BC Provincial Nominee Program Priorities and Program Updates  • BCCIE

The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) delivers strong economic outcomes and has been updated to support B.C.’s Look West strategy, with a renewed focus on attracting top talent and addressing critical labour market needs. These updates are guided by three core objectives:

(1) Care—strengthening healthcare and other services within the care economy;
(2) Build—supporting the delivery of infrastructure and major projects; and
(3) Innovate—advancing innovation to help drive long term economic growth.

These changes will benefit all regions of B.C., with at least 35% of all nominations anticipated to be for candidates working in communities outside Metro Vancouver.

Care

The BC PNP will prioritize skilled workers that support public services and community well-being. This includes 36 in-demand occupations in healthcare, education, childcare, and veterinary care.

The BC PNP Health Authority stream will continue to nominate qualified healthcare professionals who work in the public sector directly delivering healthcare services. The program will also nominate select healthcare occupations working in the broader health sector.

Certified early childhood educators, veterinarians and veterinary technologists who are working toward Canadian certification will be prioritized.

The BC PNP will also leverage additional federal allocations that are available to support francophone recruitment by prioritizing French speaking teachers working for the province’s public K-12 school system.

Temporary time-limited initiative

The BC PNP will deliver a time-limited, one-time initiative to retain up to 250 workers already working for a health authority in a cleaning or security role in a rural or remote community who meet program criteria. This initiative will open in June 2026 to registrations using the BC PNP’s expression of interest system. More information will be provided before intake opens.

Build

To support construction delivery and major infrastructure projects, the BC PNP will prioritize certified workers in 9 key in-demand skilled trades.

Innovate

Attracting top talent across all sectors is key to driving innovation and long-term economic growth in B.C. The BC PNP will continue to conduct High Economic Impact invitations to apply (ITA) that target top talent in all sectors so that highly qualified professionals and entrepreneurs can be nominated to support economic growth as part of the province’s Look West strategy.

Other Program Changes

The BC PNP is making several important program changes that are aligned with the program’s updated objectives and limited number of available nominations:

The Entry Level and Semi Skilled (ELSS) stream is officially closed.
- The last invitations for this stream were issued on December 10, 2024. ELSS will soon be removed from the registration system and Program Guide. Individuals who were planning to apply under the ELSS stream may wish to explore alternative pathways to immigrate to BC.
The BC PNP will not be launching new student streams.
- International student graduates may wish to explore alternative pathways to immigrate to B.C. through existing BC PNP streams.
- Completion of studies in B.C./Canada will continue to receive additional registration points under the BC PNP.
The final draw for BC PNP priority technology occupations occurred on December 3, 2024. Going forward, the BC PNP will continue to issue targeted invitations for individuals creating high economic impact in B.C. to capture top talent across all sectors, including technology. All occupations on the previous technology occupations list remain eligible for the BC PNP.
The list of priority occupations related to healthcare and construction has been updated, and the program will be expanding the list of ineligible occupations and employers to focus nominations on priorities, strengthen program integrity, and ensure that British Columbians have opportunities in these roles.

More details about the changes will be included in an updated BC PNP Skills Immigration Program Guide which will be posted on the Documents page in the near future.

Strong Outcomes

Since 2022, the BC PNP shifted to be more strategic in its selection through prioritization of key occupations to support government priorities. The program has nominated:

3,887 healthcare professionals, including 475 doctors and 1,228 nurses and nurse practitioners
2,957 licensed childcare workers
826 construction and trades workers after targeting select certified trades
26 veterinarians and 116 veterinary technologists, many working outside Metro Vancouver
Over 38% of Skills Immigration nominees are working in regional communities, supporting population and economic growth across B.C.

Looking Ahead

B.C. continues to advocate to the federal government for increased provincial nominee allocations in 2026 and future years to support public services, major projects and infrastructure, economic growth, and regional communities across the province.