On Oct. 8, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) invited no fewer than 284 candidates working in care-related occupations and construction trades to apply for provincial nomination.
British Columbia’s care-related selections encompassed workers in health care, child care, and veterinary care occupations.
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Candidates invited through the BCPNP can submit an application for provincial nomination within 30 days. If their application is successful, they become a provincial nominee and can apply to the federal government for Canadian permanent residence (PR).
In-Canada nominees who have applied for PR may also qualify for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP).
Since June 9, 2026, a temporary measure has allowed base PNP nominees to apply for BOWPs months earlier by removing the requirement to first receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) for their PR application.
Draw details
Occupational categoryNumber of NOCs targetedInvitations issuedMinimum scoreCore objective
Healthcare318276Care
Construction trades911594Build
Veterinary care2<586Care
Childcare18699Care
Targeted health care occupations
OccupationNOC
Audiologists and speech-language pathologists31112
cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists32123
Chiropractors31201
Dental hygienists and dental therapists32111
Dental technologists and technicians32112
Dentists31110
Dietitians and nutritionists31121
General practitioners and family physicians31102
Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy31204
Licensed practical nurses32101
Managers in health care30010
Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations33101
Medical laboratory technologists32120
Medical radiation technologists32121
Medical sonographers32122
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates*33102
Nurse practitioners31302
Nursing coordinators and supervisors31300
Occupational therapists31203
Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating31209
Paramedical occupations32102
Pharmacists31120
Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals31303
Physiotherapists31202
Psychologists31200
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses31301
Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists32103
Social workers41300
Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine31100
Specialists in surgery31101
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists32200
* Those with job offers under NOC 33102 had to be registered with the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry to be considered for a targeted health care invitation.
Targeted construction trades occupation
To have been eligible for a targeted invitation in the construction trades category, candidates needed either a valid SkilledTradesBC trade certificate or a registered apprenticeship with SkilledTradesBC relevant to their job offer.
OccupationNOC
Carpenters72310
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics72400
Electricians (except industrial and power system)72200
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics72402
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics72401
Industrial electricians72201
Plumbers72300
Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers72301
Welders and related machine operators72106
Targeted veterinary care occupations
The province’s veterinary care selection criteria encompassed both priority occupations in the sector, alongside a separate criterion specifically targeting animal health technologists and veterinary technicians who held a valid professional designation.
OccupationNOC
Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians32104
Veterinarians31103
Targeted child care occupations
To have been considered, candidates were required to have a one-year or five-year ECE Certificate issued by the ECE Registry.
OccupationNOC
Early childhood educators42202
This Oct. 8 round marked British Columbia’s seventh occupation-specific draw of 2026, targeting priority occupations across the identified provincial priories of Care, Build, and Innovate.
All other Skills Immigration (SI) rounds in 2026 targeted candidates based on registration scores, wages or salaries, and/or job offers.
As of Oct. 8, British Columbia had issued no fewer than 6,301 invitations under its SI category, alongside at least 120 invitations through its Entrepreneur Immigration category.
With this latest draw, British Columbia has conducted a total of 26 selection rounds over the course of 2026, 16 of which have targeted skilled workers.
Makeup of the Skills Immigration registration pool
Foreign nationals must first create an Expression of Interest profile (“registration”) to be considered for the BCPNP’s SI category.
Registrants are assigned scores based on the information in their profiles and are entered into the applicable registration pool(s).
Through periodic draws, British Columbia invites registrants who rank highly and meet the specific criteria established for each round to apply for nomination.
As of Oct. 6, the most recent date for which figures are available, the pool contained 7,695 registrations:
Score rangeNumber of registrations
0 – 59216
60 – 69364
70 – 79718
80 – 891,281
90 – 991,444
100 – 1091,426
110 – 1191,189
120 – 129854
130 – 139171
140 – 14923
150+9
Total7,695