British Columbia and Alberta want to increase Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Quotas

Alberta and BC need more skilled workers through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

British Columbia and Alberta both have their own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), but with booming industries and plenty of jobs available, these provinces are finding there aren’t enough workers to go around. That’s why they formally requested that they are able to increase the number if immigrants they can choose using the Provincial Nominee Program.

Alberta request to expand Provincial Nominee Program denied

It seems the government is slow to catch up with the influx of immigrants choosing to settle in western provinces like British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan as opposed to Ontario. Unfortunately, Alberta was recently denied when they asked for an increase of workers through its Provincial Nominee Program.

British Columbia has now gone ahead and asked for an increase of allotted immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program from 3,500 to 10,000 and has not gotten an official answer yet. Alberta had asked to increase its number from 5,000 to 10,000.

The number of immigrants chosen to work in British Columbia through the Provincial Nominee Program has increased immensely over the past few years – from 600 in 2004 to 4,900 in 2010.

But the Canadian government has said that the provinces need to tighten the programs before they expand them. “There are quality control problems, there are certain integrity problems”, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney told the Vancouver Sun.

Meanwhile, western provinces are facing worker shortages in fields for which skilled immigrants are available.