Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is a Canadian immigration program for people who want to reside in a province or territory as permanent residents. Each province or territory in Canada has a different provincial nominee program that is designed to meet the needs and demands of the local labor market.
Under the Canada Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027, targets for the enhanced PNPs have been cut by about 50%. The new target is 55,000 admissions per year for 2025, 2026, and 2027. In contrast, the federal high-skilled programs managed through the Express Entry Program will see an increase, starting at 124,680 in 2025.
All the provinces or territories of Canada have their PNP with different immigration streams. The following are the major Canada PNP programs:
Alberta's provincial nomination program offers nominations to foreign applicants in 3 streams
The applicants are required to meet the program's eligibility requirements and show the intention of settling in the province.
The applicants can seek the nomination in British Columbia PNP under the following streams:
These streams are meant to target skilled workers, international graduates, and professionals who have the qualifications, skills, and experience required for the PNP.
Find out about the British Columbia Provincial Immigrant Nominee Program
The Manitoba PNP invites fresh graduates, skilled workers, and business people along with their families to settle in Canada as permanent residents. They are required to have the ability and intention of settling and establishing themselves economically in Manitoba.
The PNP has the following streams:
Find out about the Manitoba Provincial Immigrant Nominee Program
The Ontario PNP nominates foreign workers, international students, and entrepreneurs who possess the required education, skills, experience, and the intention to settle in the province as permanent residents. Nominations under Ontario province's economic immigration program are open for the following streams:
Find out about the Ontario Provincial Immigrant Nominee Program
SINP allows non-Canadians to immigrate to Canada and settle permanently in the province on a PR visa. Under the PNP, the following are the categories immigration candidates can apply to:
Find out about the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program
The applicants who have the desired skills and experience are targeted by the provincial government of Prince Edward Island. Provincial Nomination Certificate is issued to the eligible candidates who can then apply for a Canadian permanent residence (PR) visa with the Federal Government of Canada.
Under the PEI PNP, nominations are issued for the following immigration categories:
Find out about the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program
New Brunswick is a unique province in Canada where people speak 2 languages. Around 30 percent of people speak French as their first language. New Brunswick has a number of cities that include - Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John. NBPNP is the province's Provincial Nominee Program, through which, immigration applicants who have the skills and experience required by the province are offered nominations. The province accepts nomination applications for the following streams:
Find out about the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program
The province consists of two distinct landmasses - Labrador, which is connected to the mainland, and the island of Newfoundland. The province has lately seen vital economic development with the help of its energy and natural resources. Through the PNP, immigration applicants from foreign countries can seek a nomination from the provincial government.
Under NLPNP, nominations are available for the following immigration categories:
Find out about the Newfound Land and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program
Nova Scotia's Provincial Nominee Program offers nominations to eligible skilled workers, international graduates, entrepreneurs, and professionals for permanent residence in the province. NSNP accepts applications for the following immigration streams:
Find out about the Nova Scotia Nominee Program
Yukon's Provincial Nomination Program helps eligible employers in the province to nominate foreign workers and business people that have been trained internationally for permanent residence in the Canadian province.
The program has the following streams:
Find out about the Yukon Nominee Program
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) eligibility factors vary from province to province.
As PNPs are part of an economic immigration strategy, they are usually organized in such a way as to attract workers who can easily contribute to the economy and have a high probability of remaining in that province. As a result, some PNPs prioritize immigrants with experience in occupations in demand in that province. Other PNPs prefer immigrants who have a connection to the province, such as a relative, as this increases the chances of them remaining in the province.
As with most economic immigration programs, young applicants who have strong language skills, a high level of education, and skilled work experience are in a better position to succeed.
Every PNP has different "immigration" streams with each designed in a way that targets immigrants with different skill sets.
Following are the simple steps to get Canada's provincial nomination program:
If your PNP is not online with the express entry program, you have to apply through a paper-based process.
Once you get a provincial nomination, you can submit your paper application for Canadian permanent residence to IRCC with a PCC and a medical examination certificate.
Paper-based processes take much longer than online-based processes through express entry programs. While the average processing time for a permanent residence application submitted through Express Entry is 6 months, a paper application is processed in 18 months on average.
Most PNPs have an "enhanced" immigration stream that allows the provinces to search for skilled immigrants who can meet the needs of the labor market in the federal government's Express Entry pool. This way Express Entry program's candidates can apply for provincial nomination.
After getting a provincial nomination certificate, Express entry candidates are awarded 600 CRS points to their profile, ensuring an ITA in the next rounds of invitations.
Application processing time for a PNP depends on whether you have applied through express entry linked streams or non-express entry linked streams.
Total Canada PNP processing time includes the initial application to the province, plus the additional processing time for the PR Visa application by the IRCC.
Most provinces have reduced their processing times to months or even weeks. For Express Entry linked streams, the processing time is 6 to 8 months. Non-Express Entry applications (paper-based)typically take between 1 and 2 years to be processed at the federal stage.
| Year | Provincial Nominee Program | No. of Invitations | Score Range |
| In 2024 | Alberta PNP | 4,980 | 40-71 |
| In 2024 | British Columbia PNP | 58 | 60-148 |
| In 2024 | Manitoba PNP | 7,207 | 516-872 |
| In 2024 | Ontario PNP | 45,286 | 33-528 |
| In 2024 | Prince Edward Island PNP | 1,048 | 65-125 |
| In 2024 | Quebec PNP | 24,144 | 573-615 |
| In 2024 | Saskatchewan PNP | 244 | 88-89 |
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