In 2024, Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program underwent significant changes. PNPs are immigration pathways allowing provincial and territorial governments to select applicants that address labor market needs. In 2024, various provinces introduced updates or launched new streams within their Provincial Nominee Programs. This blog offers a review of the Provincial Nominee Program of the year 2024 by province. 

So, let us begin!

Province Program Summary Of Key Changes 
Alberta PNP stream for Tourism and Hospitality New stream declared
Law Enforcement Pathway New stream declared 
Alberta Opportunity Stream Paused between February and June
All Worker Streams New expression of interest system for all AAIP worker streams
British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Program Became permanent
New International Graduate PNP StreamsThree new streams to be declared in January 2025
Manitoba West Central Immigration Initiative PilotNew pilot program launched 
New Brunswick Express Entry Stream Skilled Worker Stream Allocations for 2024 were reached early for multiple programs 
Northwest Territories Northwest Territory Nominee Program Exceed its cap of 300 in July
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Nominee Program Pause on accepting applications from workers in the food and accommodation sector
Ontario Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Employer Job Offer: International StreamProgram started accepting applicants from any one-year Ontario College Graduate Certificate program
Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills StreamExpanded to include more jobs
Ontario Immigrant Nominee ProgramNew princess for those requesting internal review, has to be done via OINP e-portal
Saskatchewan The Agriculture Talent StreamNew stream declared
The Health Talent StreamNew stream declared
Yukon Yukon Nominee Program Move to an intake-based approach for applications, starting January 2025

Alberta 

  • New Tourism and Hospitality Stream

In February, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program introduced a new PNP stream for tourism and hospitality. Application targets for this new stream were met on June 12.

  • New Law Enforcement Pathway 

On June 25, 2024, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program declared a new Express Entry-aligned immigration pathway for those working in law enforcement. The law enforcement pathway allocated 50 nominations for PNP applicants in 2024.

  • Pause On Applications For Alberta Opportunity Stream 

In February, the province paused accepting applications for the Alberta Opportunity Stream so it could implement new guidelines to meet high demand. This resumed in June. 

  • New Expression Of Interest System 

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program also launched a new expression of interest system on System 30, 2024. The new system requires applicants interested in applying to one of the AAIP worker streams to submit a Worker Express of Interest. Applicants are further ranked according to the Worker EOI points grid, similar to Canada’s Comprehensive Ranking System. 

Prior to the implementation of this system, some streams assessed applicants in the order in which their applications were received. 

British Columbia 

In the 2024 review of the Provincial Nominee Program, the next province that we will be discussing is British Columbia. 

  • Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Program Becomes Permanent 

In June 2024, British Columbia made the Entrepreneur Regional Pilot program a permanent fixture of their Provincial Nominee Program. The program, now renamed as the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Stream, gives eligible newcomers looking to start businesses within the province a pathway to permanent residency. 

  • New Streams For International Students 

The province also declared that three streams will be open to eligible recent graduates from Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate programs in British Columbia in 2025. To prepare for the new streams, the last batch of ITAs for the International Graduate stream was issued on November 26, 2024. 

Manitoba 

  • West CentralInternational Initiative Pilot 

On Friday, November 15, the Manitoba government declared a three-year pilot to address labor market shortages in the rural west-central region. 

The West Central Immigration Initiative Pilot will see the province collaborate with seven rural municipalities and Gambler First Nation. 

The West-Central Immigration Initiative partners are: 

  • Municipality of Russell-Binscarth
  • Rural Municipality of Yellowhead
  • Municipality of Roblin
  • Rural Municipality of Ellice-Archie
  • Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West
  • Rossburn Municipality
  • Prairie View Municipality
  • Gambler First Nation

New Brunswick 

The next province to discuss under the 2024 review of the Provincial Nominee Program is New Brunswick. 

  • Express Entry Stream 

On August 16, 2024, New Brunswick declared a pause in issuing new ITAs under the Express Entry stream for the remainder of the year, having reached its full allocation for 2024. 

