British Columbia and Saskatchewan invite more provincial nominees this week; Alberta provides PNP update

This week, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan held draws under their Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), while Alberta provided important updates on its PNP. Read on below to see nomination results, including program streams, number of invitations, cut-off scores for candidates, and more.

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British Columbia

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) held three targeted draws for specific occupations under its “Skilled Worker International Graduate (includes Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option)” stream.

The first draw issued 104 invitations to apply (ITAs) to immigration candidates with a professional experience in Tech occupations. The minimum score for candidates in this draw was 94.

The second draw targeted individuals in Childcare professions, specifically Early childhood educators and assistants. The draw issued 61 ITAs to candidates with a minimum score of 60.

The last draw targeted professionals with experience in Healthcare professions. The draw invited 25 invitations to candidates with a minimum score of 60.

British Columbia (B.C) has held consistent draws throughout the year. B.C (like many other provinces) has targeted occupations. Candidates who have professional experience in these targeted occupations can see priority when receiving an ITA due to both provincial and federal governments emphasising in-demand occupations through category-based selection for Express Entry, and in-demand occupations for PNPs.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan announced immigration results from October 23rd, in which the province held two separate PNP draws through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

The first draw was held through the Occupations-In-Demand stream, which invited 40 candidates with a minimum score of 84 to apply for PR.

The second draw occurred through the Express Entry-aligned stream and invited 59 candidates with a minimum score of 84.

Candidates in both streams had educational credential assessments (ECA).

Saskatchewan recently announced that it would be expanding the eligibility for candidates in intermediate and lower-skilled positions; through the Existing Work Permit stream. Through this new change, candidates employed in over 270 new occupations are now eligible to apply for permanent residence in Saskatchewan.

Alberta

Alberta recently gave an update on immigration throughout the year, via the Atlantic Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), Alberta’s PNP.

The AAIP has invited 9,200 candidates as of November 7th, 2023. The annual allocation for this year was 9,750 immigration candidates, which the program is currently on track to invite by the end of the year. More than half of these allocations are for non-Express Entry streams, with Express Entry aligned and other streams making up the difference. The provincial government reported re-allocating spots from lower demand streams to boost available spots in the Alberta Opportunity Stream and Rural Renewal Stream.

Alberta is one of Canada’s fastest growing provinces, with a booming population, strong economy and lower tax rates than the rest of Canada. In 2024 and 2025 Alberta is currently expecting annual immigrant allocations of more than 10,000 immigrants (in each year).

The growing importance of the PNP

The PNP exists to spread the positive effects of immigration throughout Canada. Started in 1998, the program (which once took a back seat to other federal economic programs) is set to become Canada’s main pathway for economic immigrants by 2025.

The growing prominence of the program is suggestive of the fact that IRCC wants to push more immigration to areas that may have greater need of newcomers. New candidates for immigration to Canada today may want to research both federal and provincial pathways, as the latter gains more prominence in Canada’s immigration efforts.

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