Vancouver — The Government of Canada will continue to provide British Columbia with a record amount of space in the country’s immigration program in 2012, James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced today on behalf of Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.
In 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (
CIC) plans to welcome 42,000 to 45,000 people under the Provincial Nominee Program (
PNP), including nominees themselves, their spouses and dependants.
CIC is on track to welcome a record number of provincial nominees this year and could set another milestone in 2012 if provinces submit enough nominations early on to fill their allotted space in the program. BC’s proportion of nominations was 17 percent this year. The
PNP allotments for 2012 are still being finalized and will be released later.
British Columbia’s
PNP has jumped more than eight-fold, from approximately 600 people admitted in 2004 to 4,900 people in 2010. Provincial nominees accounted for 16 percent of economic class admissions and 11 percent of total immigration to BC in 2010.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the valuable contributions of immigrants to British Columbia’s communities and economy,” said Minister Moore. “We are committed to working with provinces and territories to meet local labour market needs.” Today, the
PNPhas become the second largest source of economic immigration to Canada.
Immigration is a shared responsibility between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories. The
PNP gives provinces and territories an active role in immigrant selection by authorizing them to nominate for permanent residence individuals who meet specific local labour market needs. Each jurisdiction is responsible for the design and management of their respective program, including the development of nomination criteria.
CIC conducted a national evaluation of the
PNP last year and expects to release the results in 2012.
