Provincial Nominee Program

A Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is established under agreements between the federal government and individual provinces and territories pursuant to IRPA ss 8–9. Each province and territory (except Quebec, which has a distinct arrangement, and Nunavut, which does not currently operate a PNP) operates its own program with streams tailored to its regional labour market needs and demographic priorities.

PNPs operate through two main streams: Express Entry-aligned streams (where a provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points, effectively guaranteeing an ITA from IRCC) and base streams (where a nomination results in a paper-based application directly to IRCC, bypassing Express Entry).

To receive a provincial nomination, a foreign national must meet the requirements of the specific PNP stream and receive a nomination certificate from the province. In Express Entry-aligned streams, the province issues a Notification of Interest (NOI) to eligible candidates in the pool; if the candidate accepts, the province issues the nomination and the candidate updates their Express Entry profile to trigger the 600-point bonus. Each province sets its own eligibility criteria, and candidates may apply directly to a province without an existing Express Entry profile in some base streams.