Understanding the basics of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) exist in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories (excluding Quebec and Nunavut) as a tool for each individual region to nominate immigration candidates who are interested in settling in a particular area within Canada.

Designed to disperse the benefits of immigration throughout Canada—especially because Canadian immigration has historically been disproportionate to Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec—there are currently over 80 country-wide PNP streams available for prospective Canadian immigrants.

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The following is an overview of each province and territory’s specific PNP.

Note: Many streams have unique and varying fees, application criteria/requirements — including whether the PNP stream requires candidates to have an existing job offer — and steps involved with the application process.

Hyperlinks found below for each province/territory’s specific stream as well as links to each stream within a province will provide precise details beyond the following overviews.

Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP)

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) provides eight different streams for both workers and entrepreneurs who are interested in calling Canada’s most populated “prairie province” their new home.

These streams are:

For workers: Alberta Opportunity Stream, Alberta General Express Entry Stream, Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway, and Rural Renewal Stream
For entrepreneurs: Farm Stream, Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, and Rural Entrepreneur Stream

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) provides three general streams for prospective newcomers to Canada that would love to reside in one of Canada’s most picturesque provinces.

These streams, which provide different immigration pathways for several groups, are as follows:

Skills Immigration Stream: Divided into individual categories for Skilled Workers, Healthcare Professionals, International Graduates, International Post-Graduates and Entry-Level/Semi-Skilled Workers
Express Entry British Columbia Stream: Divided into individual categories for Skilled Workers, Healthcare Professionals, International Graduates, and International Post-Graduates only
Entrepreneur Immigration: Divided into a Base Category, a Regional Pilot category, and a Strategic Projects category

Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)

Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) can be used by people interested in coming to the country’s central-most province through the following five PNP pathways:

Skilled Worker in Manitoba Stream: Includes a Manitoba Work Experience Pathway and an Employer Direct Recruitment Pathway
Skilled Worker Overseas Stream: Includes a Manitoba Express Entry Pathway and a Human Capital Pathway
Manitoba Business Investor Stream: Includes a Farm Investor Pathway and an Entrepreneur Pathway
International Education Stream: Includes a Career Employment Pathway, a Graduate Internship Pathway, and an International Student Entrepreneur Pathway
Morden Community Driven Initiative: For the addition of workers in certain roles (welders, carpenters, cooks, plumbers, and pipe fitters) specifically to the town of Morden, Manitoba

New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)

For anyone seeking to immigrate to Canada and live in the country’s largest Maritimes province, the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) offers five different routes through which someone can explore this possibility.

These streams are:

Express Entry Stream: For candidates identified as most likely to help meet specific New Brunswick needs/goals demographically and with respect to the labour market

Note: This stream, as of the time of writing, has suspended the receipt of applications until further notice (as of May 20, 2022)

Skilled Workers Stream: For candidates with an existing full-time, permanent job offer
Business Immigration Stream: who plan to own and actively manage a business
Strategic initiative Stream: for Francophone workers who desire to reside and work in New Brunswick permanently and have the skills, education, and work experience to contribute to the province
Atlantic Immigration Program: To address generalized Atlantic Canada labour shortages in New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP)

Five different possible streams exist for a prospective immigrant to Canada who is interested in making the country’s easternmost province their home.

The different streams in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) are as follows:

Newfoundland and Labrador Express Entry Skilled Worker: For skilled workers with an existing job offer and an Express Entry profile through IRCC
Skilled Worker Category: For skilled workers with a job offer, including candidates who are already in the province with a valid work permit
International Graduate Category: For recent graduates who have obtained both a post-graduate work permit and a job offer
International Entrepreneur Category: For candidates who have been operating their business for one year on a Temporary Work Permit and want to start, co-manage, or purchase a business
International Graduate Entrepreneur Category: For graduates of a provincial post-secondary institution who seek to establish, co-own or run a business
Atlantic Immigration Pilot: A federal fast-track immigration program used to hire foreign nationals for jobs that can't be filled locally

Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP)

Nova Scotia is a province known as “Canada’s Ocean Playground” for its 13,000 kilometres of coastline.

