Canada immigration update: All draws in February 2021

Canada remains the most welcoming country for a migrant.

Grappling with a low birth rate on one hand and an aging population on the other, Canada looks upon immigration as holding the key to fixing a part of the imminent labour shortage problem.

That immigrants play a significant role in the Canadian demographics can be gauged from certain interesting statistics–

High demand for immigrants in the healthcare sector in Canada

Canada: Immigrants account for 33% of all business owners

500,000 immigrants working in Canada are trained in STEM fields

More than 1 out of every 4 workers in the food and beverage sector are immigrants

In 2021, Canada has a target of welcoming 401,000 newcomers to the country. A majority [108,500] of such newcomers will be through the economic immigration programs –

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program [FSWP],
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program [FSTP], and
• The Canadian Experience Class [CEC]

managed by the federal government of Canada through the Express Entry system.

With over 80 Canada immigration pathways available, the Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] of Canada also has various ‘streams’ aligned with the federal Express Entry system.

The PNP target stands at 80,800 for 2021.

Quebec, the only Canadian province that is not a part of the PNP, plans on the induction of 47,500 immigrants in 2021.

Here, we shall see all the draws – federal and provincial – conducted by Canada in February 2021.

[I] Federal Draws in February 2021

February 2021 was notable in the fact that the largest draw in the history of the Express Entry system was held this month.

A record 27,332 invitations were issued in a single draw by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] in Express Entry Draw #176.

No all-program Express Entry draw was held this month.

Express Entry Draws held in February 2021 – 2

Total ITAs issued by IRCC in February 2021 – 27,986

 

Sl. No.	Draw No.	Invited	Date of Draw	CRS cut-off	ITAs issued	For details
1	#175	PNP	February 10, 2021	CRS 720	654	Express Entry: 654 PNP candidates invited in the latest draw
2	#176	CEC	February 13, 2021	CRS 75	27,332	Express Entry: A historic 27,332 invited in a single draw

[II] Provincial Draws in February 2021

Each of the provincial pathways to Canada PR specifically targets a specific class of immigrants.

For those seeking Canada immigrationthrough the PNP route, a pre-requisite would be to have a clear intention of settling within that particular province or territory after being granted their Canada PR.

Nominations secured under any of the Express Entry lined PNP streams are ‘enhanced’ nominations that can be applied to electronically. Other PNP streams have a paper-based application process instead.

A provincial nomination fetches an Express Entry candidate 600 additional points towards their Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS] score.

Hence, a PNP nomination is a guarantee of the individual being invited by IRCC in the subsequent Express Entry draw.

[A] By Quebec

No draw was held by Quebec in February 2021.

Latest draw by Quebec: January 26, 2021.

[B] Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] invitations in February 2021

Number of PNP invitations issued, by province –

 

PNP Province/Territory	Total invitations in January 2021	Total invitations in February 2021
Alberta	150	359
British Columbia	523	871
Manitoba	490	503
New Brunswick	0	0
Newfoundland and Labrador	0	0
Northwest Territories	0	0
Nova Scotia	Not disclosed	0
Ontario	484	1,469
Prince Edward Island	211	121
Saskatchewan	887	840
Yukon	0	0

 

Details of the PNP draws held in February 2021 –

 

PROVINCE / TERRITORY	CATEGORY / STREAM	STATUS		DRAW INFORMATION
Alberta	Express Entry	2 draws		·         February 16 – invitations issued: 159 [minimum score required: CRS 352] ·         February 10 – invitations issued: 200 [minimum score required: CRS 301]
British Columbia	Skills Immigration [SI], Express Entry BC [EEBC], Entrepreneur Immigration [EI]	6 draws	·	·         February 23– invitations issued: 87 [Tech Pilot draw] ·         February 16 – invitations issued: 459 ·         February 16 – invitations issued:35 [invitations only to NOC 0621 and NOC 0631] ·         February 9 – invitations issued: 74 [Tech Pilot draw] ·         February 2 – invitations issued: 208 ·         February 2 – [EI] invitations issued: 8
Manitoba	Skilled Workers in Manitoba, International Education Stream, Skilled Workers Overseas	2 draws	·	·         February 26 [EOI Draw #109] – invitations issued 207 [includes 5 Express Entry candidates] ·         February 12 [EOI Draw #108] – invitations issued: 296 [includes 20 Express Entry candidates]
New Brunswick	Express Entry	No update for this month		Postponed
Newfoundland and Labrador	Express Entry & Other Program	No update For this month		No invitations issued so far this year   A new stream – Priority Skills Newfoundland and Labrador – launched in January 2021.
Northwest Territories	-	-		-
Nova Scotia	Express Entry	No draw held		-
Ontario	Human Capital Priorities [HCP]	2 draws held		·         February 16 – invitations issued: 1,186 ·         February 2 – invitations issued: 283
Prince Edward Island	Labour & Express Entry, Business Work Permit	1 draw held		February 18 – total invitations: 121
Saskatchewan	Express Entry and Occupation In-Demand	2 draws held	·	·         February 25 – total invitations: 299 ·         February 11 – total invitations: 541
Yukon	-	-	·	-

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate Overseas, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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