Canada's provinces and territories run their own immigration streams, collectively called Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Each province decides which occupations and profiles it wants, which means criteria differ sharply: a profile that is invisible in the federal draw can be exactly what one province is recruiting for.
Streams exist for skilled workers, recent graduates, entrepreneurs and people with a job offer in the province. Some streams require a connection to the province; others actively recruit from abroad through occupation lists that change during the year.
A nomination matters because of the arithmetic: it adds 600 points to an Express Entry profile, moving almost any candidate above the draw cut-off. Some streams also run outside Express Entry entirely, with their own paper processes.
The practical work is matching: your occupation, education and language level against the streams currently open. That map changes monthly, which is why an assessment is a snapshot that needs a strategy behind it, not a one-time verdict.
General information about how Canada's immigration system is structured, current as of publication. Not legal advice, and no substitute for an assessment of your own profile.
