A recent pilot program that connects skilled immigrants with employers in Quebec’s outlying regions is turning beneficial for companies in the mining city of Val d’Or.  An initiative of Quebec’s federation of chambers of commerce (FCCQ) with funding from the provincial government, the pilot addresses labour shortages in eight regions.

The pilot, organizes job fairs with local companies in need of workers and charters travel for job-seeking immigrants to meet with them. It’s recent success in Val d’Or, a city of over 33,000, is an example of the pilot’s growing success.

-Groups of around 25 skilled newcomers, many with potential job offers, are flown to Val d’Or aboard a chartered flight.

-Upon landing, they are met by members of the local chamber of commerce and given a bus tour of the city to see its sites and get a feel for the quality of life that Val d’Or offers.

-The job-seekers are then split into smaller groups to visit some of the city’s main employers and then meet with recruiters to discuss employment possibilities.

-The interaction that the trip provides with locals is seen as key and serves to break down barriers that can prevent a newcomer from feeling welcome and wanting to stay.

It has been cited as an ‘An exceptional initiative’ in an interview with Radio-Canada.

Stéphane Ferron, President of the Val d’Or Chamber of Commerce, said his city was one of the first to implement the Government of Quebec-funded pilot project.

This program is an absolute winner as it allows people to see the place where they’re being recruited and adequately improves and increases the chances of their integration and retention in the workforce.

Following this a number of families have moved up there after finding work. Retaining and finding jobs for all 25 is ideal but even if a few could be made to stay back and settle, their future generations might help mitigate the shortage and become future ambassadors for for Val d’Or.

The PNP’s growth is also helping alter settlement patterns away from Canada’s largest cities, which have long attracted the vast majority of newcomers to Canada.

Provinces like Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Saskatchewan all have Express Entry-linked nominee programs that have been active in 2018.

"The initial location decision of [economic principal applicants, or EPAs] is a very strong predictor of their location years later," the study said. "Indeed, only about 11 per cent of EPAs have moved to or out of [Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver] by 10 years of landing."

A trend was identified in a new report by Statistics Canada, which found that most economic immigrants remain where they first settle, be it a larger city or outside one.

"Express Entry candidates should really get to know Canada’s various provincial nominee programs, especially given their rising star status in Canada’s immigration strategy," said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal. "The allure of big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver shouldn’t obscure the great things that provinces like Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have to offer."

The rising number of candidates in the Express Entry pool with a provincial nomination and the 600 points that go with it may be partly responsible for the increase that we’ve seen in Express Entry minimum scores in 2018, which haven’t gone below 440.

If this trend continues, obtaining a provincial nomination may now be one of the best bets for receiving an ITA for Express Entry candidates with scores below 440.

Regular invitation rounds through Ontario’s Express Entry-linked French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream continue this month, with 13 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence issued on December 13.

The invitations followed 45 that were issued December 6 and bring the month-to-date total to 58 invitations through the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream in December.

It’s been an active 2018 for the stream, which has now issued 1,609 invitations or Notifications Of Interest (NOIs) over the course of the year through near weekly draws. November alone saw the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issue NOIs through it on five occasions.

The vast majority of NOIs issued in 2018 have come through Ontario’s three Express Entry- linked streams, which also include the Human Capital Priorities and Skilled Trades streams.

The Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s Federal High Skilled immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Class.

Express Entry candidates who receive a NOI and successfully apply for a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking Score, which determines their position in the Express Entry pool.

These additional 600 points effectively guarantee an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence from the Government of Canada.

The French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream allows the OINP to search the Express Entry pool for eligible French-speaking candidates with strong English language abilities.

Candidates must be eligible for either the Federal Skilled Worker Class or the Canadian Experience Class, and meet specified provincial criteria in order to be considered for a NOI from the OINP.

According to new data from the Government of Canada, invitations issued to Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination for permanent residence are up this year.   Of the 62,500 Express Entry candidates invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence between January and September, 12 per cent — or roughly 7,500 — had a provincial nomination.

During this same period in 2017, Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued to Express Entry candidates nominated by a Canadian province or territory stood at just over nine per cent of all invitations issued.

Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) works to spread the benefits of immigration more evenly across Canada by allowing participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of economic immigration candidates for permanent residence each year.

Every province and territory with an immigrant nominee program now has at least one immigration stream that is linked to the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three main federal economic immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.

Express Entry candidates who receive a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry ranking score, which effectively guarantees an ITA in a subsequent Express Entry invitation round held by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The increase in ITAs issued to provincial nominees reflects the growing importance of the PNP to the federal government’s overall immigration strategy. In its 2018 report to Parliament, IRCC noted that the PNP has grown “exponentially” since its implementation in 1996 — from 233 admissions in 1996 to 49,724 in 2017.

Of these nearly 50,000 new permanent residents admitted through the PNP in 2017, 13,531 were Express Entry candidates and their family members. IRCC said this was an increase of 73 per cent over Express Entry admissions in 2016.