Summarizing provincial immigration statistics of July 2021

As we step into a scintillating new month, here is our monthly analysis of all PNP activities conceptualized, initiated, and completed in July 2021.

As July comes to an end, the provincial and territorial government in Canada that partook in the immigration frenzy invited over 6,000 new immigrants for a provincial nomination.

All the other provinces, except Quebec and Nunavut (who have their individual PNP preference), have all adopted their unique benchmarks for selecting a prospect from the immigrant pool, who is eligible under their respective PNPs for a Canadian permanent residence. By owning their respective preference in selection criteria, the provincial government brings home the best of the best to meet their labor market needs.

These programs alone have an immigrant cap of over 80,000 each year till 2023 for becoming a Canada PR.

These provinces and territories (except Quebec and Nunavut) have at least one of their immigration streams aligned with the Express Entry program of Canada, which is also the prime source of their economic migration.

Highlights from the PNP-aligned Express Entry program of July 2021

The federal government has been keeping busy in the allotment of cut-offs inviting applications from the PNP-Express Entry candidate pool every two weeks since the beginning of 2021.

There were two Express Entry draws scheduled in July, which saw 627 invitations to apply on July 7 and another 462 new immigrants on July 21. Comparatively speaking the number of ITAs issued in July is quite less than the previous month, while the draw size has reached a record high, the cut-offs have also been falling throughout 2021.

If we compare the stats, the aggregate number of invitations received in July was lower than that of the previous month June. Even though the number of invitations issued was less, the draw sizes have skyrocketed with cut-off scores dipping throughout the year. An estimated 100,000 ITAs have been issued in 2021 by IRCC.

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Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

The province gave out 5 draws this month granting OINP provincial certificates to over 3000 candidates in the immigration pool. The first draw of July 2021 took place on the 7th with 21 invitations being issued under the Entrepreneur Stream. In the succeeding draw on the 13th, the OINP invited 1,685 candidates through the subcategories of Foreign Worker (Employer Job Offer) and International Student stream (Employer job offer).

After two days, on the 15th the province called forth 55 candidates in its first-ever In-Demand Skills stream. A total of 115 invitations were given to bilingual candidates in the Express Entry pool on July 21st.

The latest came on July 27th when Ontario invited 1,031 new immigrants from Ontario's Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream who had their profession enlisted in 18 targeted occupations of the province.

Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)

Alberta joined hands with the Canada express entry program to invite 181 candidates on July 14 with a CRS score of 301. The province is at a slow start this month as compared to the previous month where the AINP held draws every two weeks.

Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)

Saskatchewan entailed four sets of draws inviting candidates through the Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand sub-categories of the International Skilled Worker Category. 570 invitations were sent in the initial draft and another 255 invitations to apply were granted towards the end of July.

Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)

Manito was very occupied throughout July, with 1,417 ITA's being issued to candidates under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. A break-even point came on July 27th when the province granted 1,140 Express Entry candidates to apply for Canada PR. Those granted with the nominations came from these categories Manitoba Skilled Workers program, International Education program, and Skilled Workers Overseas program.

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

The enchanted province of British Columbia gave 885 new immigrants a chance to claim their rights to a Canadian permanent residency through its coveted Express Entry pathway and Skills Immigration stream.

On July 19, British Columbia claimed to put a halt to the intake of new registrations under the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream till further notice. The temporary hiatus is only intended for new applications coming from the Base category of the Entrepreneur Immigration stream and all the other skills immigration categories in EI such as Regional Pilot, and Strategic Projects are still open.

Prince Edward Island PNP (PEI PNP)

PEI had its pre-scheduled draw on July 15 which drew a total of 127 invitations from the immigrant pool. A majority of invitations came in the Express Entry category approx. 118 candidates were issued the invitations. Business impact candidates covered the remaining with a minimum points threshold of 60.

What are Provincial Nominee Programs?

Nominating aspirants for permanent residence, The PNPs allow a prospective candidate to choose provinces or territories of their liking and applying to the respective provincial government to receive a nomination for Canada PR.

There are two types of PNPs:

1. Base PNP Program - managed by the province themselves
2. Enhanced PNP Program - allows the provincial government to look for candidates in the Express Entry pool.

The base nominee program falls outside the jurisdiction of the federal government; however, these programs have prerequisites that are different in terms of particular PNP streams and processing standards.

To convert a successful base nomination into permanent residency, the candidate must first determine their eligibility for the pathway. Once determined and the candidate receives a provincial invite, the candidate has to apply to the federal government with the nomination certificate to be approved for a Canadian PR visa.

Whereas in an Enhanced nomination stream, the PNP program is directly linked to the Express Entry system. The province directly enters the EE pool to look for candidates who are apt for its specific requirement. Candidates are then granted an invite to apply for a provincial nomination.

Candidates in the express entry program are assessed under three of the most prominent federal immigration programs 

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program,
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program, and
• The Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates who score a provincial nomination through the enhanced Express Entry-aligned program are rewarded with 600 additional CRS points, which guarantees them a slot in the upcoming PNP-Express Entry draw.