Federal Programs

Earlier this year, QICMS briefly wrote about Canada’s recently established three-year Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP) designed to attract skilled workers and international graduates seeking employment throughout the country’s western provinces. The AIPP itself was designed by the Government of Canada as a means to bring skills and innovation of foreign nationals into Canada’s borders. The launch of the AIPP couldn’t come at a better time as Canada continues to boost its efforts to court investors, entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and business-minded men and women needed to sustain Canada’s economy and aging labor force.

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Ahmed Hussen, recently revealed that as of March 31, over fifty employers from the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador have begun formal recruitment processes for immigrants meeting AIPP criteria. IRCC has stated that the AIPP’s three streams—the Atlantic High-Skilled Program (AHSP), the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program (AISP), and the Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP)—will accept up to 2,000 applications for entry to Canada.

According to Hussen, early interest from Canadian employers has been an encouraging indicator for the AIPP’s anticipated success, with nearly 200 employers already expressing interest to be involved in the program. As Hussen further noted, “Employers have been keen to get involved and provinces have started to receive applications from employers who wish to participate in the pilot.”

The AIPP is the latest provincial-based scheme to join the ranks of Canadian immigration programs aimed at attracting foreign nationals to the country. While the AIPP is mainly geared towards skilled workers and international graduates, Canada offers a number of programs specifically designed for investors, entrepreneurs, senior managers, and other business-minded men and women seeking immigration solutions abroad. Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), for instance, offer applicants Canadian permanent residency (PR) or Canadian work permit (WP) in exchange for a capital investment into new or existing businesses.

All applicants to Provincial Nominee Programs are required to have prior experience in business ownership and/or senior or executive management in addition to actively planning, managing, and controlling the indented business on a full-time and permanent basis. Some of the more popular PNP streams include the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program for Business (MPNP-B) and the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI-PNP), which provide Canadian permanent residency to successful applicants and their immediate family.

If active participation in business ownership or management is not the opportunity for you, the popular Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP)* offers high net worth individuals and their family Canadian permanent residency status in exchange for a risk-free (guaranteed) minimum investment of CAD $800,000 into Quebec’s economy. Other requirements for the QIIP include having a legally-obtained net worth of CAD $1.6 million and a minimum of two years’ management experience in the past five years to qualify.

*As of March 30, 2017, the Government of Quebec announced the QIIP new application intake cycle for 2017-2018. The new intake period will run from May 29, 2017 to February 23, 2018, with a quota of 1,900 applications. Due to the popularity of the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, the Government of Quebec anticipates the quota will be filled before the intake period ends.

When it comes to immigration to Canada, foreign nationals have a number of options to choose from. Depending on an individual’s immigration needs and objectives, finding the right program takes a bit of research and at the very least an idea on what province of Canada you want to resettle in—after all, it’s a big country! Contact our office today to discuss your plans for Canadian immigration or have our team of professionals answer any questions regarding immigration to Canada.

To see our Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Comparison Table, please click here.

For more information about the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, please click here.

For more information on Canadian immigration programs, please click here.

Fill out our Free Assessment to see if you qualify for any of the immigration programs offered.