British Columbia and Manitoba have nominated candidates this week in the most recent round of Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws.
Provinces can nominate candidates for permanent residency because immigration is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) allocates a yearly number of nominations to each province that they are then able to use to invite candidates who are well-suited for integration into the provincial workforce and economy.
For example, on August 9 Alberta reported that it has already issued 6,527 of the 9,750 nominations it has been allocated for 2023.
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Until March this year, provinces received allocations only on a yearly basis, but this will change in future as IRCC introduced the first multi-year provincial immigration levels plan. This will allow the provinces to know how many newcomers they can nominate and better plan adequate infrastructure such as housing, schools, and healthcare to support newcomers.
Provincial immigration results August 4-11
British Columbia
On August 9, British Columbia invited 195 candidates to apply for provincial nomination.
The province held three draws in total. The largest was a general draw for candidates in the Skilled Worker, International Graduate and Entry -Level and Semi-Skilled categories, including Express Entry candidates.
Skilled Workers required a minimum score of 107, International Graduates needed 110 and Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled candidates needed a score of 88. Scores are based on the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS), which is a unique to British Columbia and similar to the federal Comprehensive Ranking System.
The remaining two draws were for targeted occupations for skilled workers and international graduates only, including those in the Express Entry pool. The province invited:
- 34 early childhood educators and assistants and;
- 22 candidates in healthcare occupations
Candidates in both draws required a minimum SIRS score of 60.
Manitoba
Manitoba issued 615 Expressions of Interest on August 10.
The province invited candidates from three categories in four separate draws. The largest was occupation-specific for those in the Skilled Worker in Manitoba category and invited 249 candidates with a minimum score of 605. The province considered two occupations under National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 major groups:
- 94 – Machine operators, assemblers and inspectors in processing, manufacturing and printing
- 95 – Labourers in processing, manufacturing, and utilities
An additional 279 skilled workers were invited in a general (non-occupation specific) draw with a minimum score of 647.
The remaining two draws saw 47 candidates invited from the International Education stream and 40 invited from the Skilled Workers Overseas stream with a minimum score of 708.
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