Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Provincial Nominee Program): SOR/2026-63

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 7

Registration
SOR/2026-63 March 30, 2026

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

P.C. 2026-278 March 30, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Provincial Nominee Program) under subsections 5(1) and 14(2)footnote a of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote b.

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Provincial Nominee Program)

Amendments

1 (1) Subsections 87(2) to (4) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 are replaced by the following:

Member of class

(2) Subject to subsection (5), a foreign national is a member of the provincial nominee class if they are named in a nomination certificate that is

Evaluation by province

(3) The government of a province that issues the nomination certificate has the sole responsibility to evaluate, according to the provincial selection criteria that have been approved in writing by the Minister, both the foreign national’s ability to become economically established in Canada and their intention to reside in that province.

(2) The Regulations are amended by replacing “paragraph (2)(a)” with “subsection (2)” in the following provisions:

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Immigration is a shared federal and provincial/territorial (PT) responsibility. Duplication has been identified in the administration of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), particularly in the assessment and processing of PNP applications. Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) are needed to remove duplication between federal and PT roles and create efficiencies in processing for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Background

All provinces and territories, except Quebec and Nunavut, have established PNPs to address regional and local labour market and economic development needs. Since its creation in 1998, the PNP has been successful in meeting its primary objectives of distributing economic immigrants across Canada and supporting regional economic development. The number of economic immigrants settling outside of major immigrant-receiving centres, such as Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, increased from 11% in 1998 to 36% in 2024.

Roles and responsibilities for the PNP are outlined in the IRPR, and responsibility for assessing candidates under the PNP is shared between PTs and IRCC in a two-step program.

In step one, PTs assess candidates against PNP stream selection criteria, typically a combination of education, language, work experience, and other relevant factors, and nominate eligible candidates to IRCC for permanent residence (PR). While there is a degree of variability in the criteria, all PNP streams are broadly designed to ensure that candidates are assessed based on their ability to economically establish in Canada and intent to reside in the nominating PT. These elements serve as criteria for membership in the Provincial Nominee Class, as established in the IRPR, and as outlined in bilateral immigration agreements between PTs and IRCC.

In step two, IRCC processes PNP permanent residence applications, with IRCC retaining final selection authority. IRCC ensures that candidates are members of the class, are eligible for the PNP, and are named in a valid nomination certificate. This includes an assessment of the candidate’s intent to reside in the nominating PT, and that they meet federal screening requirements, notably admissibility. IRCC may also choose to substitute the nominating PT’s evaluation of the ability to become economically established with its own assessment. IRCC’s assessment of membership in the class (including the ability to become economically established and intent to reside) can be considered duplicative of the PT’s work, since candidates who have received a nomination have already been assessed against these criteria. This process has resulted in some eligibility factors being assessed by both the province or territory and IRCC.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) committed to addressing duplicative federal assessments in PNP application processing at the July 2022 Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration meeting. IRCC identified the amendments as a key redundancy reduction initiative in IRCC’s Red Tape Review, with the expected outcomes being enhanced program responsiveness to regional economic needs, reduced duplication, and improved processing efficiency.

Objective

The objectives of the Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Provincial Nominee Program) referred to herein as “the Amendments” are to achieve greater complementarity in federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) roles in immigration and improve efficiency in the processing of PNP applications.

Description

The Amendments replace the criteria for membership in the Provincial Nominee Class, including the authority of a federal officer to substitute an assessment by the province or territory for their own assessment, with criteria that require the candidate to be named in a nomination certificate that is

The Amendments also establish that the nominating province or territory has the sole responsibility to assess the person’s ability to establish in Canada and intent to reside in the nominating province or territory.

Regulatory development

Consultation

IRCC consulted with PTs through multiple policy and program working groups and through a ministerial letter. All PTs have expressed support for the Amendments.

The proposed Amendments were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on February 22, 2025, for a 30-day public comment period. IRCC received a total of 32 comments from 8 individual commentators, including an anonymous commentator who identified as an immigration practitioner, members of the public, and 3 immigration consultants. The overall response was positive and commentators supported greater efficiency in program administration.

