Newfoundland And Labrador Gains More Nomination Allocations

Newfoundland and Labrador gains more nomination allocations. The province has negotiated an increase of 1,000 to its 2025 Provincial Nominee Program allocation. 

The province’s allocation under the Atlantic Immigration Program will also be maintained at 475 spaces, bringing the total number of nominations for Newfoundland and Labrador to 2,525. 

Prior to its negotiations with the federal government, Newfound and Labrador saw its annual allocation of PNP nominations slashed to 1,050. This is a 50% reduction from 2024, in line with IRCC’s broader policy of halving the PNP landings target in 2025.

Temporary Pause In Application Intake 

Now, with a newly increased allocation of 2,050, the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program has also decided to temporarily pause the intake of new applications for nomination and job vacancy assessments until ‘mid-February.’ 

Moreover, the 25-day service standard for the NLPNP will also be suspended during this period. However, files for healthcare workers and other in-demand professions will continue to be processed on a case-by-case basis.  

The NLPNP hopes to use this temporary suspension to develop new tools that might streamline immigration processing and better match skilled immigrants to businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

How Was The NLPNP Able To Increase Their Allocations In 2025? 

Newfoundland and Labrador gains more nomination allocations. The NLPNP negotiated a deal with the Canadian federal government. Under the new agreement, Newfoundland and Labrador committed to increasing its intake of humanitarian immigrants. Well, it was in exchange for an increased allocation of nominations. 

As part of this new agreement, the province has agreed to welcome over 290 humanitarian migrants over the next two years. 

The federal government has agreed to pay for the relocation of these migrants, including upfront housing and wrap-around supports. 

Humanitarian migrants are foreign nationals who move or immigrate to Canada on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. Humanitarian immigration is intended for individuals who face persecution, violence, or hardship in their home country and must, therefore, seek haven in Canada. This includes newcomers facilitated via Canada’s humanitarian response to situations in Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Sudan. 

Will Other Provinces See Their Allocations Increased? 

While it is not possible to say at this time whether other provinces will see their allocations raised, IRCC hasn’t been shy about the condition that these increases might only be facilitated if other provinces agree to accept more humanitarian immigrants. 

Through his personal account on social media, Immigration Minister Marc Miller wrote that provinces as well are territories that are willing to work in a responsible manner, including playing a role in taking on asylum seekers will have the opportunity to regain converted Provincial Nominee spots. 

With this in mind, the restoration of individual annual PNP allocations seems contingent on each province or territory’s ability to work with IRCC to welcome new humanitarian immigrants. 

The example of Newfoundland and Labrador does lend credence to the idea that a restoration of allocations is enough for a province/ territory to agree to accept more humanitarian immigrants. 

Through successful negotiations, the province saw its PNP allocations cut from 2,100 in 2024 to 2,050 in 2025. It is a reduction of just 2.3% instead of the initial 50% reduction in NLPNP that had been handed at the beginning of the year. 

Reduced Allocations To Other PNPs

Newfoundland and Labrador gains more nomination allocations. However, there have been reduced allocations to other PNPs. 

It is vital to note that Newfoundland and Labrador was not the only province to see its nomination allocations for 2025 slashed, as is reflected within IRCC’s 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan. 

The Yukon Nominee Program (YNP) saw its nominations similarly halved from 2024 – from 430 nominations to 215 in 2025. As a result, the YNP have delayed the reopening of its first nomination intake this year, to better align this reduced intake allocation with their labor market priorities. 

Moreover, the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program released a similar statement after seeing its provincial allocations cut from 5,500 nominations in 2024 to just 2,750 nominations in 2025. 

Provincial immigration ministers from Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have made public statements claiming that the reductions to their nominations will negatively impact their regional economies and undermine their autonomy and decision-making. 

The following table compares the declared 2025 provincial nominations allocations to 2024 labels: 

Reduction In PNP Landings Targets For 2025

In October 2024, IRCC declared a 50% reduction of PNP landings targets in the 2025 – 2027 Immigration Levels Plan. 

A major theme of this declaration was the federal government’s intention to reduce overall immigration. This was important to better handle domestic affordability and housing challenges. Immigration Minister Marc Minister and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for the provinces to come forward and work with IRCC on more ‘responsible’ regulations for permanent and temporary residents in Canada. 

At the announcement of the 2025 Levels Plan, Miller stated that he was aware of the pressures that a reduction of this size could put on provinces as well as civil society but held steadfast on his decision to reduce provincial and territorial nominee landings targets.

In the Immigration Levels Plan of 2024, IRCC had set a landings target of 110,000 for the PNP for 2024. Moreover, it has also set a provisional target of 120,000 PNP landings in 2025. In the 2025 Levels Plan, this allocation has been cut to 55,000. 

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