British Columbia releases annual report on its Provincial Nominee Program
The British Columbia PNP (BC PNP) has just released its statistical report and year in review for 2024.
The report sheds light on critical changes announced by the PNP in 2024, and the occupations, salaries, countries of origin of nominees throughout the province.
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How many nominations did BC PNP issue in 2024?
The BC PNP issued 8,000 nominations for permanent residence in 2024.
This is the full allocation it received for the year.
Of those 8000 nominations, 7,972 (or 99%) went to Skills Immigration (SI), which is for workers with the skills, experience, and qualifications needed in B.C. The remainder (28 nominations) went to Entrepreneur Immigration.
Below is the breakdown of the streams SI included in 2024 and the percentage of nominations for each stream
| Streams under SI | Percentage of nominations |
| Skilled Worker | 35% |
| Health Authority | 23% |
| Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled (ELSS) | 3% |
| International Graduate | 20% |
| International Post Graduate | 19% |
It's worth noting that in 2024, 81% of all SI nominees were in streams that required them to have a current job or job offer and be filling a gap in the labour market.
Breakdown of Skills Immigration
In 2024, British Columbia saw a shift in the occupational profile of SI nominees. The largest share of nominees was in the education, law, and social/community services category—driven by the province’s prioritization of early childhood educators. Meanwhile, nominations in natural and applied sciences was the second-largest group for the year.
| Occupational Category of SI Nominees | 2024 |
| Education, law and social/ community/government services | 23.5% |
| No listed occupation (IPG stream nominees) | 18.7% |
| Natural and applied sciences and related | 16.3% |
| Heath | 12.1% |
| Sales and services | 12% |
| Business, finance and administration | 8% |
| Trades, transport and equipment operators and related | 7.4% |
| Arts, culture, recreation and sport | 1.2% |
| Legislators and senior management | 0.4% |
| Manufacturing and utilities | 0.3% |
| Natural resources, agriculture and related production | 0.1% |
Salary information about 2024 SI nominees can be seen in the table below.
| Stream of nominee | Median 2024 salary |
| Skilled worker | $72,800 |
| International Graduate | $51,501 |
| Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | $39,520 |
| Health Authority | $56,992 |
These are the top five source countries for the SI streams in 2024:
- India.
- China.
- Philippines.
- Iran.
- Nigeria.
The BC PNP also attempted to distribute the benefits of immigration across the province, with 42% of all nominees based outside of Metro Vancouver.
How has the BC PNP changed in 2024?
In March 2024, the program announced the upcoming closure of the International Graduate and International Post-Graduate streams.
The two streams were intended to be replaced by three new student streams (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate), but the province chose to halt their opening on account of its reduced allocation in 2025.
In 2024, British Columbia also made its regional entrepreneurship pilot a permanent stream. The BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Stream was launched in May 2024.
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