B.C. Urges Federal Government to Increase Provincial Nominee Program Quotas

The British Columbia government is calling on the federal government to raise its 2025 allocation under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), citing urgent workforce needs. The province reports that it met its 2024 target of 8,000 workers and is now requesting an increase to 11,000 nominees for 2025. However, Ottawa has reduced B.C.’s allocation to just 4,000, a move the province says is undermining its ability to meet labour market demands.

The B.C. government argues that a higher quota would enable the province to process the majority of pending applications and accept approximately 1,100 additional applications this year, particularly in high-demand sectors such as health care. These include doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals.

Officials also emphasized that most applicants are already living and working in B.C., and increasing the quota is essential to retaining talent in critical industries facing labour shortages.