Five provinces – British Columbia (BC), Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island (PEI) – have invited candidates for provincial immigration this week.Every Canadian province and territory, except Nunavut and Quebec, selects economic immigration candidates through regional immigration programs called Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). These programs are designed to help each participating province and territory welcome the skilled immigrants that each local government believes can best help address local labour market needs and demographic challenges.
Note: The reason Quebec does not operate a PNP is because of its government’s agreement with the federal government to maintain authority over its own economic immigration.
Provincial immigration results from April 27 to May 3
British Columbia
British Columbia conducted two provincial immigration draws on April 30, 2024.
In one British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) draw, the BC government issued 47 invitations in a general draw. This draw, keeping to form with all other general BCPNP draws this year, considered candidates from each of the following five streams:
- Skilled Worker
- Skilled Worker – Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option
- International Graduate
- International Graduate – EEBC option
- Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
All but one of these streams, the exception being the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled candidate group (minimum score of 107), required candidates to have a minimum score of 131 in order to receive an invitation.
Beyond the general draw, BC also issued invitations in four additional draws, all of which considered candidates from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate streams (including EEBC option). Specifically, candidates from the following four occupational categories received invitations. The exact numbers broke down as follows:
- Nine invitations were issued to candidates in childcare occupations (minimum score of 91)
- Nine invitations were issued to candidates in construction occupations (minimum score of 93)
- Nine invitations were issued to candidates in healthcare occupations (minimum score of 100)
- Less than five invitations were issued to candidates in veterinary care occupations (minimum score of 80)
Quebec
Quebec, as one of two provinces that post their provincial immigration draw results retroactively, has just recently published the results of two separate draws.
The first of these two draws occurred on April 11, 2024. This draw saw the province invite 1,036 people receive invitations to apply for permanent selection.
Note: Immigration in Quebec is handled by the Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI). This round of invitations was drawn from Quebec’s Arrima bank on April 8, 2024.
Candidates were required to meet both of the following criteria in order to receive an invitation during this draw:
- A level 7 or higher oral proficiency in French, as assessed by Québec’s French proficiency level scale for adult immigrants or its equivalent. This scale is called the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français
- Possess a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal
In addition, invitations issued during this draw were given to candidates with an occupation that appeared in one of two grouped lists of National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes. More details on the specific NOCs that received invitations is available through the Government of Quebec’s website here.
Note: Candidates with an NOC in the first group of occupations required a minimum score of 536 while those with an NOC in occupation group two required a minimum score of 606.
April 25 draw
On April 25, Quebec invited another 1,415 candidates to apply for permanent selection. This round of invitations was drawn from the Arrima bank on April 22, 2024.
To receive an invitation during this draw, candidates were required to meet the following three criteria:
- A level 7 or higher oral proficiency in French, as assessed by the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français
- Hold a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal
- A minimum score of 598 points
Next Steps: Candidates who received an invitation from the Government of Quebec can now apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate. Immigration candidates are required to obtain this certificate before they apply for permanent residence with IRCC if they intending to settle in Quebec.
Alberta
Alberta, aside from Quebec, is the other province that posts its provincial immigration draw results retroactively.
This week, Alberta’s PNP – the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) – has released the results of a draw that the province conducted on April 17, 2024.
During this draw, the AAIP issued 49 Notification of Interest (NOI) letters to candidates who were eligible for its “dedicated healthcare pathway with Alberta job offer” category. These candidates were all required to have a minimum CRS score of 302.
Manitoba
On April 30, Manitoba posted new results for a recent PNP draw. This particular draw was dedicated to welcoming immigration candidates in accordance with the provincial government’s special immigration measure for Ukraine.
During this draw, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) issued 451 Letters of Advice to Apply to eligible candidates under this special immigration measure.
Manitoba then invited candidates from three streams in another draw on May 2.
First in an occupation-specific selection from the Skilled Worker in Manitoba stream, the MPNP issued 488 Letters of Advice to Apply.
These letters were issued to the following eligible candidates:
Those with the following NOC 2021 occupations:
- 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 60020 – Retail and wholesale trade managers
Those with occupations under the following NOC 2021 sub-major group:
- 731 – General construction trades
Those with occupations under the following three NOC 2021 major groups:
- 12 – Administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupations
- 14 – Administrative and financial support and supply chain logistics occupation
- 22 – Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences
In addition to the above, the MPNP issued 66 letters to candidates eligible for the province’s International Education stream. No minimum score requirement was indicated for these candidates.
Finally, the PNP issued letters to 26 candidates through the Skilled Worker Overseas stream. These candidates required a minimum score of 796 to be considered.
Note: 181 of the total 941 letters issued on May 2 were given to candidates who declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code.
Prince Edward Island
On May 2, the PEI Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) issued six invitations to candidates working in two employment sectors: healthcare and construction.
