After a halt in application intake since December 2023, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) officially ended its entrepreneur immigration track on November 4.
Additionally, on November 5 and 6, respectively, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) selected candidates for skilled workers and entrepreneurs hoping to immigrate to the province.
Updates on provincial immigration from November 1–8
Ontario
The Entrepreneur stream will no longer be offered by the OINP.
The provincial authorities declared that changes to “wind-down and close” the stream are presently being implemented.
Applications that have already been filed under the Entrepreneur stream will be processed in compliance with the most recent rules. Based on their promises to locate their firms in Ontario, current candidates with applications in the stream may still qualify for a provincial nomination for permanent residence (PR) under these modifications.
In the upcoming days, the OINP will get in touch with all current Entrepreneur stream applicants (as well as their designated representatives) to provide them with more details on their options for next steps in the application processing process.
Go to our dedicated webpage here to find out more about the OINP.
You may get more details regarding the routes taken by entrepreneurs who want to settle in Canada here.
British Columbia
On November 5 and 6, the BCPNP conducted two draws.
Under the Base and Regional Entrepreneur streams, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) held two selections on November 5. With varying cut-off scores for each stream, these choices cumulatively sent out at least 11 invitations to apply (ITAs):
The BCPNP conducted another draw for the International Graduate, Skilled Worker stream on November 6. Candidates in the stream who also had valid profiles in Canada’s federal Express Entry pool—referred to in this draw as the Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option—were also taken into consideration. Through a procedure known as enhanced provincial nomination, a province may nominate candidates in the Express Entry pool.
Different cut-off scores and invites were sent out based on the sectors and professions targeted, and candidates were invited based on their professional experience in key occupations in British Columbia:
| Stream | Professions targeted | Cut-off score | ITAs issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker, International Graduate | Childcare | 96 | 7 |
| Construction | 97 | 5 | |
| Healthcare | 111 | 8 | |
| Tech | 128 | 31 |