  • Skilled Worker Stream 

On August 29, 2024, the province paused issuing new ITAs under the Skilled Worker Stream for the rest of the year, as its allocation for 2024 had been reached. 

As of November 15, the province also temporarily suspended the following pathways as allocations had been met:

  • The New Brunswick Atlantic Immigration Program 
  • The New Brunswick Private Career College Graduate Pilot
  • The Exploratory Visit Connection Under New Brunswick Strategic Initiative 

Nova Scotia 

  • Nova Scotia Nominee Program Food  Accommodation Sector

In April, the province declared that it would be putting a temporary pause on applications from workers in the food and accommodation sector who are seeking immigration through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program due to high demand. 

Northwest Territories 

  • Northwest Territory Nominee Program 

On July 22, Northwest Territories declared that it had exceeded its cap of 300 nominations for the Northwest Territory Nominee Program, allocated by IRCC. 

The 300 nominations were specifically for the Employer-Driven Stream and Francophone Stream. NWT continued to accept applications for the Business Stream. 

Reaching the cap early highlighted a growing interest in Canada’s north. For context, in 2023, the territory issued 139 nominations, 100 in 2022, and just 6 in 2021. 

Ontario 

  • Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Employer Job Offer: International Stream 

On January 1, 2024, Ontario expanded the eligibility requirements for its OINP Employer Job Offer: International Stream. With this change, the program began accepting applicants from any one-year Ontario College Graduate Certificate program. Prior to this, only those with a one-year credential that required a prior degree were eligible. 

  • OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills 

In July, the province expanded the OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream to include more jobs. The Ministry of Labor, Immigration, Training, and Skilled Development declared the addition of 35 National Occupation Classification codes to the list of eligible jobs. This gave more workers the chance to obtain Expressions of Interest (EOI) under this stream. 

  • OINP New Internal Review Process 

On August 26, the province declared a new process for those requesting Internal Review. Applicants now have to submit a request using the OINP e-filling portal. Requests by email, mail, fax, or in person are no longer accepted. 

  • Entrepreneur Immigration Stream Closed 

On November 4, OINP formally closed its Entrepreneur Immigration Stream following a pause in application intake since December of 2023. 

  • Full Allocation Limit For The Year Reached 

The province reached its full provincial nomination allocation for 2024 by December 23. Ontario issued 21,500 nominations in 2024. New applications were accepted and considered under its 2025 allocation. 

  • Crackdown On Fraudulent Immigration Representatives 

In November, the Ontario government declared a plan to introduce legislation to crack down on fraudulent immigration representatives who exploit newcomers in the future.  

Saskatchewan 

The next province to discuss under the 2024 review of the Provincial Nominee Program is Saskatchewan. 

  • New PNP Pathways 

On August 30, the Government of Saskatchewan declared two new Provincial Nominee Program pathways under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program for newcomers. 

These are: 

  • The Agriculture Talent Stream
  • The Health Talent Stream 

Yukon 

  • New Intake Application Process For Yukon Nominee Program 

In December of 2024, the government of Yukon announced its plans to move to an intake-based approach for applications to the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP).

YNP will accept a fixed number of applications with each intake, and once its cap has been reached, it will cease to accept applications. It will open for its first intake on January 29, 2025.

Prior to this, the YNP did not set intake periods or caps and would accept applications for nomination throughout the year.

Immigration Levels Plan Declares Scaling Back Of PNP Admissions In Coming Years

Announced in October, this year’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27 has cut targets for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) admissions by 50% in the coming years.

For 2025, the government allocated just 55,000 spots for PNP admissions. This is a huge drop from the targets in 2023, which was 110,000 for 2024, and 120,000 for 2025.

This reduction in PNP targets represents a significant shift in immigration policy on the part of the federal government.

It also means that those who planned on pursuing provincial nominations as a pathway to PR may find the PNP streams more competitive.

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].