Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs in 2025: A Year in Review

In practice, this meant that we saw relatively little draw activity in the first months of the year. Provinces spent this time working out how they would use their limited allocations, instead of issuing invitations ‘as usual’.  

But towards the end of the year, we did see increased activity across many of the major programs.  

Here’s what we saw: 

Ontario  

Overview of Invitations in the OINP in 2025 

• Ontario reached its Provincial Nominee Program allocation limit for 2025, after issuing 10,750 nominations. 

• The Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream saw 4,860 invitations in 2025, with minimum scores ranging as low as 38. Many of these were targeted draws, inviting candidates in rural and regional locations in Ontario, as well as in in-demand occupations in priority sectors including healthcare and childcare.  

• The Employer Job Offer: International Student stream saw 6,605 invitations, again targeting workers in rural and regional Ontario and those in priority sectors like healthcare. Minimum scores trended higher in this stream, with the lowest minimum for the year being 58.  

• The Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream saw 1,063 invitations with minimum scores as low as 30. These draws were again targeted towards rural and regional candidates outside of the GTA, and those in healthcare.  

• The Masters Graduate stream, PhD Graduate stream, and Entrepreneur stream did not see any invitations issued in 2025.  

Ontario PNP Trends in 2025 

In a December 17 update, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) confirmed it issued 10,750 nominations across all streams this year, fully using its federal allocation. 

Ontario appears to have used its nomination allocation in 2025 to address labour shortages in rural and regional areas outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Given the extremely high levels of unemployment in Toronto, we aren’t surprised to see the regional focus for nominations this year. 

The balance of invitations went to those with an employer job offer in priority sectors, like childcare and healthcare.  There were a select few that went to other occupations, like counsellors. These roles are in very high demand in Ontario and these workers are needed to address key issues, like long healthcare wait times. So, again, it’s unsurprising to see Ontario move its focus to targeting these sectors.  

The key takeaway here for anyone considering OINP in 2026? While we need to wait for Ontario to announce its priorities, it’s likely that a targeted approach will continue through 2026.  

If it were me hoping for a provincial nomination in 2026 and I lived in the GTA, I would be considering whether more regional or rural areas could support my work and the lifestyle I’d like to live.  

British Columbia  

What Happened in the BCPNP in 2025?  

• BC received 6,214 nominations in 2025 and plans to use them all by December 31. 

• 978 invitations were issued to Skilled Workers through the BCPNP in 2025, targeting workers who will create high economic impact in BC.  

• BCPNP invited between 100 and 124 people through the Entrepreneur stream. 92 invitations went to those in the Base stream, while somewhere between 7-28 invitations went to regional entrepreneurs.  

• Nominations were also issued to those who had already applied to the BCPNP prior to the allocation being slashed.  

Trends in the BCPNP in 2025 

After a few months of silence at the beginning of the year, BC was very clear what its priorities would be in 2025 and how it planned to handle its reduced nomination allocation.  It noted it would use its allocation to nominate existing applicants, as well as those in select targeted priority sectors, including healthcare, entrepreneurs, and high economic impact workers.  

BC has shared that it has received a relatively small allocation for 2026. While it plans to lobby for additional spaces, anyone hoping to receive a BCPNP nomination in 2026 should keep an eye out for future updates. We send regular email updates to our community covering what’s happening in Canadian immigration, plus other tips and tricks to settle better in Canada. You can join us here.   

Alberta  

What Happened in Alberta’s PNP in 2025?  

• Alberta issued 6,741 nominations in 2025, with 1,479 applications yet to be processed.  

• There were 3,712 nominations issued through the Alberta Opportunity Stream.  

• 1,040 nominations were issued in the Rural Renewal Stream.  

• 294 nominations were issued in the Tourism and Hospitality stream.  

• 563 nominations issued through the Dedicated Health Care pathways (EE and non-EE).  

• 452 nominations issued to those eligible for the Accelerated Tech Pathway.  

• The Law Enforcement Pathway saw 23 nominations.  

• Other priority sectors saw 634 nominations. These targeted construction, agriculture, and aviation. 

• Finally, 23 nominations were issued to those in the Entrepreneur stream.  

Trends in Alberta’s PNP in 2025 

Draw activity was fairly consistent in Alberta throughout 2025, though invitation numbers did trend higher later in the year. September and October stand out as months with large draws.  

Hearteningly, Alberta also continued to send invitations to those living across the province (not just in regional or rural areas) and to those working in sectors outside childcare or healthcare.  

Worth noting is that Alberta’s Expression of Interest pool has a high number of candidates. As of the last update, there are over 45,000 people in the pool. The Alberta Opportunity Stream is the most oversubscribed, with 28,280 people registered. But the Tech pathway and Tourism and Hospitality streams are also crowded, especially given the relative few invitations these programs saw compared to the AOS in 2025.  

