Canada's Provincial Nominee Program in 2026

The PNP lets participating provinces and territories nominate people who match local economic, labour-market and demographic priorities and intend to settle there.

Some nominations are Express Entry-linked. Others use a non-Express Entry federal PR process after nomination. A nomination is not a federal permanent-residence grant; IRCC still assesses the PR application and admissibility.

Province-specific criteria

There is no single Canada-wide PNP requirement. Job-offer rules, occupations, language levels, settlement ties, business criteria, intake windows and annual allocations can differ by jurisdiction and change during the year.

Quebec is not a PNP jurisdiction; it selects economic immigrants through its separate system. Nunavut does not operate a PNP.

Some provinces and territories have entrepreneur or business streams. These are provincial programs, not a single federal "Canada entrepreneur visa." The federal Start-up Visa is paused.

For current business-specific coverage—including B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, NWT, Saskatchewan's closure and Québec's separate system—use the provincial entrepreneur programs guide.

Compare Express Entry, AIP and RCIP/FCIP.

Verified against IRCC on 18 September 2026.

Official and supporting sources

Related routes in Canada