How to Immigrate to Canada Province Prince Edward Island

Abhishek Rai
[Published 23 Mar, 2022 | 03:15 PM]
About Author - 9 min read
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The province of Prince Edward Island in Canada is situated in the maritime region and is seeking to enhance its GDP by 3% in the year ahead. It has managed to keep up the growth of 4% this year as per the forecast by TD Economics. 

Public health restrictions of the pandemic were relaxed more in Prince Edward Island than in any other Canadian region. This was due to the very less number of cases of the disease in the province. 

Economists Rishi Sondhi, Derek Burleton, Beata Caranci, and Omar Abdelrahman in their Provincial Economic Forecast have assessed the performance of the economy of Prince Edward Island. Accordingly, the businesses on the island were definitely at an advantage due to the relaxed stance of the province. Wholesale and Retail Sales increased by 30% and 20% respectively year-on-year. 

Overseas aspirants seeking to immigrate to Canada - PEI has abundant opportunities. This is because Prince Edward Island has a reasonably higher rate of unemployment than in the remaining regions of Canada. Statistics Canada in its Labor Market Survey reported a rate of unemployment of 9.1% for the province. This is significantly higher than the national average of Canada at 6.7%. 

The economic growth of the PEI has however resulted in a scarcity of workers in innumerable occupations. This implies that there is a constant requirement of a high rate of Prince Edward Island Immigration in the economic category. 

Economic immigration programs under the Prince Edward Island PNP constitute more than 90% of the total fresh Canada PR Visa holders to the province annually. 

In the year 2019, around 91.2% of the fresh Permanent Residents to PEI were through the economic immigration programs. This share increased significantly in 2021 as these programs accounted for nearly 93% of the fresh Permanent Residents to PEI in the first three quarters of this year. 

Prince Edward Island Immigration was increasing steadily before the pandemic. It more than doubled to 2445 fresh permanent residents in 2019 from just 1190 fresh permanent residents in 2015. This has been revealed by the latest statistics from IRCC - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 

Public health restrictions in 2020 inclusive of closure of Canadian borders resulted in a decline in Prince Edward Island Immigration to just 1290 fresh permanent residents. 

PEI heavily reliant on immigration 

Immigration Minister of Prince Edward Island Matthew MacKay has said that the province is currently stagnant. He added that it is unsure as to how long the situation will continue. 

Matthew MacKay explained that the province has been heavily dependent on immigration. The island also witnessed high economic growth due to it in the past few years, he added. The pandemic has decelerated the economic expansion and this was highly unprecedented and unpredictable, elaborated the Immigration Minister. 

Now, Prince Edward Island Immigration is steadily increasing. It has improved to the extent that in the first three quarters of 2021, the province accepted 3% points of the sum of fresh permanent immigrants that it accepted in 2019. 

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Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program

Prince Edward Island PNP offers several options to overseas nationals who immigrate to Canada to the Province. The province seeks candidates present in the pool of federal Express Entry for nomination from the province through its immigration programs aligned with Express Entry. 

Provincial Nomination offers extra 600 points to the CRS - Comprehensive Ranking System score of the candidates. This effectively ensures ITA - Invitation to Apply to immigrate to Canada as a Permanent Resident. 

Applicants for Prince Edward Island Immigration through the Express Entry aligned streams of the province have to fulfill the requirements of any one of the federal economic migration programs: 

• Federal Skilled Trades
• Federal Skilled Worker
• Canadian Experience Class

This stream offers 2 pathways for Canada PR Visa. One is for candidates having job offers and the other for those who do not have an offer. Candidates who are already staying and working in PEI are offered a priority. 

The profiles created by candidates are assessed on a point’s grid for their: 

• Age 
• Language proficiency 
• Work Experience 
• Education 
• Adaptability 
• Employment 

ITAs are offered to the candidates with the best scores through monthly conducted draws. 

In the most recent draw held on 18th November, Prince Edward Island PNP offered 188 ITAs to candidates under the categories entrepreneur and skilled worker. This was through its Business Impact and Express Entry Labor Impact streams. The division of ITAs for candidates is as follows: 

• Express Entry Labor Impact stream – 172 ITAs 
• Business Impact stream – 16 ITAs

After receiving the invitation, applicants have sixty days for completing and submitting the full application. This is inclusive of all the provincial and federal forms and supporting documents. They also have to make a payment of CAD 300. 

With the aim of streamlining the process of application, Prince Edward Island PNP upgraded all the Workforce Applications to a system of digital payment with effect from 4th October 2021. This effectively ended the system of acceptance of E-transfers. 

Applicants who are successful receive nomination from Prince Edward Island PNP to the Government of Canada for Permanent Residence. They are then offered the ITA for Canada PR Visa by the IRCC. 

Prince Edward Island PNP manages 2 streams through its Labor Impact Category: 

• Prince Edward Island Stream Skilled Worker 
• Prince Edward Island Stream Critical Worker 

Prince Edward Island Stream Skilled Worker

Skilled Worker Stream is employer-driven and permits skilled workers having job offers in the province to receive Canada PR Visa nominations. They are required to fulfill the following criteria:  

• A full-time job offer from a business in Prince Edward Island in an occupation that is categorized as skill level B, A, or 0 under the NOC - National Occupational Classification
• Completion of a Post-secondary study program along with at least fourteen years of formal education 
• Age must be between 55 and 21 years 
• At least of 2 years work experience of full time in the previous five years 
• Adequate language skills in French or English for fulfilling the job responsibilities 
• Adequate funds of settlements 
• Proven intention for settling in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island Stream Critical Worker 

The Stream Critical Worker aims to address the shortage of workers in Prince Edward Island. It is for overseas workers that are already residing in the province and possess jobs in particular occupations in demand. The fundamental nomination criteria are:

• A full-time job offer from a business in Prince Edward Island in any one of these occupations: 
• Truck driver
• Laborer
• Customer Service Representative
• Housekeeping Attendant
• Food and Beverage Server
• Work experience of 6 months with the business in Prince Edward Island that has offered the employment 
• Lawful Canada Work Permit that is valid 
• Diploma at High School level and at least twelve years of formal education 
• Age must be between 55 and 21 years 
• At least of 2 years work experience of full time in the previous five years 
• Adequate language skills in French or English for fulfilling the job responsibilities 
• Adequate funds of settlements 
• Proven intention for settling in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island Stream Business Impact

Prince Edward Island through its Stream Business Impact offers Canada PR Visa to those individuals who have a Canada Work Permit. They must also have been employed in a business in Prince Edward Island for the required time period as indicated in the Performance Agreement for gaining Canada PR. This is achieved through the stream PEI Work Permit and the applicants have to fulfill the following criteria: 

• Invest at least CAD 150,000 in the business
• Make a commitment to supervising the business every day by residing in Prince Edward Island 

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program 

The AIPP is an employer-led cluster consisting of 3 programs: 

The Atlantic High-Skilled Program

This program targets skilled workers having skilled/technical or professional, management work experience and with an offer of a job of minimum 1 year. 

The Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program

 If you have an offer of a permanent job that requires education at the High School level or specific job training, you can apply for the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program.

The Atlantic International Graduate Program

This program targets candidates having a Diploma, Degree, or any other credential from an institution that is funded publicly in the Atlantic region with an offer of a job of minimum 1 year and nil work experience. 

Nationwide Visas offers an exhaustive range of services for candidates who wish to immigrate to Canada through any of the Canada Immigration Programs. Our ICCRC accredited Immigration Consultants thoroughly assess your profile and advice on the most suitable Canadian immigration and Visa pathway. You can be assured of the best attempt in the first instance while filing a Canada PR Visa application through our experts.