Feedback related to application processing

Comment: Some concerns were expressed about the potential removal of safeguards against fraudulent applications, as IRCC would not review the PT assessment. Others noted the change may introduce inconsistency in application processing, as PTs conduct assessments according to their unique policies and procedures. Some parties recommended enhanced IRCC monitoring and auditing of PT processing.

Response: This feedback did not impact the design of the regulatory proposal. The objective of the Amendments is to improve efficiency in the processing of PNP applications and this would not be achieved by maintaining duplication in reviewing eligibility grounds that have been vetted by PTs. The Amendments are not expected to increase the risk of fraudulent applications being approved. The Amendments reinforce the importance of collaboration between federal and PT partners, which remains a core principle of the PNP, and IRCC will continue to work with PTs on implementation. Safeguards are in place that support consistent decision making by PTs. This includes sharing best practices through FPT forum and monitoring outcomes through the program’s audit and evaluation requirements stipulated in recently renewed bilateral immigration agreements.footnote 2 IRCC will also retain its existing authority to render admissibility decisions and continue to work with PTs to support the detection and deterrence of fraud and misrepresentation and maintain program integrity.

Feedback related to the federal Minister’s approval of selection criteria

Comment: The Amendments require the Minister to approve the PNP stream selection criteria, which constitute the eligibility requirements under each stream the PT offers in their jurisdiction’s PNP. Participating PTs expressed the importance of prompt stream design reviews by IRCC and maintaining the current model of shared program administration where FPT roles are clearly defined.

Response: The legally binding immigration agreements, which include provisions related to IRCC concurrence of PNP stream selection criteria, acknowledge the need for expeditious stream review. To that end, IRCC intends to apply the Instrument of Designation and Delegation to delegate stream selection criteria approval to the Director level. This will align with recent bilateral immigration agreements, thereby ensuring no change to existing approval conventions. The program will remain jointly administered by both the federal and provincial/territorial governments as laid out in immigration agreements established under subsection 8(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

An assessment of modern treaty implications was conducted. No modern treaty implications with respect to the Amendments were identified. The Amendments are not anticipated to have impacts on Indigenous Peoples.

Instrument choice

The roles and responsibilities for assessment of provincial nominees are laid out in the IRPR and can only be changed through a regulatory amendment. As a result, no other instruments were considered.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

An important first step in developing a cost-benefit methodology is establishing a baseline scenario against which options may be measured. For this analysis, the baseline scenario is one wherein responsibility for assessing candidates under the PNP would continue to be shared between PTs and IRCC. The baseline scenario is then compared with the regulatory scenario, in which PTs will be solely responsible for the assessment of the two criteria that constitute eligibility in the Provincial Nominee Class. This would not represent increased effort for PTs, but rather simply removes duplication of efforts by IRCC.

The costs and benefits of the Amendments are monetized for 10 periods of 12 months (2026 to 2035) and are expressed in 2023 dollars.

The Amendments result in both transition and ongoing costs to IRCC to implement and monitor the changes and are estimated at $345,092 present value (PV) over 10 periods. Total savings to IRCC resulting from processing efficiencies are estimated at $681,767 PV over 10 periods, and consequently the net benefit of the proposal is $336,674 PV. The Amendments also present additional qualitative benefits in the form of processing efficiencies for CBSA, as well as time savings for applicants. PTs are not expected to incur costs as a result of the Amendments.

Costs to IRCC

The Amendments result in both transition and ongoing costs to IRCC and are estimated at $345,092 PV over 10 periods.

Transition costs are estimated at $177,721 PV and consist of the following: development of program delivery instructions material to inform officers of changes and adjusting processes; minor IT system adjustments to remove IRCC’s assessment step; assessing and making changes to forms and documentation for permanent residence applications for PNP candidates; informing PTs of regulatory changes and responding to their questions; and reviewing all bilateral immigration agreements with PTs to identify and update as necessary.

Total ongoing costs are estimated at $167,371 PV over 10 periods and consist of integrity assurance exercises to ensure risks to the PNP remain low in the absence of these assessment activities by IRCC.

