Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): How Provinces Choose Immigrants in 2026

The PNP is a two-step process:

1. The province selects you. You apply to a province's stream (often by submitting an Expression of Interest first). If the province approves you, it issues a nomination.
2. IRCC approves you. You apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC checks medical, security, and criminal admissibility and makes the final decision.

Each province designs its own streams. Most target workers with a job offer, graduates of local schools, people already working in the province, or specific occupations such as healthcare and trades. Some also run entrepreneur streams.

A nomination is based on your intent to live in that province. Once you are a permanent resident, you have the legal right to move, but applying with no real intent to settle can be treated as misrepresentation.

Base streams matter for workers in lower-skilled jobs (TEER 4 and 5) who cannot enter Express Entry. See Express Entry vs PNP for a full comparison.

IRCC gives each province a yearly allocation. For 2026 allocations rose about 31% from 2025, as reported by CIC News in March 2026:

Nunavut has no PNP. Quebec selects its own immigrants through programs such as the PSTQ and PEQ.

Several provinces rebuilt their programs this year. Always check the province's own site before applying.

• Ontario repealed all legacy OINP streams on May 30, 2026, and replaced them with the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream (pathways for TEER 0-3 jobs, TEER 4-5 jobs, and self-employed physicians). Its portal opened August 4, 2026. See the Ontario PNP overhaul.
• British Columbia restructured in April 2026. Skills Immigration now has only the Skilled Worker and Health Authority streams (each with an Express Entry BC option). The graduate and entry-level streams were cut, and the Entrepreneur stream is capped. See the BC PNP overhaul.
• Nova Scotia went from 10 streams to 4 on February 18, 2026.
• New Brunswick closed its Skilled Worker with Family Support stream and paused its Express Entry Labour Market and Entrepreneurial streams. Since May 2026, NB Experience covers only healthcare, education, and construction.
• Saskatchewan accepts applications in capped windows by sector, with no scheduled draws. Its Entrepreneur stream is closed.
• Quebec reopened the PEQ for a temporary window; the first intake closes October 31, 2026. See the Quebec PEQ window.

You pay two sets of fees: the province's application fee (which varies by province and stream; check each province's site) and IRCC's permanent residence fees.

As of September 2026 (fees rose on April 30, 2026), IRCC charges these fees for economic programs such as Express Entry and the PNP, in Canadian dollars:

Biometrics cost $85 per person, or $170 for a family applying together. Check the IRCC fee list before paying, because fees change.

Timelines also have two parts. The province's processing time depends on the stream. IRCC's processing is usually faster for enhanced (Express Entry) nominations than for base nominations. Check the IRCC processing times tool or our processing times page for current times.

The PNP tends to work best for people who:

• Have a job offer from an employer in a specific province, especially outside the largest cities.
• Studied or already work in the province, since many streams favor local graduates and workers.
• Work in an in-demand field, such as healthcare, construction and trades, or early childhood education, which many provinces target.
• Have a CRS score below recent Express Entry cutoffs, since an enhanced nomination adds 600 points.
• Work in TEER 4 or 5 jobs, which do not qualify for Express Entry but can qualify for some base streams.

It is a weaker fit if you have no link to any province and a low score, because many streams now favor people already in Canada. Provincial allocations are limited, and several provinces closed or narrowed streams in 2026. Read each province hub before paying any fees, and talk to a lawyer or licensed consultant (RCIC) if you have a past refusal or complex history.

Many streams require a job offer from an employer in the province, and some require the employer to register or be approved first. Employers can read PNP employer streams. As a worker, never pay an employer or recruiter for a job offer. See scam protection.

• Express Entry on its own, especially through category-based draws.
• Atlantic Immigration Program for job offers from designated employers in the four Atlantic provinces.
• Rural Community Immigration Pilot and Francophone Community Immigration Pilot for job offers in participating communities.