Author: Stephen Smith And Noah Turner
Recent changes to Saskatchewan’s list of in-demand occupations are a good reminder of the fact Canada’s provincial nominee programs are constantly evolving.
Provincial nominee programs, or PNPs, allow participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of economic immigration candidates for Canadian permanent residence each year.
PNPs have been playing an increasingly vital role in Canada’s immigration strategy in recent years and this trend is set to continueunder the federal government’s latest multi-year immigration levels plan.
Over the 2019-2021 period covered by the plan, admissions of new permanent residents admitted through provincial nominee programs are slated to increase each year, from 61,000 in 2019 to 71,300 in 2021.
This article looks at four key PNP developments that have taken place this year:
- The revision of Saskatchewan’s list of in-demand occupations unveiled April 4;
- Ontario’s record nomination allocation for 2019;
- Nova Scotia’s Labour Market Priorities draw targeting financial auditors and accountants;
- The ongoing renewal of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program.
Canada has two types of provincial nomination streams — enhanced nomination streams and base nomination streams.
Enhanced nomination streams are aligned with the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada’s main economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class..
Express Entry candidates with an enhanced provincial nomination receive an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry ranking score and are effectively fast-tracked for an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
Base nominations are granted outside the Express Entry system and can also be used to apply for permanent residence.
Find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool
Saskatchewan
The revisions to Saskatchewan’s In-Demand Occupations List affected its enhanced International Skilled Worker: Express Entry sub-categoryand its base International Skilled Worker: Occupation In-Demand sub-category.
Both sub-categories require candidates to have eligible work experience in an occupation on the list, among other eligibility requirements.
A job offer in the occupation is not required in order to be eligible.
The update saw the list of in-demand occupations grow from 20 to 24, with the addition of 13 new occupations and the removal of nine.
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) updates its In-Demand Occupations List regularly to reflect the province’s evolving labour market needs.
The revised list will apply to Saskatchewan’s upcoming Expression of Interest (EOI) draws through both its Express Entry and Occupation In-Demand sub-categories, which are typically conducted by the SINP at least once a month.
Saskatchewan has issued a total of 817 invitations over the course of five draws through these streams so far in 2019.
Ontario
Ontario revealed in March that it will be able to nominate a record 6,900 economic immigration candidates for Canadian permanent residence in 2019.
Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is the destination of choice for the majority of immigrants to Canada each year.
The province’s 2019 allocation is an increase of 300 over the year before and consists of a principal allocation of 6,650 nominations plus an additional 250 spaces for intermediate-skilled temporary foreign workers (TFWs) under a new initiative by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The nominations will be issued through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)’s various immigration pathways, which include three Express Entry-aligned enhanced nomination streams.
All three streams — the Human Capital Priorities Stream, French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream and Skilled Trades Stream — allow the OINP to search the Express Entry pool and invite candidates who match their provincial and federal criteria.
A job offer is not required in order to be eligible for these streams.
All three Express Entry-linked streams have been active in 2019 and the Human Capital Priorities Stream alone has issued 1,493 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination so far.
Ontario’s popular base nomination Masters Graduate Stream has also been active, opening on March 5 to 1,000 new registrations from individuals with a master’s degree obtained at an eligible university in Ontario.
The opening was cut short by a technical problem, however, and only 333 were submitted successfully before the intake system crashed.
The OINP said it will reopen the Masters Graduate Stream as soon as possible.
Source: https://www.cicnews.com/2019/04/provincial-nominee-programs-new-opportunities-in-2019-0412166.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-20190410#gs.4iscyh
