The New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot Program (NBCWP) was initiated in November 2022. Since its inception, it has gained much popularity among skilled immigrants looking for ways to enter Canada.

The NBCWP program is a collaboration between the Federal government and the provincial government of New Brunswick to entice immigrants to fulfill the labor shortage in the province.

The program falls under the employer-driven stream of NB PNP, the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program. It has employers who are present across the province and represent a variety of businesses and sectors.

• J.D. Irving Ltd.;
• Cooke Aquaculture Inc.;
• Imperial Manufacturing;
• McCain Foods;
• Groupe Savoie Inc.; and
• Groupe Westco.

At the launch of this program, the government of New Brunswick announced that the employers for this program were chosen as they already had a record of remarkable immigrant recruitment practices and essential settlement programs in action.

The NBCWP program will remain active for five years with periodic assessments.

What is the difference between NBCWP and other programs?

Although the NBCWP program aims for economic immigrants via the NB PNP, the program is significantly different from others. The qualified applicants of the NBCWP program will get additional settlement assistance from the government. The part-taking employers are required to verify that they can provide the following to guarantee that the candidates can get the assistance.

• Employers must provide a strong settlement strategy for housing and conveyance for candidates, help them in their successful establishment in their work and societies, and make a solid commitment to candidates’ long-term retention.
• Employers must provide a complete human resources strategy for recruiting & hiring skilled immigrants and for on-the-job skills enhancement;
• Employers must provide up to 200 hours of language training to candidates as needed; and
• Employers must provide direction and assistance to candidates seeking Canadian secondary education equivalency.

Who can apply for the NBCWP program?

Applicants who are seeking the NBCWP program for nomination need a valid job offer letter from a qualified employer. Also, they must express their purpose of immigrating to the province.

Additionally, the job letter must mention a comparable wage to the wage rates of the occupation of New Brunswick.

As per the government, the mentioned occupation wage on the job letter must be equivalent to the following:

• The rate paid to the workers with the same degree of experience and training for equal jobs in the province; and
• The employer’s wage payment system

The applicants for the NBCWP program can directly apply for one of the program employers instead of applying to the Provincial government.

What is the size of the NBCWP program?

The NBCWP program has received up to 10% allocation of the total Provincial Nominee Program of New Brunswick.

According to Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB), the program has received success from its beginning, and it is expected that in 2023, the total number of nominees can reach up to 300, and their families might receive support through this program.

ONB further mentions that the government is observing the program’s results closely as the NBCWP program is new, and deciding any indicative number for the program at this stage is too early.

Currently, it is unclear whether the program will expand further and include more employers.

According to ONB, the scope of the pilot program is limited; therefore, at present, it is restricted to more expansive participation.

ONB added that while everyone is exploring the Critical Worker Pilot program, the selected employers have been excited and involved in the program.

Immigration to New Brunswick

As per the ONB, the Critical Worker Pilot program has the potential to attract skilled workers, and it expects that the pilot will continue to draw immigrants to the province.

ONB mentions that previously the province of New Brunswick has demonstrated success in various pilot immigration streams, such as the NB Strategic Initiative stream and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP).

Similar to previous pilot programs, this Critical Worker Pilot program provides a chance for the province to introduce new ways for economic immigration and assess the results in a controlled environment. The program enables it to make necessary adjustments, acquire practical knowledge, and develop additional ways to succeed.

Over recent years, the population of New Brunswick has increased due to immigration. As per the Canadian Real Estate Association data, because of immigration, 4219 people were added to the population of NB towards the end of 2022.

This represents a 116.8% rise over the data of 2021.

In April, the province of NB declared that the federal government had allocated an increase of 67% in provincial immigration. This suggests that for the provincial economic immigration program 2023, the province of new Brunswick has 5500 spots under the NB PNP and the Atlantic Immigration Program.