Benefits
Cost savings to IRCC

Streamlining the federal assessment of membership in the Provincial Nominee Class results in cost savings to IRCC. These cost savings include reduced officer effort at the time of reviewing PNP permanent residence applications, including reduced outreach and communication with PTs to verify information and details of applications concerning membership in the Provincial Nominee Class, reduced analysis of eligibility evidence, and reduced drafting and reviewing responses to procedural fairness letters for applications that present significant concerns. With approximately 47 800 PNP permanent residence applications processed by IRCC annually, and an estimated average reduction in officer effort of three minutes per application, the cost savings to IRCC are estimated at $681,767 PV over 10 periods.

Benefits to the CBSA

In the baseline scenario, the CBSA conducts a light touch verification of an applicant’s eligibility at a port of entry prior to a PR card issuance, as eligibility factors are previously assessed by the PT and IRCC prior to the CBSA’s engagement with a client. Moreover, PR refusals based on eligibility at port of entry are low; therefore, the CBSA’s processing efforts will not be impacted significantly. Since the Amendments render PTs solely responsible for assessing intent to reside, the CBSA will no longer duplicate this assessment, resulting in some benefits and negligible cost savings for the CBSA.

Benefits to applicants

The Amendments also create some minor time savings for applicants. Under the previous system, if an applicant was being considered for refusal by IRCC for failing to meet program criteria, they (and the nominating province) were sent a procedural fairness letter, which allowed them to submit additional evidence/information to IRCC demonstrating how they meet the program’s criteria. Following the implementation of the Amendments, IRCC will no longer be authorized to assess the applicant’s intent to reside in the nominating PT or their ability to become economically established. Removing this duplication of efforts generates time savings for those applicants.

Benefits to FPT relations

The Amendments are expected to improve FPT relations and provide greater complementarity in FPT roles in immigration, which is increasingly important given the complexity and prevalence of overlap more broadly within FPT immigration programs. More generally, the Amendments are expected to improve FPT relations in immigration given that some PTs have requested this change.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the Amendments will not impact businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in administrative burden on businesses.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

These Amendments are not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental and economic assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

No gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) impacts have been identified for the Amendments. As the Amendments remove IRCC’s assessment of certain factors for all PNP permanent residence applications, there are no differential impacts expected on applications from diverse populations.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The Amendments come into force on the day on which they are registered.

PTs will continue to assess a candidate’s “ability to economically establish” and “intent to reside” as part of their nomination assessment. IRCC’s assessment will focus solely on confirming that the applicants have been determined by the PT to meet eligibility criteria as prescribed in the regulations, and are admissible to Canada.

The Amendments will apply to new cases that are submitted after the Amendments are in force as well as to the existing inventory of PNP cases for which an eligibility decision has not been rendered. To ensure effective program administration, this approach will be expressed to IRCC processing officers through updated operational instructions.

IRCC will continue to work with PTs to ensure that bilateral immigration agreements are consistent with the Amendments, as required by the IRPA, in accordance with the terms and renewal cycles of these agreements to support the implementation of the Amendments. In general, agreements will be updated to reflect that PTs will be solely responsible for assessing intent to reside and ability to economically establish and formalize the requirement for PTs to obtain the Minister’s approval for PNP stream selection criteria.

Currently, IRCC reviews and approves PNP stream design proposals that are submitted by the 11 PTs that participate in the PNP, including modifications to existing streams or the creation of new streams or pilots. However, the authority to render IRCC’s approval is at the Director level as a function of internal policy and convention, rather than established in law. This current practice of IRCC reviewing stream design changes to ensure alignment with the statutory framework and national immigration policy and ultimately approving streams prior to their implementation is only codified in the six most recently negotiated immigration agreements.footnote 3 Older immigration agreements are silent on this topic, although PTs subject to these agreements operate with the understanding that the requirement that IRCC must approve stream design changes will be formalized in the next iteration of the immigration agreement when it is subject to renegotiation and renewal.

Contact

Zachary Van Daele
Assistant Director
Regional Economic Programs and Policy
Permanent Economic Immigration Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Email: IRCC.PNPIRPR-PCPRIPR.IRCC@cic.gc.ca