Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)
Provinces and territories nominate people they need for their own labour markets. A nomination through Express Entry adds 600 CRS points and makes an invitation close to certain. 2026 has been the most disruptive year for these programs in a decade — several provinces have closed or rebuilt their streams outright, so what matters is which streams are open today.
Enhanced and base streams
Every program runs one or both of these, and the difference decides your timeline.
- ● Enhanced streams are aligned with Express Entry. You need a profile in the pool; a nomination adds 600 points and you finish through the federal system.
- ● Base streams sit outside Express Entry. You apply to the province directly and, once nominated, file a separate paper-based permanent residence application with IRCC. Slower, but open to people Express Entry cannot reach.
British Columbia
BC restructured the BC PNP in April 2026 around three priorities — Care, Build and Innovate. Skills Immigration was narrowed to two streams: Skilled Worker and Health Authority, each with an Express Entry BC option. Invitations in 2026 have gone to childcare, health, education and veterinary occupations, construction trades, and high-economic-impact roles. Entrepreneur Immigration remains open through its Base, Regional and Strategic Projects routes.
Two things to know if you are researching older guides. The Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream is permanently closed, and the International Graduate and International Post-Graduate streams were eliminated in the April 2026 restructuring. BC has confirmed no new student streams are coming. BC's 2026 allocation of 5,254 nominations is also the only one in the country that fell year over year, so competition is tighter here than the national picture suggests.
We are based in Abbotsford, so BC PNP is the program we work on most. If you are in the Fraser Valley, note BC's target of placing at least 35% of nominations outside Metro Vancouver — that can work in your favour.
Ontario — everything you may have read is out of date
Ontario closed all nine of its previous OINP streams in 2026, including Human Capital Priorities, Masters and PhD Graduate, the three Employer Job Offer streams, the Express Entry streams and Entrepreneur. The replacement, launched 26 June 2026, is the single Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, with a TEER 0–3 pathway, a TEER 4–5 pathway and a route for self-employed physicians. Ontario holds the largest allocation in Canada at 14,119, and further streams are expected in a second phase.
The Prairies
- ● Alberta (AAIP) — eight streams open across worker and entrepreneur categories, allocation 6,603. Rural Renewal was overhauled on 1 January 2026 with per-community caps and a requirement that applicants already in Canada hold a valid work permit. A $135 Worker Expression of Interest fee started on 7 April 2026.
- ● Saskatchewan (SINP) — redesigned for 2026 around sectors. Priority sectors including healthcare, agriculture, trades, mining, manufacturing, energy and tech take at least half the 4,761 allocation with year-round intake. Capped sectors — accommodation and food services, trucking, retail — open only in timed windows, and in May 2026 two of the three filled within hours of opening.
- ● Manitoba (MPNP) — allocation 6,239, with Skilled Worker in Manitoba, Skilled Worker Overseas, International Education, Business Investor and the Temporary Resident Retention Pilot all running. Hospitality and food services were removed from the retention pilot in February 2026.
Atlantic Canada and the territories
- ● Nova Scotia — ten pathways consolidated into four streams on 18 February 2026, with a three-tier selection framework. Only healthcare and skilled trades are open to candidates outside Canada; TEER 5 occupations are excluded entirely.
- ● New Brunswick — Skilled Worker with Family Support closed, and both the Express Entry Labour Market Stream and the Entrepreneurial Stream are currently paused. From May 2026 invitations under the NB Experience pathway are limited to healthcare, education and construction trades.
- ● Prince Edward Island — Critical Worker, Intermediate Experience, PEI Express Entry and business routes, with monthly draws and a stated intention to limit invitations in over-subscribed occupations.
- ● Newfoundland and Labrador — Express Entry Skilled Worker, Skilled Worker, International Graduate and two entrepreneur streams.
- ● Yukon — Skilled Worker, Critical Impact Worker and Express Entry, allocation 282, with two intake windows a year. Expressions of interest no longer carry over between intakes.
- ● Northwest Territories — Employer-Driven, Francophone and Business streams; the employer stream moved to expression-of-interest draws in February 2026 and the allocation was raised to 300.
- ● Nunavut — has no nominee program and never has. Anyone offering you a "Nunavut PNP" is selling something that does not exist.
Quebec is not a PNP
Under the Canada–Québec Accord, Quebec selects its own economic immigrants and issues a Certificat de sélection du Québec, after which IRCC handles the federal stage. There is no Quebec provincial nominee program and no Express Entry-aligned Quebec stream. The permanent skilled-worker route is the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés, through the Arrima portal, with invitations weighted toward candidates already in Quebec and toward French. The Programme de l'expérience québécoise ended on 19 November 2025.
What the 2026 numbers actually mean
The federal PNP admissions target was cut in half for 2025, to 55,000, then set at 91,500 for 2026. That reads like a large increase, but most provinces received mid-year top-ups in 2025, so 2026 is roughly flat against where 2025 finished rather than a return to 2024 levels. Three patterns run through nearly every program: healthcare and skilled trades are prioritised almost everywhere, candidates already living and working in the province are favoured over applicants abroad, and lower-skilled occupations are being squeezed out.
Reviewed by a licensed RCIC · Last updated 13 August 2026. Immigration rules change often — confirm anything time-sensitive with us or on canada.ca.
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Frequently asked questions
Which province gives me the best chance?
The one where you already have a real connection — work, study, family or a job offer. Provinces increasingly reserve their nominations for people already in the province, and several now bar or deprioritise candidates who have never lived there. Chasing whichever program looks easiest on paper is how applications get refused, and a nomination you obtain without genuine intent to settle raises misrepresentation concerns.
What is the difference between a base stream and an enhanced one?
An enhanced stream is aligned with Express Entry: you need a profile in the pool, and the nomination adds 600 points, which makes an invitation close to certain. A base stream sits outside Express Entry — you apply to the province directly and then file a separate paper-based permanent residence application with IRCC. Both end in the same permanent resident status; the enhanced route is usually faster.
Can I apply to more than one province at once?
Sometimes, but not always. Several provinces expressly bar applicants who hold a live application or nomination elsewhere, and others treat it as evidence you do not genuinely intend to settle with them. It needs checking stream by stream before you file anything.
Do I need a job offer for a provincial nomination?
It depends on the stream. Employer-driven streams need a genuine, ongoing offer from an eligible employer, sometimes at a set wage or in a listed occupation. Some streams still nominate without one, particularly where you already have provincial work or study history. Note that a job offer no longer adds CRS points federally — it can still be what makes you eligible provincially.
I read about a stream that is not listed here. Is it still open?
Quite possibly not. Ontario closed all nine of its previous streams in 2026, BC eliminated its graduate streams, New Brunswick paused two, and Nova Scotia consolidated ten pathways into four. A great deal of PNP content online is a year or more out of date. Check with us before you spend money preparing for a stream that no longer exists.
Still unsure how this applies to your case? Book an appointment with a licensed RCIC.
More Permanent Residency services
Other pathways we handle in this area — or talk to a licensed RCIC about which fits your case.
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