Alberta also saw significant population growth in 2025. This continued growth may put more pressure on infrastructure, which may cause it to tighten its policies next year. We’ll be watching this closely. 

Quebec 

Quebec replaced its Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP) with the Skilled Worker Selection Program (SWSP) in November 2024. Around the same time, Quebec paused invitations via the SWSP until July 1, 2025. So, we didn’t see invitations issued in the first half of 2025 in Quebec.  

In the second half of 2025, Quebec issued:  

• 1,048 invitations via Stream 1: Highly qualified and specialized skills. There were a range of specific eligibility criteria for these rounds, but we wanted to draw attention to some of them: The candidate and their spouse (if they have one) must demonstrate specific French language proficiency, and they must have completed studies in Quebec to be eligible for these rounds.  

• 877 invitations via Stream 2: Intermediate and manual skills. Again, specific eligiblity criteria was required, including that both the candidate and spouse (if any) must show French language proficiency, and the candidate must have worked for at least 24 months in the main occupation with 12 of the months being in Quebec.  

• 924 invitations via Stream 3: Regulated professions. These draws targeted workers already living in Quebec and working in specific regulated professions.  

• 55 invitations via Stream 4: Exceptional talent.  

• 21 invitations were also issued under a header of ‘other invitations’.  

In terms of trends, Quebec is clearly targeting workers who are already highly integrated into the province. We expect this to remain the same throughout 2026, though we haven’t seen any announcements regarding a further pause on intake, so we do think we’ll see invitations in the first half of the new year.   

Manitoba 

Manitoba was one of the more consistently active provincial nominee programs throughout 2025. It saw 25 draws, with around 9,721 letters of advice to apply issued across the year. Manitoba had 6,239 nominations allocated for 2025. 

September was by far the busiest month this year for the MPNP, with over 4,000 invitations to apply issued.  

In terms of programs, the Skilled Worker in Manitoba and International Graduate programs received the most letters of advice to apply throughout 2025. 

Saskatchewan 

Saskatchewan didn’t publish immigration updates we could find for 2025. Its last published draw activity was from 2024.  

Nova Scotia 

Nova Scotia didn’t share much information about its draws for 2025, but we do know that it prioritized two groups of people in 2025:  

• People already living and working in Nova Scotia with work permits expiring in 2025. Those working in healthcare and social assistance and construction were targeted in particular this year. 

• In terms of nominations for those outside Canada, international applicants in healthcare, social assistance and construction were given priority. A small number of exceptions were made for employers in the Atlantic Immigration Program hiring workers in trucking, science and technology, clean energy sectors, and resource development.  

Prince Edward Island  

Overview of PEI PNP Draws in 2025 

• Total draws held: 14 

• Total invitations issued: 1,609 

• Business Work Permit (Entrepreneur) invitations: 1 

• Labour & Express Entry invitations: 1,608 

Trends in PEI PNP Invitations in 2025 

• Invitations were consistently issued to individuals working in Prince Edward Island or with confirmed job offers from PEI employers. 

• Most draws targeted individuals working in priority occupations and sectors, selected based on economic impact in Prince Edward Island.

• With the exception of sector-specific or language-specific targeting (healthcare in January; French-speaking candidates in November), the majority of draws targeted work in priority occupations or sectors, economic contribution to the province, and there was a preference for PEI-based international graduates. 

Newfoundland and Labrador 

Overall totals 

• Total invitations issued in 2025: 3,376 

• NLPNP invitations: 2,473 

• Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) invitations: 903 

Trends in the NLPNP Draws 

• Invitations were issued across 13 draws between April and November 2025, with each draw including allocations to both programs.

• The Largest draw was on May 29, 2025: 405 ITAs. Of those, 351 went to NLPNP candidates, while 54 went to the Atlantic Immigration Program.

• Most months where there was draw activity saw 2 draws.

Canada’s Territories  

NWT  

Canada’s Northwest Territories reached its nomination allocation of 300 in 2025. The intake is currently closed for all applicants, except for business investors. But the territory has outlined that it will announce plans for its 2026 intake shortly.  

Yukon  

Yukon shared its nominations in a Backgrounder for a news release in August. I couldn’t find further updates on the program for 2025. Here’s what we know:  

• Yukon prioritized nominations for those living and working in the Yukon for at least one year, Yukon University graduates, French-speaking candidates, and those who qualified for a temporary measure. 

• The Yukon was initially allocated 215 nominations, though this was increased to 282 during the year. It used 54 of those to process applications from 2024 or earlier, and reserved 10 spaces for certain healthcare workers. The remainder were used for the priorities outlined above.  

Nunavut  

Nunavut currently does not have its own territorial nominee program.  

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