Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia have issued invitations to apply to candidates through provincial immigration programs this week.

Most Canadian provinces and territories (with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut) operate their own Provincial Nomination Programs. Through these programs, interested candidates may be invited to apply for a provincial nomination.

Quebec’s immigration programs are administered by the province and are distinct from Canada’s immigration programs.

Although provincial nomination is not in itself the same as a permanent residence, it can act as the first step towards gaining permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

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The PNP was launched in 1998 and now accounts for over 80,000 PR admissions per year. The increase in the number of PNP admissions in Canada is because the federal and provincial governments consider it an effective tool to promote the economic development of the country outside of the provinces and urban centres with already high immigrant populations.

Provincial immigration results September 24-29

Quebec

On September 15, Quebec invited 1,009 skilled workers to apply for permanent selection. The draw was targeted to candidates with work experience in in-demand occupations and a valid job offer outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

Candidates had to have profiles in the Arrima Expression of Interest system with scores of at least 563 points.

This is the eleventh draw Quebec has held in 2022 and the second draw in the month of September. This is unusual as Quebec typically only holds draws once a month. Quebec does not typically release draw results until one to two weeks after draws occur.

The invitations were issued by the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) to immigration candidates applying under the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

Those who are invited to apply for permanent selection by Quebec have a maximum of 60 days to submit their application and pay processing fees. Quebec aims to process complete applications within six months, starting on the date all the required information has been received. This includes all forms and documents.

Ontario

The Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (OINP) held two draws over the past week. The first draw, on September 23, was for the French Speaking Skilled Workers stream. The province invited 363 candidates and the minimum score was 326.

The program is aligned with Express Entry and candidates must be French speaking with strong English abilities.

The second draw was in the Human Capital Priorities stream. The province issued 1,179 invitations on September 28 through OINP as part of a targeted draw for tech occupations. Candidates all had job experience in specific tech-related occupations.

British Columbia

More than 258 candidates were invited to apply for provincial nomination in British Columbia on September 28.

Most candidates, 215, were invited in a targeted draw for tech occupations. The invitations were issued to candidates in the Skilled Worker and International Graduates categories and included Express Entry candidates.

Candidates who were invited in the target tech draw had minimum SIRS scores of 100. SIRS acts much like the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) but is only used for British Columbia’s PNP.

The province also held rounds of invitations for candidates working in the following occupations.

• 28 early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 4214) with scores of at least 60 points; and
• 15 Healthcare workers from the Skilled Worker, International Graduate, Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (includes EEBC option) with scores of at least 60 points
• Healthcare assistants from the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category with minimum scores of 60 and;
• Other priority occupations with minimum scores of 60

British Columbia recently announced that will be pausing draws under the BC PNP between October 12 and November 16 due to the transition from NOC 2016 to NOC 2021, an updated method of assessing a candidate’s skill level in economic immigration programs.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan has invited 639 candidates under the Express Entry stream, and 507 under Occupations-In-Demand stream, of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) for a total of 1,146 candidates.

This draw is consistent with draws throughout the summer, the most recent of which invited over 1,000 candidates. It is the first draw since September 7. There was no draw last week, making it the first week without a SINP draw since July 6.

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