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°ä²¹²Ô²¹»å²¹â€™s (PNP) issued nearly 5,000 invitations to apply for provincial nomination in March, a number similar to previous months.

Most participating provinces and territories have at least one PNP stream that is aligned with the federal system, which is °ä²¹²Ô²¹»å²¹â€™s management system for three immigration programs: the Ìý(CEC) the (FSWP), and the (FSTP).

Express Entry-linked PNP streams, also known as "enhanced" PNPs, allow a province to select candidates who have profiles in the Express Entry pool and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination.

In an effort to reduce the backlog and processing delays currently affecting permanent resident applicants, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has paused issuing Express Entry invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates. It is important to note that this is a temporary interruption and that although he has not yet given a date, , Sean Fraser, has stated on numerous occasions in recent months that invitation rounds for these programs will resume in the "near term." Moreover, given the importance of the PNP for the provinces and territories, IRCC is ensuring that invitations for PNP candidates continue to be issued every two weeks.

In fact, last month broke a record by sending out 2,145 through two rounds, almost twice as many as the previous month which saw a total of 1,428 PNP candidates invited via two draws. This upward trend continued in March with nearly 3,000 candidates invited in three PNP-specific Express Entry draws.

Alberta

In March, Alberta released the results of two (AAIP) draws, totalling 700 invitations. The province invited 350 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination on March 8, and another 350 candidates on March 24 under the .

Alberta also announced on March 4 that it is putting temporary processing who apply through the AAIP. These measures include priority processing of applications from Ukrainians, waiving their service fees and, in some cases, the receipt of incomplete applications.

British Columbia

Through the (BC PNP), the province invites top-scoring provincial candidates every week. Invited candidates may apply to , , as well as the stream. In March, the province invited over 900 candidates who may apply to , , the stream as well as through the .

In addition, the province announced on March 10 that it was taking steps to address the critical need for health care workers and early childhood educators by making a number of changes to the BC PNP skills immigration stream. These changes include a new BC PNP priority list of occupations and periodic draws targeting specific occupations. Health care and dental assistants have also been added as eligible occupations to the province’s category and the requirement for two years of directly related experience was replaced by two years of skilled experience under the BC skilled worker category.

Manitoba

Manitoba issues invitations regularly through the following three streams: , , and . The province held two general draws last month, the first on March 10 and the second on March 24. A total of 311 Letters of Advice to Apply were issued of which 76 were sent to candidates who had a valid Express Entry profile.

The province is also among those that have announced . As part of this response, Manitoba is holding regular EOI draws for individuals who meet MPNP eligibility criteria and are affected by the current situation in Ukraine.Ìý To date, the province has held two such draws, one on March 10 with 71 invitations and one on March 18 with 16 invitations.

Ontario

The (OINP) issued a total of 2,430 invitations in March.

The first draw was held on March 1 and the province invited 1,320 candidates from the : Ìý, and streams as well as the .

A few days later, on March 4 , the province invited 21 candidates to apply to the

On March 24, Ontario invited 471 candidates who may qualify for Ontario’s

Lastly, on March 30, the province again issued invitations under the : , and streams as well as the . This time, a total of 618 candidates received invitations to apply for a provincial nomination from Ontario.

Prince Edward Island

(PEI PNP) draws are prescheduled and held once a month. The PEI PNP held a draw on March 17 and invited 141 candidates from the and streams and 11 from the .

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan released details of a draw held through its EOI system onÌý March 3. The number of invitations issued was 58. The province also provided the dates for upcoming draws under this category: May 5, July 7, September 1 and November 3.

On March 7, Saskatchewan launched the new Tech Talent Pathway under theÌý (SINP) to attract tech workers into the province. The is intended to ease critical labour shortages in Saskatchewan’s tech sector. To be eligible, applicants must have a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer in one of the 11 targeted technology occupations.

On March 8, the (SINP) invited a total of 85 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. A total ofÌý39 invitations went to Ìýand 43 invitations went toÌý candidates in that invitation round.

In response to theÌýcrisis in Ukraine, Saskatchewan is also holding separate draws for people whose current country of residence is Ukraine. The first draw was held on March 4 with 36 invitations sent out and the second was held on March 8 where three invitations were sent.

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