The jobs being prioritized in Kelowna, British Columbia under IRCC’s francophone PR pathway
The city of Kelowna has released the priority sectors and occupations being targeted under the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) in 2026.
This year, Kelowna—located in south-central British Columbia on the east shore of the Okanagan Valley—has added an additional priority sector and eight new in-demand occupations.
Consult with an experienced immigration representative
To be considered for permanent residence (PR) through the FCIP, foreign nationals must have qualifying French language abilities and possess a job offer from a designated employer.
This article will provide information on Kelowna’s 2026 priority sectors and occupations, as well as recommendation intakes.
Kelowna’s 2026 priority sectors
This year, Kelowna is prioritizing six sectors under the FCIP—all of which are currently listed as “open” by the British Columbia Economic Development Corporation (SDECB), which oversees recommendations and designations:
- Sales and service;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators;
- Education, law and social, community and government services;
- Health;
- Natural and applied sciences; and
- Business, finance and administration.
Overall, these sectors reflect Kelowna’s 2025 priorities, with the sole change this year being the inclusion of the “Business, finance and administration” sector.
Note: For the sales and services sector in particular, the SDECB will issue no more than 10 community recommendation certificates (or “referrals”)—and a maximum of two referrals per National Occupational Classification (NOC) code.
For the trades sector, each occupation is limited to a maximum of three recommendations.
Kelowna’s 2026 priority occupations
Okanagan Valley’s largest city has identified the following 25 occupations—and their associated NOC codes— as being in demand in 2026.
Occupations that have been bolded represent newly prioritized occupations in 2026 (eight total), whereas all others are representative of occupations that were also targeted in 2025.
| Occupation | NOC code |
|---|---|
| Accounting technicians and bookkeepers | 12200 |
| Administrative officers | 13100 |
| Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers | 72410 |
| Bakers | 63202 |
| Cabinetmakers | 72311 |
| Carpenters | 72310 |
| Cleaning supervisors | 62024 |
| Cooks | 63200 |
| Corporate sales managers | 60010 |
| Early childhood educators and assistants | 42202 |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) | 72200 |
| Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants | 43100 |
| Forestry technologists and technicians | 22112 |
| Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations | 44101 |
| Hotel front desk clerks | 64314 |
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations | 33101 |
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 33102 |
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services | 33109 |
| Other repairers and servicers | 73209 |
| Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) | 73112 |
| Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers | 73102 |
| Roofers and shinglers | 73110 |
| Social and community service workers | 42201 |
| Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers | 12011 |
| Supervisors, general office and administrative support workers | 12010 |
Consult with an experienced immigration representative
There are currently 40 employers designated by the SDECB to participate in the FCIP, however, most are not hiring at this time. The full list can be found here.
The city of Kelowna notes that “Fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, vape stores, and weed stores are not eligible for the program.”
The minimum wage for the above occupations ranges from $21–$28.
Occupations no longer on the priority list in 2026
There are eight occupations that no longer appear on Kelowna’s list of 2026 priorities, all of which fall under the trades/transport sector or sales/service sector:
- Chefs (62000)
- Construction trades helpers and labourers (NOC 75110)
- Food and beverage servers (NOC 65200)
- Food service supervisors (NOC 62020)
- Light duty cleaners (NOC 65310)
- Other customer and information services representatives (NOC 64409)
- Retail sales supervisors (NOC 62010)
- Veterinarians (NOC 31103)
The deprioritization of these occupations may suggest that Kelowna sufficiently addressed labour shortages in these occupations in 2025, through the FCIP and other immigration pathways—such as the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program and Express Entry.
Kelowna’s 2026 FCIP intake periods + recommendation information
Kelowna will have seven intake periods in 2026, with the first intake opening in June.
Each intake will remain open from the 15th to the 30th of each month, during which time designated employers may submit candidate recommendations to the SDECB for review.
Each employer may submit no more than three recommendations for review.
The SDECB notes that at the time of this writing, there is one available recommendation remaining for NOC 60010 (corporate sales managers) and two recommendations remaining for the following occupations:
- Bakers (63202);
- Cleaning supervisors (62024);
- Cooks (63200); and
- Hotel front desk clerks (64314).
About the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot
The FCIP is a five-year pilot launched in 2025 alongside the Rural Community Immigration Pilot, designed to promote immigration to francophone-minority communities outside Quebec.
To qualify, individuals must have an offer of employment from an employer designated by the community (e.g., Kelowna: SDECB) and demonstrate a language proficiency at Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) level 5 across all four language abilities.
Once a foreign national has been issued a job offer, the employer recommends them to the community for FCIP participation. Only those with a job offer in a priority sector and occupation can be recommended.
If the recommendation is approved by the designated community, the foreign national may apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for PR.
In addition to job offer and language requirements, French-speaking candidates must also have
- One year of related work experience in the past three years (job-offer dependent);
-
- TEER 0/1 offer: experience in TEERs 0–3.
- TEER 2 offer: experience in TEERs 1–4.
- TEER 3/4 offer: experience in TEERs 2–4.
- TEER 5 offer: experience in the same five-digit NOC code.
- At least a Canadian high school diploma (or foreign equivalent, accompanied by an Educational Credential Assessment); and
- Sufficient settlement funds to support oneself (and their family, if applicable), starting at $10,507 for a single applicant.
- Individuals already working in Canada on a valid work permit are exempt from this requirement.
Note: Foreign nationals may be eligible for a special two-year work permit, which allows them to start working for their FCIP-designated employer while their PR application is still being processed.
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