For anyone that sees the appeal in moving to this quaint and serene province, Canada’s second smallest, here are the nine different streams available through the Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Program (NSNP):

Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry
Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities
Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities for Physicians
Skilled Worker Stream
Occupation In-Demand Stream
International Graduates In-Demand Stream
Entrepreneur Stream
International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
Physician Stream

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

Canada’s most populated province, and its most popular historically for immigration, is Ontario. Ontario has four different categories within the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) for eligible Canadian newcomers to explore.

These categories are:

Human Capital Category: This category is the overarching name for a group of programs that breaks down as follows: Human Capital Priorities, which includes the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC); Skilled Trades for candidates with experience in eligible trades professions; and French-Speaking Skilled Worker, which operates the same programs (FSWP and CEC) as Human Capital Priorities, but applicants will be required to have strong bilingual skills in English and French
Masters or Ph.D. Category: Includes, as the category name suggests, one stream for Masters Graduates and one stream for Ph.D. Graduates
Employer Job Offer Category: Includes three distinct programs — the Foreign Worker Stream, a program for International Students and an In-Demand Skills Stream
Business Category: Includes the Entrepreneur Stream

Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP)

Canada’s smallest province gives prospective newcomers to Canada three different ways to come and settle in the country’s potato-famous region through Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP).

These options are:

PEI PNP Express Entry: For candidates with a valid Express Entry profile
Labour Impact Category: Includes a Skilled Worker Stream, a Critical Worker Stream, and an International Graduate Stream
Business Impact Category: For candidates who desire to invest in a local PEI business

Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)

Saskatchewan’s Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) provides prospective newcomers to Canada with four different streams through which they can immigrate to Saskatchewan.

These streams are:

International Skilled Worker Category: Includes a Tech Talent Pathway, an Employment Offer Pathway, an Occupations In Demand pathway and a route for Saskatchewan Express Entry
Saskatchewan Experience Category: Includes six pathways — for Skilled Workers with a Work Permit, Semi-skilled Agriculture Workers with an Existing Work Permit, Health Professionals, Hospitality Sector Projects, Long Haul Truck Driver Projects and Students
Entrepreneur and Farm Category: Includes an Entrepreneur sub-category and a sub-category for Farm Owners and Operators
International Graduate Entrepreneur Category: For international graduates of eligible Saskatchewan post-secondary institutions interested in starting a business

Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP)

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) contains two distinct programs that give interested Canadian newcomers a total of four streams through which they can explore settling in this region—home to two of North America’s largest freshwater lakes and the largest national park in the country.

These streams are:

Under the Northwest Territories Employer Driven Program:

Express Entry System for Skilled Workers
Skilled Worker: For candidates that have received an offer of employment in a skilled position and have already worked in that position for at least six months
Entry Level/Semi-Skilled Occupations: For candidates that have already worked in an entry-level position for at least 6 months and the territory deems capable of helping fill entry-level employment shortages

Under the Business Immigration Program:

Business Stream: For candidates who demonstrate the ability to start, acquire, or invest in an existing Northwest Territories business

Yukon Nominee Program (YNP)

Yukon’s version of the PNP is called the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP), and it has five streams through which Canadian newcomers can settle in the territory.

These streams are:

Yukon Express Entry: For candidates with existing full-time and permanent employment offers
Skilled Worker: For candidates sponsored by a local employer for Canadian permanent residence
Critical Impact Worker: For semi-skilled or unskilled candidates sponsored by an employer in a high-demand occupation
Yukon Business Nominee Program: For candidates with proven business experience wishing to start a new business, partner with an existing business or purchase and operate an existing business
Yukon Community Pilot: For already-nominated candidates, allowing them to work for multiple employers simultaneously

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