British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) – Statistical Report （1）

Introduction

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Statistical Report has been produced annually since 2017 to share key program statistical results. The 2021 report provides an overview of key program statistics for the 2021 calendar year.

The 2021 edition is organized so that each program stream has its own section, using an explanatory narrative to provide context given that the streams are uniquely distinct from each other. Much of the statistical information is presented in the form of pie or line charts or simple diagrams, using visuals to convey the results of a complex program.

New in this year’s report is an overview of the BC PNP’s strategic objectives, as well as an expanded number of related key performance measures.

Previous PDF Versions:
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Statistical Reports:  2016/2017/2017/2018/2019/2020/2021

Program Overview

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee  Program  (BC PNP) was created in 2001 to strategically select and nominate a limited number of prospective immigrants for permanent residence status in Canada. BC provincial nominees  can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence for themselves and their dependents.

The BC PNP is the only tool available to the Province to directly select economic immigrants who will be coming to live and work in B.C. and create economic benefit.

Two Streams: Skills and Entrepreneur Immigration

The BC PNP has two streams, each of which takes a unique approach to select immigrants who have the skills and experience needed to help with B.C.’s economic recovery and growth.

The Skills Immigration (SI) stream is for workers with the skills, experience, and qualifications needed by B.C. employers.

The Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream is for experienced entrepreneurs who intend  to actively manage an eligible business in the province.

The SI stream typically accounts for about 99 per cent of BC PNP nominees, but up to 5 per cent of the program’s nominations can be used for the EI stream.

The COVID-19 pandemic  continued to affect the BC PNP in 2021. The effect was especially notable for EI, as travel restrictions continued to impact the in-person  exploratory visits required for the

EI-Regional Pilot. In addition, while processing of EI applications continued, various restrictions made it more difficult for entrepreneurs to arrive in Canada and establish their businesses.

Total BC PNP Nominations
Stream	2021	2020	2019	2018
Skills Immigration (SI)	6,213	6,251	6,503	6,439
Entrepreneur Immigration (EI)	38	17	48	61
Total	6,251	6,268	6,551	6,500

Strategic Objectives

The Province of British Columbia’s 2020 Strategic Plan introduced a set of broad goals for government, and the BC PNP works to align its program offerings to support as many of those goals as possible.

The BC PNP helps improve the standard of living for British Columbians by selecting nominees who are self-sufficient and contribute to increased wages in their sectors for all workers.

The BC PNP supports the provincial economy’s ability to deliver the services that people count on by helping to address labour shortages in key service areas that British Columbians need, such as healthcare workers and early childhood educators.

The BC PNP helps build a sustainable economy that creates opportunities for everyone by supplementing the workforce in occupations that the domestic workforce cannot fully supply by itself. It also selects nominees who will encourage regional development by settling in communities outside of major urban centers, and it selects innovators and experts who will transfer knowledge and skills to British Columbians.

Finally, the BC PNP advances equality, diversity, and inclusion by selecting nominees who contribute to the diversity of social, cultural, and economic fabric of their new communities. It
also strives to minimize any negative impact it might have on equity-seeking groups.

Key Performance Measures

The BC PNP continues to develop and refine key performance measures so that the program’s contribution to the economic development of British Columbia can be more easily quantified, understood and reported publicly. In last year’s report, there were two preliminary performance measures related to wage and regional program use in Skills Immigration.

This year’s report builds on that initial selection by adding regional program use for Entrepreneur Immigration as well as a new performance measure that monitors the number of nominees who perform essential services in health care and early childhood education. Specific targets for each performance measure have been added or are in development for inclusion in future reporting.

Objectives	Performance Measures	Baseline	BC PNP 2021 Data	Target (2022)
1 The BC PNP selects nominees who are self- sufficient and who help increase wages in their sectors for all workers	Median wage of Skills Immigration (SI) nominees compared  to median wage of British Columbians	Median wage for all B.C. workers ($26.92/hour in 2021)	Median wage for BC PNP SI nominees in