The President of Basketball Operations for Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri, will receive Canada’s highest honor, i.e., the Order of Canada. 

This is Canada’s highest civilian honor that recognizes & rewards those who make extraordinary contributions to the country, enrich the lives of citizens, & make an overall difference in the nation. 

Ujiri is given Canada’s highest honor for his contributions on & off the basketball court as Raptors president & as a humanitarian. In addition, he is one of the 85 people who were recently appointed to this honor by Mary Simon, i.e., the Governor General of Canada. 

Note: In 2020, Masai confirmed that he was a legal citizen of Canada & has a valid passport. 

A native of England but also a Nigerian, Masai Ujiri has spent time in the United States as the Governor General & Executive Vice President of Denver Nuggets. 

Moreover, in 2022, Nigeria was the fourth biggest source country of new Canadian permanent inhabitants. Last year, over 22,085 Nigerian citizens immigrated to Canada. This is further reinforced by Statistics Canada data, which reveals that Nigeria is the fifth largest country of birth among recent immigrants to Canada. 

The recent boom in Canadian immigration from Nigeria can be described by a few factors, one of which is the increasing number of PR immigration pathways accessible to residents of that country. 

Here is a sample of these pathways. 

Federal Skilled Worker Program 

One immigration alternative available to Nigerian immigrants is the FSWP. This program enables those who meet the below-mentioned requirements to apply for Canadian permanent residence. The applicants must: 

  • Have one year of continuous work experience/ full-time paid work experience over the last decade in a skilled profession under NOC skill level 0, A, or B. 
  • Have a formally tested ability to read, speak, listen, & write in French/ English equivalent to the Canadian Level Benchmark. 
  • Score at least 67 points on IRCC’s six immigration selection factors/ aspects.  
  • Possess a Canadian educational credential or a foreign credential.     
  • Prove that you must have enough money for you as well as your family to settle & reside in Canada. 

IRCC, in its Immigration Level Plan, noted that the federal government is targeting to admit over 109,020 Express Entry applicants into Canada via PR next year. 

Provincial Nominee Program 

Nigerian citizens seeking Canadian immigration might take advantage of PNPs operated by 11 out of 13 provincial & territorial governments in Canada. 

Note: Nunavut & Quebec do not prepare PNPs like other Canadian provinces. 

These immigration programs enable each participating territory/ province to target & invite prospective newcomers/ immigrants who align with the province’s demographic & economic needs & goals. 

In order to immigrate, applicants from Nigeria opt for several ways to leverage the PNP when seeking PR in the country.   

Firstly, eligible applicants can simply apply for immigration via a specific province/ territory PNP. 

In addition, applicants who apply for one of the three federal programs under the Express Entry application management system can benefit from PNPs if they are invited to apply for a regional/ provincial nomination by a local government which reviews the pool of Express Entry applicants. 

In this case, PNP applicants who apply for immigration via Express Entry will obtain extra 600 CRS points, thus guaranteeing them an ITA for PR in the forthcoming Express Entry draw organized by IRCC.