Most Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) have priority sectors and occupations that they target and prioritize for permanent residence (PR). If you are currently employed or have a job offer in an eligible in-demand profession, your chance of getting a provincial nomination for permanent residence rises significantly.
Provinces frequently draw from the federal Express Entry pool, selecting candidates whose primary occupation aligns with their labour needs and inviting them to apply for provincial nomination through their Express Entry-aligned (or enhanced) streams.
With a provincial nomination, you can receive 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points through Canada’s Express Entry system and benefit from accelerated application processing.
This article will cover each province’s priority sectors and occupations, and the Express Entry-aligned streams for which in-demand professions have an advantage.
The following table provides a high-level overview of which sectors are currently in high demand in each province and territory, for all respective Express Entry PNP streams or pathways.
| Province or territory | Sectors being prioritized |
|---|---|
| Alberta | – Agriculture; – Aviation; – Construction; – Health care; – Technology; and – Law enforcement. |
| British Columbia | – Childcare; – Construction; – Health care; – Technology; and – Veterinary care. |
| New Brunswick | – Education; – Health care; and – Construction. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | – Health care; – Information and communications technology (ICT); and – Aquaculture. |
| Nova Scotia | – Health care and social assistance; and – Construction. |
| Ontario | – Health care; – Child care; and – Other. |
| Prince Edward Island | – Child care; – Health care; and – Trades. |
| Saskatchewan | – Health care; – Technology; – Agriculture; and – Trades. |
| Northwest Territories | N/A |
| Yukon | Regulated health care professions |
Throughout this article, we discuss occupations based on Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) system, through which jobs are grouped into six TEER levels (0 to 5) according to the required Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities—with TEER 0 being the most skilled and TEER 5 the least.
Priority sector and corresponding Express Entry-linked streams
For each PNP below, you can find the Express Entry-linked streams or pathways for which it proves advantageous to be in a specific sector or occupation, increasing your chance of receiving a provincial nomination for PR.
Alberta Advantage Immigration Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Alberta Express Entry |
| Aviation | Alberta Express Entry |
| Construction | Alberta Express Entry |
| Health care | Alberta Express Entry – Dedicated Health Care Pathway |
| Technology | Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway |
| Law Enforcement | Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway |
The AAIP did not specify which agriculture, aviation, and construction occupations are currently in demand.
Eligible tech occupations can be found here, while eligible health care occupations are here.
There are only three eligible law enforcement occupations:
- Commissioned police officers and related occupations in public protection services (NOC 40040);
- Police investigators and other investigative occupations (NOC 41310); and
- Police officers (except commissioned) (NOC 42100).
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Childcare | Skilled Worker |
| Construction | Skilled Worker |
| Health care | – Health Authority – Express Entry BC; and – Skilled Worker |
| Technology | Skilled Worker |
| Veterinary care | Skilled Worker |
The list of eligible occupations for BCPNP‘s Health Authority stream can be found here.
For other sector-specific priority occupations, you can view this page; only TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupations are eligible.
New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Education | – NB Express Entry – Employment in New Brunswick Pathway; and – NB Express Entry – New Brunswick Interests |
| Health care | – NB Express Entry – Employment in New Brunswick Pathway; and – NB Express Entry – New Brunswick Interests |
| Construction | – NB Express Entry – Employment in New Brunswick Pathway; and – NB Express Entry – New Brunswick Interests |
Specific priority occupations within these sectors have not been specified, suggesting any TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 professions in the above sectors can lead to an equal chance of obtaining a provincial nomination.
While these are the province’s listed priority sectors, foreign nationals may still have a shot at provincial nomination as the NBPNP has stated it will continue supporting other sectors “when possible.”
The province has said that it is not accepting EOIs with jobs or job offers for the Express Entry Stream if they fall under the following NOC codes:
- Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (NOC 12200);
- Administrative assistants (NOC 13110);
- Bakers (NOC 63202);
- Cooks (NOC 63200);
- Retail sales supervisors (NOC 62010);
- Retail and wholesale trade managers (NOC 60020); and
- Restaurant and food service managers (NOC 60030).
Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Health care | NLPNP Express Entry Skilled Worker |
| Information and communications technology (ICT) | NLPNP Express Entry Skilled Worker |
| Aquaculture | NLPNP Express Entry Skilled Worker |
Eligible occupations in each of these sectors will receive priority processing and have been deemed exempt from provincial labour market testing processes.
The occupations that fall under each of the NLPNP‘s priority sectors can be found here.
Nova Scotia Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance (NAICS 62) | – Labour Market Priorities for Physicians; – Labour Market Priorities; and – Experience: Express Entry. |
| Construction (NAICS 23) | – Labour Market Priorities; and – Experience: Express Entry |
In-province workers with work permits set to expire in 2025 are being prioritized, but the province will also look at regional needs across the province and those likely to remain long term. Foreign nationals outside Canada in the above-mentioned sectors continue to remain a priority as well.
For the NSNP‘s Labour Market Priorities stream for Physicians stream, you can only apply if you have an approved job offer from a qualifying health authority and fall under one of these three NOCs:
- General practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102);
- Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100); and
- Specialists in surgery (NOC 31101).
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Health care | – Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities; and – Ontario Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker* |
| Child care | – Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities; and – Ontario Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker* |
*You can only be considered under this stream if you meet a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 for all English language abilities and a CLB 7 for all French language abilities.
The OINP has not published a list of priority sectors or occupations, but based on this year’s draw activity, we can glean that these two sectors are currently in high demand.
Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Child care | PEI Express Entry |
| Health care | PEI Express Entry |
| Trades | PEI Express Entry |
While these sectors have been identified as in demand by PEI, the province has also said it may select and prioritize workers from “other key industries facing labour shortages.”
Further, the province is prioritizing those already living and working in PEI with an eligible employer.
Neither the specific occupations within the above priority sectors nor the other key industries that may be considered by the PEI PNP have been made public.
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Health care | – International Skilled Worker – Health Talent Pathway; – International Skilled Worker: Saskatchewan Express Entry; and – Saskatchewan Experience – Health Talent Pathway |
| Technology | – International Skilled Worker – Tech Talent Pathway; – International Skilled Worker: Saskatchewan Express Entry; and – Saskatchewan Experience – Tech Talent Pathway |
| Agriculture | International Skilled Worker: Saskatchewan Express Entry |
| Trades | International Skilled Worker: Saskatchewan Express Entry |
The province has specified that 25% of its nominations will go to out-of-province individuals, and the remaining 75% of nominees must already be in Canada.
The SINP has not announced which occupations within the above sectors are being prioritized. You can, however, see which occupations are subject to sector-specific caps and which occupations are not eligible under Express Entry subcategories.
Northwest Territories Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Occupations in any sector under NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 | NWT Express Entry |
The NTNP has not announced specific sectors or occupations receiving priority selection in 2025.
At this time, the territory has simply said it will be prioritizing applicants with a valid work permit who meet all other eligibility criteria.
But to get a sense of which sectors and occupations may be being prioritized, you can view the territory’s 20-year forecast of in-demand occupations released in 2023.
Yukon Nominee Program
| Sector | Stream |
|---|---|
| Health care | Yukon Express Entry |
The YNP has specified that it will be prioritizing EOIs from the following individuals in 2025:
- Those who have lived and worked in the Yukon for at least one year;
- Yukon University Graduates;
- Those who are francophone or French speaking; and
- Temporary Measure Letter of Support recipients.
When it comes to specific occupations targeted, the territory highlights that it will only accept EOIs from workers who can fill a position in a regulated health care profession (if overseas).
It has not specified which health care professions are and are not eligible.
