2022 Immigration Targets Set Stage for Population Growth

Nova Scotia is ready to welcome even more new Nova Scotians, helping grow its population, fill labour and skills gaps and enrich diversity in communities.

The Province’s 2022 allocations for the Provincial Nominee Program and Atlantic Immigration Program were confirmed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in a letter to Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration.

The federal government also committed to expanding allocation targets for these programs over the next three years.

“Nova Scotia is a special place and we are excited that more and more people see a future for themselves and their families here,” said Minister Balser. “Population growth is vital to our economic success. We have been preparing for growth, working with employers, communities and settlement organizations to get ready for more people to call Nova Scotia home.”

This year, the Province can approve a total of 5,430 applicants, up from 3,857 in 2021, to settle in Nova Scotia with their families.

This includes:

• an increase of 400 nomination spaces in the Provincial Nominee Program, 17 per cent more than last year
• an increase of 1,173 endorsement spaces in the Atlantic Immigration Program, 75 per cent more than last year.

Both of the Province’s economic immigration programs, the Provincial Nominee Program and the Atlantic Immigration Program, are available to people who fill Nova Scotian employers’ labour needs and want a pathway to permanent residency. There are nine established streams under the Provincial Nominee Program, providing options for potential immigrants depending on their work experience, skills and occupation.

Quick Facts:

• refugees and people arriving on the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel are not counted as part of this allocation
• more than 500 people from Ukraine have arrived since February and are staying in Nova Scotia
• the Atlantic Immigration Program, introduced in 2017 as a pilot program to help employers recruit skilled foreign workers and international graduates to meet labour needs, became a permanent program on January 1, 2022
• Nova Scotia welcomed 9,025 new permanent residents in 2021, a record-breaking number that surpassed the previous high by 19 per cent
• Budget 2022-23 included an additional $1 million for immigration and population growth marketing campaigns; $895,000 more for six new navigators and four new program officers to support newcomer arrivals and immigration programs; and $1.4 million more for settlement services in communities across Nova Scotia

Additional Resources:

More information about Nova Scotia Immigration streams: https://novascotiaimmigration.com/