May was a busy month for PNP’s

Canada’s provincial nominee programs (PNPs) have been active over the past few weeks, with invitation rounds taking place in most Canadian provinces.

Combined, the provinces have issued more than 2000 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence since the start of May.

Many of these invitations were issued through so-called “enhanced” nomination streams that allow provinces to nominate candidates in the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada’s main economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class.

Express Entry candidates who receive a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and are effectively moved to the front of the line for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.

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Alberta

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) invited 191 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence on May 13.

Candidates only needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 300 in order to receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) from Alberta.

As coronavirus continues to pose an imminent public health risk and to have an impact on immigration applications, Alberta only considers provincial candidates if they already live and work in the province. However, the province does offer some flexibility to PNP candidates who cannot submit all documents due to service disruptions caused by the pandemic.

British Columbia

British Columbia has issued 632 new invitations to apply for a provincial nomination in draws that took place between May 7 and 26.

Two draws were conducted under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)’s Tech Pilot, which assists the province’s technology sector in its efforts to recruit talent through weekly draws.

The 225 candidates selected last month through tech draw were from Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories and needed a minimum provincial score of 80.

The other two draws issued invitations to skilled, entry-level and semi-skilled workers as well as international graduates through its Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams.

The minimum scores required for those candidates were between 81 and 110.

Manitoba

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held an Expression of Interest draws on May 7 and another one on May 21. A total of 222 invitations were issued to candidates in the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas and International Education streams.

The province has issued 2,030 Letters of Advice to Apply (LLA’s) to immigration candidates in these categories so far this year and held 90 draws since the program began in April 2014.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia held a Provincial Nominee Program draw on May 22 and invited registered nurses to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence through its Labour Market Priorities Stream.

The invited candidates needed to have a profile in the federal Express Entry pool and at least three years of work experience as a registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse, which is NOC 3012 in Canada’s National Occupational Classification index.

Nova Scotia did not release the number of invitations that were issued in the draw.

Ontario

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has also been active in May, issuing a total of 703 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination.

The OINP issued the invitations to candidates who had work experience in six tech sector occupations through its Express Entry-aligned immigration pathway on May 13.

The invited Express Entry candidates had Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores between 421 and 451. This CRS requirement is the lowest in the program’s history, from its first draw held in July 2019.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island held a Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) draw on May 15 and invited 15 candidates working in essential service industries.

The province also released details of two previous draws held on March 23 and April 27.

For all three draws the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) only invited candidates from the Express Entry and Labour Impact categories who were working in an essential service such as healthcare or trucking.

Only 29 candidates received invitations in the three latest draws. Typically, the PEI PNP draws result in over 100 invitations across the province's three streams.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan issued invitations to 252 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence on May 28.

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) invited candidates from the International Skilled Worker category through two subcategories: Express Entry, and Occupations In-Demand.

This is the first Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw out of Saskatchewan since Canada closed its borders to non-essential travel. The previous draw on March 26 was only for Occupations In-Demand candidates.

In the latest invitation round, Saskatchewan issued 127 invitations to candidates who had profiles in the federal Express Entry pool.

June

June is shaping up to be another busy month for PNPs, with some notable developments expected from various provinces. In recent days, both B.C. and Ontario have already held PNP draws.