Four provinces have recently issued invitations to apply under provincial-led programs that can lead to Canadian permanent residence.
Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP programs
British Columbia
On October 22, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) issued about 125 invitations for category-based draws under the Skilled Worker and International Graduate Streams:
| Draw Type | Number of Invitations | Minimum Score |
| Childcare | 41 | 83 |
| Construction | 10 | 89 |
| Healthcare | 11 | 99 |
| Tech | 60 | 117 |
| Veterinary Care | <5 | 80 |
All draws were category-based draws for workers in specific occupations. Candidates required BC job offers to be eligible.
The minimum scores differed for each category.
Manitoba
Manitoba conducted its 231st expression of interest draw for its PNP on October 24. The province issued a total of 253 Letters of Advice to Apply:
| Stream | Letters of Advice Issued | Minimum Score |
| Skilled Worker in Manitoba | 50 | 872 |
| International Education | 156 | N/A |
| Skilled Worker Overseas | 47 | 703 |
The base PNP accounted for 210 of these invitations, and the enhanced PNP for 43.
Candidates in the Skilled Worker Overseas stream needed to be invited under a strategic recruitment imitative to have been considered.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI) issued 48 invitations on September 20. In this PEI PNP draw, the minimum points threshold for Business invitations was 97.
The province issued invitations to the following types of candidates:
- Healthcare sector candidates;
- Construction sector candidates;
- Trucking and Transportation candidates with work permits expiring this year; and
- International Graduate stream candidates with work permits expiring this year.
Only 2 Business invitations were issued; the other 46 invitations went to Labour and Express Entry candidates.
Quebec
Quebec issued 1650 invitations on September 19 to candidates under the Regular Skilled Worker Program.
To be invited, candidates required an oral French proficiency of 7 in the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (NCLC). Candidates also required one of the following:
- A minimum score of 573; or
- A valid job offer outside the region of Montreal.
Quebec normally publishes information about its issued invitations retroactively.
About the Provincial Nominee Programs
The invitations issued by British Columbia, Manitoba, and PEI fall under the umbrella of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
The PNP is a program jointly administered by Canada’s federal government and the provinces, as well as the territories of Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Under the PNP, provinces have the ability to nominate foreign nationals for permanent residence.
The Canadian federal government provides the provinces with allocations for certain numbers of nominations, while the provinces determine how people are nominated and who is nominated.
Each province has a variety of PNP streams, each of which has its own eligibility criteria and consideration process set by the province.
Generally, after a foreign national has received a provincial nomination, they can expect to receive an invitation from IRCC to apply to the federal government to obtain permanent residence.
Base PNPs versus Enhanced PNPs
There are two kinds of PNPs: base and enhanced.
In the case of base PNPs, foreign nationals apply to the province, and if successful, receive a provincial nomination, which they can expect to be followed by an invitation to apply from IRCC.
Enhanced PNPs, on the other hand, integrate with the Express Entry system. To be considered for an enhanced PNP program, a foreign national must be Express Entry candidate with a valid profile.
If a candidate for an enhanced PNP receives a provincial nomination, they will obtain the maximum of 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points on their Express Entry profile.
If IRCC conducts a draw for which this candidate is eligible, they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from IRCC through the Express Entry system.
Permanent residence applications in response to ITAs issued through enhanced PNPs are generally processed more quickly than applications in response to ITAs from base PNPs.
In recent times, processing times for applications to IRCC under enhanced PNPs have been around 6 months, while those for applications under base PNPs have been around 12 months.
About Quebec’s immigration program
Quebec’s invitations work differently, in that Quebec controls its own targets for immigration levels. Quebec’s immigration ministry, Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration, does not need to receive an allocation from IRCC.
Foreign nationals who wish to immigrate to Quebec must apply to one of Quebec’s immigration programs. If successful, a candidate will receive a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) from the Quebec immigration ministry, which they will use to apply to IRCC for permanent residence.
