According to a new study by Statistics Canada, Canadian immigration is primarily changed by the Provincial Nominee Program.
PNP was introduced in all provinces, except Quebec & Yukon, between 1998 & 2009. Its main aim was to spread the settlement of economic newcomers/ immigrants outside significant Canadian cities & to address the labor force needs of every territory & province.
Every territory & province is responsible for the management as well as the design of PNP. There are numerous streams to which candidates can apply. While these streams vary between territories & provinces, there are a few prominent kinds, like professionals with job offers, professionals without employment offers, international student streams, entrepreneur streams, etc.
The PNP has been consistently expanding, resulting in over 68,000 provincial nominees in Canada in 2019. That year, the PNP was the most significant selection program for economic immigrants/ newcomers. It accounted for over 35% of all new immigrants in Canada, up from 1% in the year 2000.
Every year, IRCC releases a new Immigration Level Plan, which it uses to guide its operations. This year, Canada aims to welcome 465,000 new permanent residents & this number will be increased to 500,000 by 2025.
This target for PRs under PNP exceeds Express Entry, which is the federal government’s main economic class pathway. In 2025, IRCC aims to admit over 117,500 permanent inhabitants via PNP.
Distribution Of Economic Immigrants Across Canada
A significant finding of the Statistics Canada study was that the decentralization of economic immigrants occurred simultaneously with PNP growth. As PNP grew, economic immigration became less centralized in Canada. The provincial distribution of new economic immigrants shifted significantly from the year 2000 to 2019.
Specifically, for Canadian immigration, the share of immigrants wishing to settle in Ontario declined from 61% to 42% in that time frame. In addition, British Columbia also witnesses a minor decline, i.e., from 17% to 15%.
However, the Prairie Provinces gained substantially. The share of immigrants/ newcomers in Manitoba & Saskatchewan grew to 7%. Further, Alberta also encountered an increased number of immigrants/ newcomers along with Atlantic regions/ provinces, with their collaborative share rising from 1% to 7%.
The Changing Characteristics Of Provincial Nominees
As the PNP has evolved, the characteristics of individuals selected through the program have significantly changed.
The most substantial change was the increased tendency to choose economic immigrants with Canadian earnings before landing, i.e., temporary foreign workers. The proportion of provincial nominees between 20-54 years of age who were previously temporary foreign professionals rose from 6% to 61% in a span of 17 years. In 2021, it reached 72%.
Studies reveal that immigrants who were previously temporary foreign professionals had better labor market results in both in the short & long run as compared to immigrants without prior work experience.
In addition, there was also a significant increase in the number of PNP immigrants with pre-immigration study experience. In 2019, over 38% of new PNP immigrants/ newcomers had pre-immigration study experience.
Another vital characteristic was age. The age factor for immigration has declined among provincial nominees in the past. This percentage, i.e., 20-29 years, increased from 24% to 38% in 2019. According to studies, younger immigrants/ newcomers tend to have better economic results as compared to their older counterparts in the long run.
As the share of nominees increased for Canadian immigration, the percentage of principal candidates without spouses & dependents also increased.
Official language ability among the nominees has also undergone significant transitions. In the year 2005, over 1/5th of the nominees spoke neither English nor French. Moreover, in 2019, the number of nominees not speaking these languages fell to zero because most PNP programs presently need nominees to speak either of these languages at some level.
The percentage with the applicant’s mother tongue along with these two languages increased from 64% to 91%.
Finally, the source countries for Canadian immigration have also witnessed a change.
Traditionally, economic immigrants arrived in Canada from numerous source countries with no single country/ region/ area dominating. However, this is shifting!
In 2019, over 70% of the provincial nominees came primarily from three regions in Asia, i.e., Southeast Asia, Southern Asia, & Eastern Asia.
Canadian Immigration: Looking Forward
Since the inception of the PNP, a significant decentralization of new economic immigrants/ newcomers has been accomplished. The characteristics of new nominees have changed majorly, mainly in a way that would tend to improve financial results.
The consistent growth of PNP has the potential to continue fuelling the trend of regional decentralization of immigration, which is intended to better respond to demographic as well as labor market challenges experienced in Canada’s different regions/ areas.
As the study reveals, the settlement patterns, numbers, & characteristics of provincial nominees change over time, thus affecting their demographic roles & labor.