As part of the strategy, the Premiers (who are the elected leaders of the provinces in Canada) of
New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador and
Prince Edward Island (PEI) want to talk to Canada’s federal government about relaxing the cap on the so-called Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
The PNP allows individual provinces and territories to select their own immigrants based on the needs of that particular province or territory. The federal government, through the
department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), together with a province or territory imposes a cap for every year for PNP immigration.
According to CIC, the national quota for PNP for this year is between 17,500 and 18,800 principle applicants.
But the PNP annual quota differs from province to province and some officials from the Atlantic provinces have been unhappy about that. They point out that New Brunswick, for example, has a population of 750,000 and is allocated a PNP cap of 625 every year while Manitoba, in the west, is allowed 5,000 under the PNP for a population of 1.2 million.
It is not clear, though, how many immigrants the four provinces want to bring under the PNP.
Attracting new immigrants has become critical for many of Canada’s provinces and territories. It is even more critical for the Atlantic provinces for four key reasons: keep population growing, keep pace with the developments in rest of Canada in terms of immigration, attract people with knowledge and attract fresh cash.
As one observer put it, the general population trend of Atlantic Canada is old, white and declining while in provinces like Ontario, British Columbia it is young, multicultural and growing.
Some of the provinces have already launched separate programs to boost immigration. For example, earlier this month, Nova Scotia launched an ambitious program to double its annual immigrant intake, to reach 7,200 immigrants by 2020, and part of the plan is to increase the PNP from the current 500 to 1,500.
One of the challenges faced by region is that many of the immigrants who move there do not remain there; they emigrate within Canada, mostly to major hubs such as Ontario or British Columbia after a few years.
But this might be changing. One study done by the St Mary’s University in Halifax, in Nova Scotia, found out that while 54 percent of the immigrants who had moved to the Atlantic region during the five years ending in 2001 were still in the region, this had gone up to 65 percent by 2006. Nova Scotia, in its new immigration strategy, plans to increase the retention rate to seventy percent.
Officials from the region say that immigrants generally fare better there, than in the major hubs. Some studies do show immigrants moving to the Atlantic provinces tend to get jobs appropriate to their professions faster and also earn more than immigrants moving to provinces such as Ontario.
Links to Atlantic Canadian Provincial Immigration Sites:
Image via WikipediaSome applicants may choose to use such a representative to act on their behalf with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Immigration and Refugee Board or the Canada Border Services Agency. There are two types of immigration representatives: paid and unpaid. Paid immigration representatives Only the following people may charge a fee or receive any other type of consideration, to represent or advise you in connection with a Canadian immigration proceeding or application: lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society Notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council The Government of Canada will not deal with non-authorized immigration representatives who charge for their services. NEW: Other people who offer paid immigration advice With the coming into force of Bill C-35, anyone who provides paid advice prior to the filing of an application or the commencement of a proceeding will need to be an authorized representative. This means that some third parties who were not formerly required to be recognized to provide paid advice will now have to refer people to an authorized representative or become authorized themselves. Some examples of paid advice or representation that will now be captured through the implementation of Bill C-35 include: representing the applicant during an immigration proceeding by speaking on their behalf. providing guidance to a client on how to select the best immigration stream and complete the appropriate forms. Unpaid immigration third parties Unpaid third parties, such as family members, friends, non-governmental or religious organizations will still be allowed to act on your behalf. To protect your privacy, CIC will not share any of your personal information with your consultant, lawyer, and other representative unless you provide your written consent using the Use of a Representative (IMM 5476) form. Other people who offer immigration advice or assistance People who provide immigration-related advice or assistance for a fee before the application is filed are not obliged to be authorized consultants. However, be aware that non-authorized consultants, lawyers, and other representatives or advisors are not regulated. This means that they may not have adequate knowledge or training. It also means that you cannot seek help from the professional bodies (that is, the law societies, ICCRC, etc.) if that person provides you with the wrong advice or behaves in an unprofessional way.
