Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Alberta issue invitations through provincial immigration programs

Five provinces have issued invitations in the most recent round of draws through provincial immigration programs.

Most provinces invite candidates through Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). These programs allow provincial governments to select economic immigration candidates who are the most likely to integrate easily into the provincial economy and contribute to the labour force.

These provinces are allocated a specific number of invitations they can use to target newcomers. For 2023, the immigration levels plan has a target of admitting over 105,000 new permanent residents to Canada through the PNP.

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Quebec does not use the PNP. The province has a unique agreement with the federal government that allows it to select all economic immigrants who wish to settle in the province.

Provincial immigration results April 1-7

Ontario

Ontario has invited 883 candidates combined through the Master's Graduate stream and PhD candidate stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). Both draws occurred on April 4.

There were 772 candidates invited through the Master's Graduate stream with a minimum cut-off score of 52 and above. The 131 PhD Graduate stream candidates needed a score of 48. This was the first draw of 2023 for PhD candidates.

Ontario also recently announced that it is investing an additional $25 million over three years to support doubling the number of skilled immigrants. The province says this investment will speed up processing and enhance security, along with other IT updates.

British Columbia

British Columbia invited 175 candidates through the BC PNP on April 4. Of these, 175 were invited in a general draw, meaning no specific occupation was targeted. They were candidates in the skilled worker streams with minimum SIRS scores of 103, International Graduates with minimum SIRS scores of 103 and Entry –Level and Semi-Skilled candidates with minimum SIRS scores of 85.

The province also had two targeted draws for the following occupations:

• 17 early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202) with scores of at least 60 points and;
• 6 healthcare workers from the Skilled Worker, International Graduate, including Express Entry category, with scores of at least 60 points.

Quebec

On March 30, Quebec invited 619 candidates through the Quebec Regular Skilled Workers Program. Invitations were issued to candidates who met the criteria of specific TEER NOC codes across several in-demand sectors.

Candidates required a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and a minimum score of 578.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick posted March draw results for the NB PNP on April 4. In total 186 candidates were invited; 70 through the NB Employment Connection, 42 through the NB Student Connection and 74 through the NB Occupations-In-Demand Connection.

The province recently announced a 67% increase in its PNP allocation for 2023. This follows a meeting of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) where the immigration ministers endorsed a multi-year PNP program proposed by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Until this point, provinces only received their allocations one year at a time.

Alberta

Alberta invited 150 candidates through the Express Entry stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) on March 30 (results have only been made available recently).

Candidates required a family connection and to hold a primary occupation in demand, in addition to meeting the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System cut-off score of 372.

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