May 2021 PNP Draws | A Comprehensive Analysis

Many foreign workers, graduates, and entrepreneurs received invitations from provinces across Canada in the month of May 2021. Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) have seen significant activity in the past month.

Each PNP adopts its own criteria for selecting foreign workers who are eligible for permanent residence. This helps the provincial government to select the best individuals for their own labour market needs – often, to fill localized labour shortage(s) in the province. All Canadian provinces and territories operate their own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) except Nunavut and Quebec. Over 80,000 immigrants per year are expected to become permanent residents in the country through PNPs alone.

The two types of Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) 

Highlights of May 2021 PNPs

PNP-specific Express Entry draws are being held by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) every two weeks on average, since the beginning of 2021. In total, 1057 candidates were invited for permanent residence in these provincial draws between May 12 and May 26, nearly twice that of the previous months. A minimum score of 713 was needed.

Ontario: A total of 145 foreign workers and 269 international students received invitations to apply through Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP) during May. 6 draws were held in total starting from May 4.

The candidates were selected through the new Expression of Interest (EOI) system which was fully implemented in April, for the streams Employer Job Offer (Skilled Worker) as well as Employer Job Offer (International Student Stream). In May, Ontario invited 145 foreign employees and 296 international students to apply for a provincial nomination through these streams in the EOI system. The federal government of Canada has allocated 8,350 new nominations for Ontario in the coming year.

Alberta: Alberta Immigration Nominee Program held two draws in May and invited 500 candidates. Invitations were issued from the Express Entry stream to candidates who met the eligibility criteria and a minimum CRS score of 300, accompanied by a valid job offer. 6,520 is the nomination allocation for Alberta in 2021.

Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program held three invitation rounds in May. A total of 528 invitations to apply were issued through the Express Entry and occupations in-demand sub-categories by the province of Saskatchewan in May month.

Manitoba: Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program held two draws in which 382 letters of advice (LAA) to apply were issued to eligible candidates. Candidates were selected from three categories of Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, the International Educational stream, and skilled Workers Overseas stream. 32 Express Entry candidates were selected as a part of the above streams by the province of Manitoba in May month.

British Columbia: A total of 915 candidates were issued nominations by the province of British Columbia in the last month. Most invites were sent through Express Entry British Columbia, Skills Immigration, and Entrepreneur streams. Tech Pilot stream which was recently launched is one of the most popular streams and is expected to be permanent by the end of June [this month].

Prince Edward Island: 155 invitations were issued by Prince Edward Island in a draw held on May 20. 138 were from Express Entry aligned and Labour Impact candidates, whilst 17 from business impact candidates, with a minimum points threshold of 80. The province holds a pre-scheduled draw every month.

Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn more about ways to find a new job in Canada, making your initial days in Canada stress-free and confident, etc.