British Columbia has received an increase of 1,254 nominations under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) and will begin processing some International Post-Graduate (IPG) applications submitted in 2024.

The total nomination allocation under the BC PNP for 2025 is now 5,254—up from 4,000. With this rise in allocations, the province has recovered approximately 69% of its 2024 provincial nomination allocation of 8,000 slots.

How will these additional nominations be used?

In response to receiving more nomination slots, the province plans to apply the additional nominations towards processing a portion of the 2,240 waitlisted International Post-Graduate (IPG) Stream applications it received last year. Earlier this year (April 14), British Columbia announced that it would be waitlisting IPG applications received between September 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025 until more nominations became available. Beyond this focus, the province will use the increase in nominations towards its existing priorities, which includes bringing more healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and high economic impact candidates to the province. British Columbia has stated that it is continuing to advocate for additional nominations for the BC PNP, and it will not be expanding on other priorities in 2025 until more have been obtained.

Why was the BC PNP allocated initially reduced?

In response to growing concerns over Canada’s housing market and the rising pressure on social service programs, the federal government has been working to steadily decrease overall immigration numbers. In the 2025-27 Immigration Levels Plan, the federal government detailed that the permanent resident admissions target for 2025 would be 395,000 (compared to 485,000 in 2024). As part of this overall reduction, the BC PNP allocation was initially reduced.