Three Canadian provinces have issued invitations for candidates to apply for provincial immigration programs.
Ontario and British Columbia have done so through their respective Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). PNPs were introduced in 1998 to help spread the benefits of immigration throughout parts of Canada that historically did not attract many newcomers.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shares responsibility for immigration with Canada’s provincial governments. Through the PNP, IRCC allocates a specific number of nominations to each participating province and territory and provinces then select the economic immigration candidates who are the most likely to successfully integrate into Canada’s economy.
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Being nominated by a province does not grant the candidate permanent resident status. Nomination means a candidate has a much stronger application when they submit their final permanent residency application to IRCC. In fact, Express Entry candidates who also receive a provincial nomination benefit from an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, making it almost guaranteed they will receive an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw.
Quebec does not have a PNP because it has a separate agreement with the federal government that grants it autonomy over the selection of all its economic immigration candidates. It also sets its own levels plan for the number of newcomers it plans to admit each year.
Ontario
On September 17, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issued invitations to candidates in the Master’s Graduate and PhD Graduates streams.
Of these, 1,249 invitations were issued to Master’s Graduate candidates with a score of 53 or higher and 194 went to PhD Graduate candidates with a score of 45 or higher.
The province held another draw on September 19 for those in the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream of the OINP. It was a targeted draw for 1,424 candidates in “other priority occupations.”
They needed a CRS score in the range of 505-528 to be considered.
British Columbia
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) also held draws on September 17, inviting more than 163 candidates.
The largest draw was general and selected candidates from the Skilled Worker, International Graduate and Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled streams of the BC PNP. Skilled Worker and International Graduate candidates (both streams including those eligible for Express Entry BC) required a minimum score of 128.
Those in the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker stream needed a score of at least 110 to be considered.
Another three draws for Skilled Workers and International Graduates targeted for candidates in specific occupations:
43 candidates in childcare occupations with a score of at least 83
29 candidates in construction occupations with a score of at least 89
29 candidates in healthcare occupations with a score of at least 99
Quebec
Quebec has published the results of a provincial selection draw for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program that happened on September 5. Quebec generally posts selection draw results retroactively.
The province invited 1,417 people to apply for permanent selection. They required a minimum score of 575 points.
Additionally, all candidates were required to demonstrate a level 7 oral proficiency (or higher) in French according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français(Québec’s scale of French proficiency levels for adult immigrants) or its equivalent.
Candidates may also have been considered if they had a job offer outside of the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.
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