Provincial Nominee Program

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is an immigration program based on the province’s needs for human resources and investment. It is the second leading way to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker after Express Entry. The PNP is suitable for those who are experienced workers and successful entrepreneurs and intend to settle permanently in the province to nominate them. The Provincial Nomination Program is mainly divided into two categories: Skills Immigration and Entrepreneur Immigration. Most Canadian provinces and territories operate the PNP to welcome skilled workers and entrepreneurs from all over the world to help strengthen their economies.

The main purpose of the PNP is to spread the benefits of immigration in Canada. Before the PNP was launched in 1998, most Canada’s immigrants settled in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. However, since 1998, Canada’s immigrants are distributed more widely across the country and the provinces, such as the Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) and Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador), have attracted more immigrants due to the implementation of the PNP.

The Provincial Nominee Program allows the following Canadian provinces and territories to nominate individuals who wish to immigrate to Canada and who are interested in settling in a particular province.

1. Alberta
2. British Columbia
3. Manitoba
4. New Brunswick
5. Newfoundland and Labrador
6. Nova Scotia
7. Ontario
8. Prince Edward Island
9. Saskatchewan
10. Northwest Territories
11. Yukon

IRCC will process the permanent residence application after an applicant obtains a nomination certificate issued by the government of a province under a provincial nomination agreement between that province and IRCC.