Canadian PNP Draw Results from January 2022

As Canada pauses Federal High Skilled Worker (FHS) draws indefinitely, Provincial Nominee Programs continue to use the Express Entry pool to invite foreign workers.

Here is our roundup of Canadian Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw results for the first month of 2022.

What are Provincial Nominee Programs?

Provincial Nominee Programs allow each Canadian province to set the requirements for their own immigration streams. Each Canadian province, except Quebec, has different nominee programs that operate in different ways. Many have programs that target students, businesspeople, skilled workers, or semi-skilled workers. Additional targeted factors usually depend on labour market gaps or other needs of the province. For example, some provinces target skilled workers with strong proficiency in French to help increase their Francophone population.

Immigration through a Provincial Nominee Program makes up a large chunk of Canada’s total economic immigration. Of a total of 241,500 economic immigrants targeted for 2022, 81,500 are reserved for those applying under a Provincial Nominee Program.

How do Provincial Nominee Programs operate?

Each province sets its own criteria for their nominee programs. Some programs require candidates to meet the minimum eligibility requirements of their PNP in order to be able to apply for nomination. Other programs operate with an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Provincial Expression of Interest systems operate similar to Express Entry; candidates submit a profile to the province which is scored using their unique points system. Provinces use a candidate’s score to decide who receives an invitation in their draws. Those who meet the minimum points cut-off (often in addition to other criteria) receive an invitation to apply for nomination

Other programs invite candidates directly from the Express Entry pool. These streams generally target candidates based on some combination of work experience, language results, education, and CRS score. Candidates must indicate their interest in a province on their Express Entry profile to be visible to these programs.

British Columbia

In the first draws of the year, the British Columbia Nominee Program (BCPNP) invited a total of 714 workers and graduates to apply for nomination.

In January 2022, B.C. held six Expression of Interest (EOI) draws held under Skills Immigration and Express Entry streams.

BC PNP continues to target candidates with occupation codes for retail and wholesale trade managers and restaurant and foodservice managers in separate draws, with a higher minimum points requirement.

Profiles invited under the BC PNP Tech program required a minimum score of 80 to be considered in this month’s draws.

Alberta

Alberta released the results for one draw held in the month of January.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) invited a total of 250 candidates on January 5, 2022.

In the January draw, Alberta invited profiles through the Express Entry stream. Individuals with CRS scores as low as 327 were invited to apply for nomination.

Alberta does not reveal the additional criteria used to target candidates in the Express Entry pool, but have stated that meeting one of the following factors would increase the likelihood of receiving an invitation:

• Holding an Alberta job offer
• Graduating from a Canadian post-secondary institution
• Having a parent, child, or sibling that is a permanent resident or citizen living in Alberta
• Indicating French as your first language

This month, Alberta also announced a new immigration program for tech professionals. Qualifying candidates must have a job offer in Alberta in a qualifying tech position. The program will operate through Alberta’s Express Entry stream.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan held an Expression of Interest (EOI) draw on January 12, 2022. In its first draw of the year, the Saskatchewan PNP invited a total of 104 candidates with experience in one of six health-related occupations.

In the January 12 draw, Saskatchewan invited candidates under the Express Entry and In-Demand Occupation PNP streams, which operate under the International Skilled Worker program.

Manitoba

Manitoba invited a total of 758 candidates through two PNP draws this January.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) invited candidates under the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas, and International Education streams.

In both Skilled Worker Overseas draws, candidates who receive an MPNP invitation had previously been invited under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative.

An invitation under a Strategic Initiative boosts a candidate’s Expression of Interest score by 500 points, providing them with an advantage in MPNP draws.

Ontario

This month, Ontario invited a total of 2,618 candidates through the Express Entry system.

Ontario issued invitations through five PNP streams this January 2022:

• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream
• Employer Job Offer: International Student stream
• Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream
• Human Capital Priorities stream
• Skilled Trades stream

On January 19, Ontario announced that the program met its quota for 2021, issuing a total of 9,000 nominations to successful PNP applicants. Despite receiving more immigrants than any other province, Ontario’s Labour Minister has asked to double the number of immigrants received under OINP from 9,000 to 18,000. Ontario has yet to publish their immigration quota from 2022.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PEI) PNP held a draw on January 20, 2022.

The Atlantic province invited 121 candidates under the Express Entry & Labour Streams.

Another 11 candidates were invited under the Business Work Permit Entrepreneur stream.

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