Monthly Roundup: Canada PNP Draws in March 2022

Provinces throughout Canada continue to hand-select overseas candidates for the chance to be nominated for permanent residence.

Here is our monthly roundup of Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw results in March 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 241,850 economic immigrants targeted for 2022, 83,500 are reserved for those applying under a Provincial Nominee Program.

How do Provincial Nominee Programs operate?

Many Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) hold draws where they invite candidates to apply to be nominated for Canadian permanent residence. Some PNPs require candidates to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile to be considered in these draws. Other programs invite candidates directly from the Express Entry pool that haven’t even applied for consideration.

British Columbia

This March 2022, British Columbia announced changes to its nominee program designed to prioritize healthcare workers and early childhood educators (ECE).

In seven separate Expression of Interest (EOI) draws last month, the British Columbia Nominee Program (BCPNP)  invited a whopping 2,841 candidates to apply for nomination.

BC PNP’s draws targeted Early Childhood Educators (NOC 4214), 35 healthcare-related occupations, Health care assistants (NOC 3413), and other priority occupations including NOCs 3114 and 3213. The province also held targeted tech draws, as well as a general draw which targeted all other occupations.

Alberta

In March 2022, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) held two separate Express Entry stream draws, inviting a total of 700 candidates.

The lowest ranking candidate invited last month had a CRS score of just 318.

Manitoba

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) invited a total of 300 candidates through four separate nominee draws in March 2022.

The MPNP invited individuals that had submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile under the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas, and International Education streams.

Both of Manitoba’s Skilled Worker Overseas draws targeted candidates who have received an invitation under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative. An invitation under such an initiative adds an additional 500 points to a candidate’s Expression of Interest score, providing an advantage in MPNP draws.

Last month, Manitoba also held two special draws in response to the situation in Ukraine. These draws did not target a minimum required score but targeted candidates who met all MPNP eligibility criteria.

Ontario

This March, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issued a total of 2,171 nominee invitations through five PNP streams:

• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream
• Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream
• Employer Job Offer: International Student stream
• Masters Graduate stream
• Skilled Trades stream

Ontario filled their 2021 nominee quota of 9,000 newcomers. Despite receiving more immigrants than any other Canadian province, Ontario’s Labour Minister hopes to double the number of nominees they can issue to 18,000 in 2022. Ontario has not yet published their nominee quota for 2022, but has been issuing invitations at a high rate since the beginning of the year.

Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) invited 121 candidates through five separate PNP draws last month.

Three of these draws were held in response to the conflict in Ukraine and targeted a minimum score of between 60-61. The other two draws invited candidates in 31 select NOC codes and a minimum score of 87.

Prince Edward Island

On March 17, 2022, Prince Edward Island (PEI) PNP held an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting 141 candidates through the Express Entry & Labour Streams.

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

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