After the introduction of Category-based Express Entry draws, some candidates preferred more over others for Permanent residency. Based on their occupation rather than their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
This new immigration policy has opened countless new possibilities for everyone who didn’t have them before.
This may raise a new question. What about all the professions that are not targeted, with category-based Express Entry draws? This question can be answered by the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Even though previously the PNP was left behind Express Entry, today it’s Canada’s number one pathway for economic immigration into the country —held by every province except for Nunavut and Quebec.
PNPs had this targeted draw model long before Category-based Express Entry. Choosing a candidate who is eligible according to each province’s demographic and economic needs is the main motive behind this category-based draw.
Most PNPs have a list of targeted occupations that are in high demand in their respective provinces.
Below, we have listed some of the in-demand jobs by province, which are targeted through each province’s PNP—with relevant resources. Remember that each PNP has its basic eligibility criteria, which are necessary in addition to having full-time work experience in a targeted or in-demand profession.
For those who want to see if any job titles match their own, you can search each job title on the National Occupation Code (NOC) to determine job responsibilities and if it is fit your current role. NOCs are assigned to each job and are the Canadian government’s way of categorizing jobs in the country.
Alberta
The AAIP (Alberta PNP) doesn’t have a formal list targeting specific occupations. Still, the province has posted a list of occupations that are currently in high demand. This list also shows the number of people currently employed in each role and includes occupations such as:
- Registered psychiatric nurses and Registered nurses;
- Retail/sales supervisors;
- Retail and wholesale trade managers;
- Transport truck drivers;
- Accounting and accounting-related clerks, and more.
Besides, Alberta has also posted a list of ineligible occupations, which means that the individuals who work in these jobs are ineligible for PNP immigration. The province also holds targeted draws for agriculture workers and healthcare workers, under the Priority Sectors and Dedicated Healthcare pathway and Farm streams respectively.
British Columbia
The BCPNP (British Columbia PNP) has divided its targeted occupations into four different categories:
- Healthcare occupations (such as pharmacists, dentists, physiotherapists, etc.);
- Tech occupations (such as web designers, data scientists, astronomers., physicists, etc.);
- Other priority occupations (specifically targeting veterinarians Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians); and
- Childcare occupations (which specifically target Early childhood educators and assistants).
Manitoba
The MPNP (Manitoba PNP)—the oldest PNP in Canada—organizes its targeted occupations into 10 different categories:
- Business, finance, and administration occupations—including human resource professionals, administrative officers, financial managers, and more;
- Natural and applied sciences and related occupations—including architects, land surveyors, data scientists, mechanical and civil engineers, and more;
- Health occupations—including psychologists, pharmacists, physical therapists, and more;
- Occupations in education, law, and social, community, and government services—including social workers, lawyers, therapists, early childhood educators and assistants, and more;
- Occupations in recreation, art, and sport—including video and audio recording technicians, illustrators and graphic designers, fitness and sports program and service directors, and more;
- Sales and service occupations—including corporate sales managers, retail sales supervisors, cooks, bakers, and more;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators, and related occupations—including construction managers, tool and die makers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and more;
- Agriculture, Natural resources, and related occupations—This targets managers specifically in the field of agriculture.
- Occupations in manufacturing and utilities—which targets manufacturing managers, utility managers, power engineers, power system operators; and
- Rural in-demand occupations—which target Nurse’s aides, orderlies, patient service associates, industrial butchers, meat cutters, poultry preparers, and related workers.
New Brunswick
The NBPNP (New Brunswick PNP) doesn’t have a formal list targeting specific occupations, but the province does provide information about the sectors with the highest job vacancies*; You can filter the search results by specific regions in New Brunswick. In July 2023, these sectors are:
- Sales and service—including occupations like cashiers, retail salespersons, retail sales supervisors, and more;
- Other services—which include administrative assistants, hairstylists, barbers, estheticians, bus mechanics, and more;
- Business, administration, and finance—including financial sales representatives, light duty cleaners, administrative assistants, police officers, other customer and information service representatives, and more;
- Transport, Trades, and equipment operators and related—which encompasses roles like clerks, store shelf stockers, letter carriers, transport truck drivers, and laborers in food, beverage, and associated products processing (among others);
- Law, Education, and social and community government—including roles such as university professors and lecturers, elementary and kindergarten schoolteachers, building superintendents, non-commissioned ranks of the Canadian armed forces, and more; and
- Health occupations—which include professions like early childhood educators, licensed practical nurses, and assistants, home support workers, nurses’ aides, orderlies, patient service associates, and more;
*These reports are updated every month, with in-demand sectors likely to see some change from month to month. These updated reports can be accessed here.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The NLPNP (Newfoundland and Labrador PNP) categorizes its in-demand occupations under four broad categories:
- Healthcare occupations—this encompasses professions like nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, physicians, clinical psychologists, and more;
- Information Communications Technology occupations—including professions like biomedical engineers, software developers, AI developers, UI/UX developers, and more;
- Technical specialist occupations—including jobs like cloud specialists, security specialists, data analysts, bioinformaticians, offshore technicians, and more; and
- Aquaculture occupations—including jobs like farming and facility technicians, feeding managers, assistant managers, captains (requiring a fishing master class-4 certificate), and more.
