The Northwest Territories Nominee Program reopens on February 27. Foreign nationals who are seeking to immigrate to Canada via the program must apply between 9 am MT on February 27 and 5 pm MT on March 6 for the 2025 intake. 

The NTNP will process 90 applications, along with 60 applications submitted in 2024, to meet its overall 2025 nomination allocation of 150.

After intake closes, if the territory has obtained more applications than it can process, the NTNP will randomly select which applications to process and will notify applicants by email. 

The NTNP will process the selected applications according to work permit expiration dates. 

The Northwest Territories (NWT) government has also made changes to its allocations to better balance the need to be responsive to those with expiring work permits, to recognize those who have committed significant time to their NWT employer, and to support the diverse needs of NWT employers. 

Stream-By-Stream Allocations Under The NTNP

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program reopens on February 27. Below are the stream allocations under the NTNP. 

Employer-Driven Stream   

The NTNP’s Employer-Driven stream allows employers to hire and nominate foreign workers for Canadian permanent residence. As the name suggests, the Employer-Driven stream requires an NWT employer to apply on behalf of an immigration applicant. Foreign nationals cannot apply to the stream directly. 

The stream contains three categories: 

  • The Entry Level/ Semi-Skilled Professions Category 
  • The Skilled Worker Category 
  • The NWT Express Entry Category 

The table below shows the 2025 allotment for each stream, in addition to eligibility factors highlighted by the NTNP: 

Category  Allocation  Highlighted Eligibility 
Entry Level/ Semi-Skilled Professions Category  35 In addition to meeting all other eligibility criteria, applicants must have:

– An expiring work permit in 2025

– Been working full-time in the NWT for at least 12 months before applying
Skilled Worker Category 35 In addition to meeting all other eligibility criteria, applicants must have:

– A full-time and permanent job offer with an NWT employer

– 12 months of work experience in the nominating occupation

– An expiring work permit in 2025

OR

– Been working full-time in the NWT at least 18 months before applying

Unless otherwise specified, work experience for the above eligibility must be gained: 

  • Immediately prior to applying to the NTNP
  • With an applicant’s nominating employer and in the same occupation

In addition to the above, five applications under the Entry Level/ Semi-Skilled Occupations category and five more applications under the Skilled Worker and NWT Express Entry categories cumulatively will be reserved for NWT employers in communities outside Yellowknife. These applications will use the same eligible criteria highlighted above. 

The above table is not an exhaustive account of the eligibility criteria for these streams. 

Employer-Driven And Francophone Stream

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program reopens on February 27. Let us now discuss its Employer-Driven and Francophone stream. 

The NTNP will allocate 10 more applications to employers through this stream. These applications will be reserved for Francophone applicants. 

Under the NTNP’s 2025 intake, NWT employers will be restricted to the number of applications they can submit based on the number of employees they have: 

Number Of Employees Application Allocation
1 To 10 NWT Employees 1 Application
11 To 49 NWT Employees 2 Applications
50+ NWT Employees 4 Applications

The NTNP’s Francophone stream is another employer-led stream which allows NWT businesses to hire foreign nationals and nominate them for permanent residence. The stream requires foreign nationals to be bilingual and have a qualifying job offer from an NWT employer in order to be eligible. Foreign nationals can be employed in any National Occupation Classification (NOC) Training Education Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) level.

What Led To The Changes In NWT’s Application Intake?

These changes to the NTNP’s application intake come following a 50% reduction in the territory’s immigration nomination allocation for 2025, a common trend among all of Canada’s provinces and territories this year. 

In response to domestic housing and affordability pressures, IRCC declared last year that it would halve the PNP landings target for 2025. As a result, cumulative admissions allocations under Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs fell from 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025.

This change has had major downstream effects on PNPs, with many provinces and territories, including New Brunswick, Newfoundland and, Labrador, and the Yukon, altering their application intake in response. 

The reduction in PNP admissions allocations also comes in the midst of increasing demand for many Canadian immigration streams. In 2024, the NTNP hit its overall immigrant allocation for the year in July – a significant milestone and a first in the program’s history. 

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