British Columbia immigration selects workers in construction, health care, and child care

On Oct. 8, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) invited no fewer than 284 candidates working in care-related occupations and construction trades to apply for provincial nomination.

British Columbia's care-related selections encompassed workers in health care, child care, and veterinary care occupations.

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Candidates invited through the BCPNP can submit an application for provincial nomination within 30 days. If their application is successful, they become a provincial nominee and can apply to the federal government for Canadian permanent residence (PR).

In-Canada nominees who have applied for PR may also qualify for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP).

Since June 9, 2026, a temporary measure has allowed base PNP nominees to apply for BOWPs months earlier by removing the requirement to first receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) for their PR application.

Draw details

Occupational category	Number of NOCs targeted	Invitations issued	Minimum score	Core objective
Healthcare	31	82	76	Care
Construction trades	9	115	94	Build
Veterinary care	2	<5	86	Care
Childcare	1	86	99	Care

Targeted health care occupations

Occupation	NOC
Audiologists and speech-language pathologists	31112
cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists	32123
Chiropractors	31201
Dental hygienists and dental therapists	32111
Dental technologists and technicians	32112
Dentists	31110
Dietitians and nutritionists	31121
General practitioners and family physicians	31102
Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy	31204
Licensed practical nurses	32101
Managers in health care	30010
Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations	33101
Medical laboratory technologists	32120
Medical radiation technologists	32121
Medical sonographers	32122
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates*	33102
Nurse practitioners	31302
Nursing coordinators and supervisors	31300
Occupational therapists	31203
Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating	31209
Paramedical occupations	32102
Pharmacists	31120
Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals	31303
Physiotherapists	31202
Psychologists	31200
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses	31301
Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists	32103
Social workers	41300
Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine	31100
Specialists in surgery	31101
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists	32200

* Those with job offers under NOC 33102 had to be registered with the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry to be considered for a targeted health care invitation.

Targeted construction trades occupation

To have been eligible for a targeted invitation in the construction trades category, candidates needed either a valid SkilledTradesBC trade certificate or a registered apprenticeship with SkilledTradesBC relevant to their job offer.

Occupation	NOC
Carpenters	72310
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics	72400
Electricians (except industrial and power system)	72200
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics	72402
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics	72401
Industrial electricians	72201
Plumbers	72300
Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers	72301
Welders and related machine operators	72106

Targeted veterinary care occupations

The province's veterinary care selection criteria encompassed both priority occupations in the sector, alongside a separate criterion specifically targeting animal health technologists and veterinary technicians who held a valid professional designation.

Occupation	NOC
Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians	32104
Veterinarians	31103

Targeted child care occupations

To have been considered, candidates were required to have a one-year or five-year ECE Certificate issued by the ECE Registry.

Occupation	NOC
Early childhood educators	42202

This Oct. 8 round marked British Columbia’s seventh occupation-specific draw of 2026, targeting priority occupations across the identified provincial priories of Care, Build, and Innovate.

All other Skills Immigration (SI) rounds in 2026 targeted candidates based on registration scores, wages or salaries, and/or job offers.

As of Oct. 8, British Columbia had issued no fewer than 6,301 invitations under its SI category, alongside at least 120 invitations through its Entrepreneur Immigration category.

With this latest draw, British Columbia has conducted a total of 26 selection rounds over the course of 2026, 16 of which have targeted skilled workers.

Makeup of the Skills Immigration registration pool

Foreign nationals must first create an Expression of Interest profile ("registration") to be considered for the BCPNP’s SI category.

Registrants are assigned scores based on the information in their profiles and are entered into the applicable registration pool(s).

Through periodic draws, British Columbia invites registrants who rank highly and meet the specific criteria established for each round to apply for nomination.

As of Oct. 6, the most recent date for which figures are available, the pool contained 7,695 registrations:

Score range	Number of registrations
0 - 59	216
60 - 69	364
70 - 79	718
80 - 89	1,281
90 - 99	1,444
100 - 109	1,426
110 - 119	1,189
120 - 129	854
130 - 139	171
140 - 149	23
150+	9
Total	7,695

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