Northwest Territories
The NTPNP (Northwest Territories PNP) doesn’t have a formal list targeting specific occupations, just like some other PNPs—Still, the province has posted a forecast of top in-demand jobs for the next 15 years (starting in 2019). Instead of classifying these roles by category, the NTPNP grouped occupations by required education or experience level and listed the five job roles that will have the most job vacancies from now till 2034. These include:
- Roles that need less than a high-school level of education—the three professions that had the highest forecasted job vacancies for the next 15 years here were respectively: caretakers, janitors, building superintendents, light duty cleaners, and cashiers.
- Roles that need a high-school level of education—the three professions that had the highest forecasted job vacancies were respectively: Heavy equipment operators (except crane), transport truck drivers, retail salespersons;
- Roles in the skilled trades that need an occupational certification level of education. The three roles with the most forecasted job vacancies here were respectively: Carpenters, electricians (except industrial and power systems), truck and bus mechanics, automotive service technicians, and mechanical repairers;
- Roles that need a college diploma level of education—the three roles with the highest forecasted vacancies respectively were: administrative assistants, administrative officers, and social and community service workers;
- Roles that need a university degree level of education—the three professions with this highest job vacancies here were kindergarten teachers and elementary school, registered nurses and psychiatric nurses, and secondary school teachers; and
- Roles that need a management level of experience—the jobs that had the highest vacancies here were: retail and wholesale trade managers, construction managers, and financial managers.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s PNP—The NSNP (Nova Scotia Nominee Program) has a small formal list of targeted occupations, including several sectors. These targeted occupations are all within experience, training, responsibilities, and education (TEER) levels 3, 4, and 5. TEER codes span from 0-5, with roles at the 0 levels being responsibility intensive and needing the most education and experience of all jobs classified; roles at the 5 level requiring the minimum education and experience.
The targeted occupations in Nova Scotia were:
- Food and beverage servers;
- Nurse’s aides;
- Light duty cleaners;
- Kitchen helpers, Food counter attendants, etc.;
- support occupations;
- Heavy equipment operators;
- Transport truck drivers; and
- Construction trades helpers and laborers.
Ontario
The OINP (Ontario PNP) uses the OINP Employer Job Offer stream to invite individuals who have both a job offer by an employer and have skills in an in-demand position. Importantly the stream also has several other stipulations, such as work experience, median wage, language ability, and more.
In addition, in-demand jobs come in two forms: in-demand positions outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and in-demand jobs for positions anywhere in Ontario.
Here are some positions in demand anywhere in Ontario:
- Fishmongers (retail and wholesale) and Meat cutters;
- Construction trades helpers and laborers; and
- Home support workers, caregivers, and related occupations
Here are some positions in demand outside of the GTA:
- Metalworking and forging machine operators;
- Mechanical assemblers’ inspectors; and
- Mineral, machine operators, and metal processing.
Prince Edward Island
PEIPNP (Prince Edward Island’s PNP) is targeting the following in-demand occupations:
- Transport truck drivers;
- Nurse’s aides, orderlies, and patient service associates;
- Construction trades helpers and laborers;
- Light duty cleaners;
- Other laborers in manufacturing, processing, and utilities;
- Material handlers;
- Machine operators for food and beverage processing) and Process control; and
- Meat cutters, Industrial butchers, related workers, and poultry preparers.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan’s PNP (SINP) doesn’t have a targeted occupation list, instead choosing target occupations in TEER levels 0, 1, 2, and 3. Other than those on the list of excluded occupations. Professions on
This list is ineligible to apply to the SINP through the Category-based Express Entry and Occupations in Demand Streams.
Yukon
Just like some other provinces, YNP (Yukon’s PNP) does not have a formal list of eligible occupations, instead using two streams—The Skilled Worker and Critical Impact Worker streams—to target occupations in TEER levels 0, 1, 2, and 3 and TEER levels 4 and 5 respectively. Employers and employees (with a job offer from Yukon) must apply to the program.
