Canada consists of 10 provinces and 3 territories. All these administrative units are united into a federation of Canada. Canada is one of the most decentralized federal states in the world. This means that each province has a wide range of independence in its policies in different areas. One of these fields is immigration. Provincial immigration to Canada gives provincial governments the right to invite immigrants who can be useful to the province’s economy.
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How many provincial programs do you have in Canada?
Provincial immigration to Canada is done through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), but in fact, there are almost 80 different provincial immigration programs. Some provinces, such as Alberta, have only three different streams, while Ontario has ten different active immigration programs. PNP streams are usually designed to attract skilled workers, semi-skilled workers, students and entrepreneurs who may have some connections to the province (relatives living in the province, previous education or work experience in the province) or have skills that are in demand in the province or are on the list of provincial occupations in demand.
It is worth noting that provincial immigration to Canada does not include immigration to Quebec. The federal and Quebec governments have signed the Canada-Quebec Agreement, which gives Quebec exclusive responsibility for choosing immigrants and refugees who still live in their own countries but want to move to the province. Quebec’s immigration powers are broader than those of the provinces.
Provincial immigration to Canada: How does it work?
The basic idea behind nominating a province is to notify the federal government that the province supports the selected candidate as a permanent resident of the province concerned. There are two types of provincial immigration to Canada: programs with a “paper” application (such as the Ontario graduate program) and programs associated with the federal Express Entry Selection System. Paper streams are not linked to Express Entry. It usually takes longer to process yawns in these streams because once you have completed a paper nomination application for a province, you must also complete the federal evaluation stage by sending all the required paper documents by mail. Applications for these streams are processed rather slowly. Provincial Express Entry related streams are processed much faster.
If the flow is associated with Express Entry, a candidate who has received and accepted a Canadian provincial nomination will receive an additional 600 points in their Express Entry profile, which automatically guarantees that they will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in Canada in the nearest qualifying round.
Nunavut is the only administrative unit in Canada that does not currently have its own provincial immigration program.
In turn, there are also two types of provincial programs related to Express Entry. Some of them work on the principle of the system of expression of interest (Expression of Interest, EOI). Candidates must create a profile in the provincial system and, if invited, submit their documents for inspection of the province. The other type of provincial program selects suitable candidates from the federal Express Entry pool. Within one provincial program there can be both “paper” and online streams, as well as streams with expressions of interest and without the possibility to declare such interest.
Provincial Immigration to Canada: List of All Programs
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| French-Speaking Skilled Worker | No | Yes | Open |
| Human Capital Priorities | No | Yes | Open |
| Skilled Trades | No | Yes | Open |
| Masters Graduate Stream | No | No | Suspended |
| Ph.D. Graduate Stream | No | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
| Foreign worker stream | Yes | No | Suspended |
| International Student Stream | Yes | No | Suspended |
| In-Demand Skills Stream | Yes | No | Open |
| Ontario Regional Immigration Pilot | Yes | No | Open |
Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | Yes | No | Open |
| Alberta Express Entry Stream | No | Yes | Open |
| Alberta Self-Employed Farmer Stream | No | No | Open |
| International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream | No | No | Open |
| Foreign Graduate Start-up Visa Stream | No | No | Planned for 2021 |
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Skills Immigration Skilled Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Skills Immigration Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Skills Immigration Health Care Professional | Yes | No | Open |
| Skills Immigration International Graduate | Yes | No | Open |
| Skills Immigration International Post-Graduate | No | No | Open |
| Express Entry BC Skilled Worker | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Express Entry BC Health Care Professional | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Express Entry BC International Graduate Category | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Express Entry BC International Post-Graduate Category | No | Yes | Open |
| Entrepreneur Immigration | No | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot | No | No | Open |
Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Skilled Workers Overseas (SWO) | No | No | Open |
| Manitoba Express Entry Pathway | No | Yes | Open |
| Human Capital Pathway | No | No | Planned for 2019 |
| Skilled Workers in Manitoba (SWM) | Yes | No | Open |
| Manitoba Work Experience Pathway | Yes | No | Planned for 2019 |
| Employer Direct Recruitment Pathway | Yes | No | Planned for 2019 |
| International Education Career Employment Pathway | Yes | No | Open |
| International EducationGraduate Internship Pathway | No | No | Open |
| International Student Entrepreneur Pilot | No | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Pathway | No | No | Open |
| Farm Investor Pathway | No | No | Open |
| Morden Community-Drive Initiative | No | No | Open |
New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| New Brunswick Express Entry Labor Market Stream | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Skilled Worker With Employer Support Stream | Yes | No | Open |
| Post-Graduate Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Express Entry Skilled Worker | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Skilled Worker Category | Yes | No | Open |
| International Graduate Category | Yes | No | Open |
| International Graduate Entrepreneur | No | No | Open |
| International Entrepreneur | No | No | Open |
| Priority Skills Stream | No | Yes | Planned for January 2021 |
Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry Category A | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry Category B | No | Yes | Closed |
| Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Nova Scotia Labor Market Priorities Stream | No | Yes | Open |
| Labor Market Priorities for Physicians | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Skilled Worker Stream | Yes | No | Open |
| Occupations in Demand | Yes | No | Open |
| Physician Stream | Yes | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
| International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| PEI PNP Express Entry | No | Yes | Open |
| Skilled Worker outside Canada (Labor Impact) | Yes | No | Open |
| Skilled Worker in PEI (Labor Impact) | Yes | No | Open |
| Critical Worker (Labor Impact) | Yes | No | Open |
| International Graduate (Labor Impact) | Yes | No | Open |
| Business Work Permit Entrepreneur | No | No | Open |
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| International Skilled Worker Saskatchewan Express Entry | No | Yes | Open |
| International Skilled Worker Occupations In-Demand | No | No | Open |
| International Skilled Worker Employment Offer | Yes | No | Open |
| Saskatchewan Experience Existing Work Permit | Yes | No | Open |
| Saskatchewan Experience Health Professionals | Yes | No | Open |
| Saskatchewan Experience Hospitality Sector Project | Yes | No | Open |
| Saskatchewan Experience Long Haul Truck Driver Project | Yes | No | Open |
| Saskatchewan Experience Students | Yes | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Stream | No | No | Open |
| International Graduate Entrepreneur Category | No | No | Open |
| Farm Owners and Operators Stream | No | No | Open |
Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Northwest Territories Express Entry | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Northwest Territories Skilled Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Northwest Territories Critical Impact Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Entrepreneur Business | No | No | Open |
Yukon Nominee Program (YNP)
| Flow | Do you need a job offer? | Is Express Entry related? | Are applications open? |
| Yukon Express Entry | Yes | Yes | Open |
| Yukon Skilled Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Yukon Critical Impact Worker | Yes | No | Open |
| Business Nominee Program | No | No | Open |
| Yukon Community Pilot | Yes | ? | Scheduled for January 2020 |
