency.

If those in the federal pool receive a provincial nomination from the New Brunswick Express Entry stream they will receive an additional 600 CRS points. This effectively guarantees that candidate an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in a federal Express Entry draw.

Once candidates are in the Express Entry pool, and can meet certain province-specific eligibility requirements they can create an Expression of Interest (EOI) with New Brunswick’s portal.

On occasion, New Brunswick will invite candidates directly from the Express Entry pool in response to labour market needs.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs