In the recent weekly provincial draw, Canada’s four provinces invited candidates. The nominating provinces include British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec. Among these, three provinces, British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba, have sent invitations under their regional PNP draws, whereas Quebec has sent invitations under its regional immigration program.

What are provincial immigration programs in Canada?

In Canada, the government of eleven out of thirteen provinces and territories uses Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) to admit eligible candidates. The governments of Quebec and Nunavut do not have PNP; they use separate provincial immigration programs to select immigration candidates. Provinces select candidates who are able to best fit the regional demographic and market needs. 

Once a candidate obtains an invitation or Expression of Interest (EOI) from a province/territory, interested candidates can proceed in two manners to settle in the nominating province:

  • They can directly apply to a PNP program or
  • The provincial government can approach them via the Express Entry pool.

Candidates with a PNP nomination can further improve their candidature for economic immigration via Express Entry. This is possible as the nominees get an additional 600 CRS points added to their score on the Express Entry application.

These candidates, when ranked with other candidates, have a higher likelihood of receiving an invitation for economic immigration.

Provincial Immigration Draw Results: Canada’s Four Provinces Invited Candidates

The recent weekly provincial immigration draws occurred between February 3 and 9, where four Canadian provinces invited eligible candidates. Determine the complete draw result below.

British Columbia

The province of British Columbia conducted the BC PNP draw to invite potential candidates. The province targeted International Graduates and Skilled Workers in these draws.

On February 6, BC held a draw that targeted candidates skilled in four occupations. The following includes the total invitations sent, the targeted occupation, and the needed CRS score. 

  • 46 invitations to candidates skilled in childcare with a 60 CRS score.
  • 26 invitations to candidates skilled in construction with a 75 CRS score.
  • 39 invitations to candidates skilled in healthcare with a 60 CRS score.
  • Less than five invitations to candidates skilled in veterinary care with a 60 CRS score.

In addition to this draw, on February 6, BC also sent a total of 102 invitations in a general draw. In this draw, the invitations were sent to candidates in the following five streams:

  • Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
  • Skilled Worker
  • Skilled Worker – EEBC option
  • International Graduate
  • International Graduate – EEBC option

For candidates in all streams except for “Entry Level and Semi-Skilled,” the needed CRS score was 122. The CRS score for “Entry Level and Semi-Skilled” stream candidates was 97.

Ontario

On February 6, Ontario also held a draw under its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). The province sent 2,086 Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to candidates in Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream.

In this draw, candidates in healthcare occupations who had a CRS score ranging between 379 and 430 received invitations.

Ontario held three more draws on February 8 under the OINP. One draw targeted the Human Capital Priorities stream, and the two draws considered candidates Employer Job Offer: International Student stream.

The following draw includes the total invitations sent, the targeted occupation, and the needed CRS score. 

  • Human Capital Priorities draw: The province sent 2,118 invitations to candidates skilled in tech occupations. The CRS score ranged between 471 and 480
  • Employer Job Offer – International Student draw. The province sent 1,182 invitations to candidates with a CRS score of 78 or above. It was a general draw, meaning no occupations were considered. 
  • Employer Job Offer – International Student draw: The province sent 1,252 invitations to candidates with a CRS score of 73 or above. It was a targeted draw targeting tech and healthcare occupations.

Note that the Ontario Government has declared the suspension of the receipt of “applications to the [OINP’s] Entrepreneur Stream.” 

The government declared this suspension this week, although the suspension was in place on December 4 last year.

On February 5, the government noted that Ontario isn’t currently accepting new applications or expressions of interest. Also, it has suggested using the email “[email protected]” to contact to get further details on this. 

Manitoba

Manitoba was among Canada’s Four Provinces that Invited Candidates in recent provincial draws. It released the results of its three PNP draw on February 8, in which it sent 282 invitations to candidates. 

The province targeted three separate streams, including the Skilled Worker in Manitoba Stream, the International Education Stream, and the Skilled Worker Overseas Stream.

The province sent 151 Letters of Advice to Apply to candidates under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba Stream of MPNP.

To be eligible, candidates must demonstrate a close relationship with Manitoba. The minimum required score for this draw was 619.

In the second draw, the province targeted the International Education Stream and sent 83 Letters of Advice to Apply to potential candidates.

Finally, in the third draw, Ontario sent 48 Letters of Advice to Apply to eligible candidates. The province targeted the MPNP’s Skilled Worker Overseas stream. To be eligible for this draw, candidates needed a minimum score of 713.

Quebec

Quebec is the province in Canada that does not employ PNP to invite candidates. This is because it has signed a unique agreement with the IRCC that gives it control over its immigration policies and procedures.

Instead, it uses its unique provincial immigration program to invite immigration candidates to the region. 

The province of Quebec has recently released the results of a draw it held on January 24. In that draw, it sent invitations to two separate candidate groups based on eligibility.

Overall, a total of 1,007 candidates received invitations to apply for permanent selection.

In the first group, candidates needed to have a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal. This implies that the province did not consider any occupation or attribute to sending an invitation.

The province of Quebec targeted specific occupations to invite candidates from the second group. The minimum required score for this group was 615. In addition to this, they must meet the following eligibility criteria;

  • They must have a level 7 or higher oral proficiency in French Language. This must be per the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (Québec scale of French proficiency levels for adult immigrants) or its equivalent.
  • They also need to have a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

Candidates who obtain an invitation from the Quebec government can apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate. After that, they can submit a permanent residence application to IRCC.