Canadian Immigration News

A total of 222 workers, international graduates, and entrepreneurs have been invited to apply to the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) in the province's latest immigration draw, which took place on April 19, 2017. Of these Invitations to Appy (ITAs) issued, 16 were to Entrepreneur candidates. The remaining 206 were issued to candidates in five sub-categories managed through the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). Individuals who received an ITA from BC are now in a position to submit an application for a provincial nomination certificate, with which they may then apply to the federal government for Canadian permanent resident status.

The latest Express Entry draw, which took place on April 19, 2017, has issued 3,665 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent resident status to candidates in the Express Entry pool with Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of 415 or above. Marking the lowest CRS requirement yet, this draw brings the total number of ITAs issued since the introduction of the Express Entry system in January, 2015, to over 100,000.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has broken two of its own records in its most recent Express Entry draw, which took place on April 12, 2017. This draw saw more Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued to candidates in the Express Entry pool than any other single draw since the Express Entry system was introduced in January, 2015. Moreover, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score a candidate needed in order receive an ITA dropped to 423, the lowest yet required.

Thirty months after she first due to accept honorary Canadian citizenship, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has finally addressed Parliament upon becoming just the sixth person ever to receive the distinction.

Ms. Yousafzai, a citizen of Pakistan, was originally scheduled to be granted the honour by former prime minister Stephen Harper on the day a gunman stormed Parliament Hill on October 22, 2014.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will resume identifying candidates in the Express Entry pool through the popular Human Capital Priorities (HCP) Stream during the week of April 10 to 14, 2017. Identified candidates will be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI), after which they may apply to the Ontario government for a provincial nomination certificate. This is the second time the province of Ontario has resumed issuing NOIs for the HCP Stream in 2017, after it had ceased identifying candidates for over a year between February 16, 2016 and February 21, 2017.

Quebec’s Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion (Ministry of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusion, or MIDI) has announced that individuals who have submitted an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, or CSQ) through the online intake management system Mon projet Québec may modify and update their information in certain sections of the online profile.

Manitoba's Minister of Education and Training, Ian Wishart, has announced that the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) will implement improvements to service standards, stating that “As of this month, all candidates who submit complete applications to the program will be processed in six months or less.”

At a press conference announcing the improvements, Wishart confirmed that a backlog of applications to the program — which stood at more than 5,100 applications in April 2016 — has now been cleared.

On April 5, 2017, the province of British Columbia (BC) invited 458 workers and international graduates to apply to the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). Candidates in five sub-categories managed through the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) were issued Invitations to Apply (ITA) for a provincial nomination certificate, with which they may then apply to the federal government for Canadian permanent resident status. This most recent draw represents the biggest so far in 2017 to be conducted upon the five sub-categories within the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams which are managed through the SIRS.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has invited 3,753 individuals to apply for Canadian permanent residence in its latest draw on candidates in the Express Entry pool. This draw, which took place on April 5, 2017 represents the fourth time in 2017 that the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score a candidate requires in order to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) has dropped to a record low. Candidates in the Express Entry pool with a CRS score of 431 or higher are now in a position to submit an application for Canadian permanent residence. IRCC expects to process applications within six months, meaning that these individuals and their families are likely to be in a position to arrive in Canada before the end of 2017.

The government of New Brunswick and the federal government of Canada have signed a new agreement, the Canada-New Brunswick Immigration Agreement. The deal aims to help New Brunswick address labour shortages and grow its population.