British Columbia issued more invitations to apply (ITAs) this week to candidates under two skills immigration pathways under its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) also announced they will end their commitment to the policy facilitating open work permits to some MPNP candidates in the coming days.
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British Columbia
On December 10 the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) held two draws for candidates.
The first was a general draw, under the Skilled Worker (including Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option*), and the Entry Level & Semi-Skilled streams.
*“EEBC option” denotes that the Skilled Worker stream is connected to Canada’s federal Express Entry system and can consider eligible candidates within the Express Entry pool when issuing ITAs. PNP streams aligned with Express Entry are known as enhanced streams.
This draw issued six ITAs in total, with differing minimum scores for each stream:
| Stream | Minimum score | Number of ITAs issued |
| Skilled Worker | 148 | 6 |
| Skilled Worker EEBC option | 148 | |
| Entry Level & Semi-Skilled | 121 |
The second draw occurred under the Skilled Worker stream (including EEBC option) and invited candidates based on their professional experience within priority sectors of the British Columbian economy.
This draw issued at least four ITAs in total, with differing cut-off scores based on the sectors that candidates worked in:
| Stream | Draw type | Minimum score | Number of ITAs issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker (including EEBC option) stream | Childcare | 101 | <5 |
| Construction | 112 | <5 | |
| Healthcare | 121 | <5 | |
| Veterinary care | 80 | <5 |
Manitoba
The MPNP announced on December 6 that it will soon cease accepting applications under the “Temporary public policy for work permits aimed at prospective PNP candidates”.
This temporary public policy was initially instituted in August of 2024, and allows provincial immigration authorities to issue support letters to PNP candidates currently in an Express of Interest (EOI) pool, or application inventory process in a province’s PNP. Candidates could then use this support letter (provided they met all other eligibility factors) to apply to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for an open work permit (OWP).
The MPNP will continue to accept applications under this policy until 11:59 PM CST on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 (12:59 AM EST on Thursday December 19). After this date, the online submission form will close, and no new applications for support letters will be accepted.
Individuals who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for a support letter from Manitoba by completing the online submission form before December 19, 2024.
IRCC will continue to accept applications for OWPs under this policy until December 31, 2024.
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