This guest article was authored by Samuel Escobar, Canadian Immigration Lawyer, HowTo Immigration Law.
On February 16, 2022, Alberta announced several changes to its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). These changes are part of the “Alberta Advantage Immigration Strategy” to attract global skills and talent, diversify the provincial economy, and support newcomers in Alberta.
The first change announced was the renaming of the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (“AINP”), a federal-provincial program that nominates individuals for Permanent Residence in Alberta based on stream-specific requirements, to the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (“AAIP”). Similarly, three existing entrepreneur streams were renamed:
Program eligibility criteria for existing streams and pathways remain unchanged. However, moving forward, candidates who have applied to be nominated by the province via Alberta’s online portal must now submit any future nomination extension requests using the portal. All other post-decision steps remain the same.
In addition to the above, Alberta announced the creation of two new rural immigration streams to Permanent Residence – the Rural Entrepreneur Stream and the Rural Renewal Stream. These new streams aim to promote population growth, reduce workforce shortages, and spread immigration to aging rural Albertan communities. Eligible rural communities are those outside the Calgary and Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area, with a population of less than 100,000.
A Breakdown of the New Streams
The Rural Entrepreneur Stream was designed for foreign entrepreneurs who want to start a new business or buy an existing business in participating rural Alberta communities.
To be eligible, interested foreign entrepreneurs must meet the following criteria:
To proceed through this stream, eligible foreign entrepreneurs must first conduct exploratory visits to the rural Albertan community they wish to establish or purchase a business and present a designated community representative with a Business Proposal Summary. If the business is considered a benefit to the community, the summary will be endorsed and a Community Support Letter will be issued. With this letter, an eligible foreign entrepreneur can submit an Expression of Interest (“EOI”) to be nominated by the province via the AAIP portal. Once the AAIP receives an EOI, it is placed in a pool of qualified candidates for up to 12 months. EOIs with the highest-ranking points may be contacted directly by the AAIP to submit a Business Application. If their Business Application is approved the candidate will receive an Approval letter and/or nomination certificate, with which they can then apply for Permanent Residence.
The Rural Renewal Stream aims to empower rural Albertan communities with meeting their labour needs by recruiting newcomers to live, work, and settle there. As such, this stream is community-driven and consists of a two-step process:
*For the first year, only a limited amount of communities will be selected to participate as designated rural communities.
The minimum eligibility requirements for interested candidates are:
National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level |
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) test score required |
Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) test score required |
If job offer is for NOC 0, A or B occupation |
Minimum of 5 for each English language skill |
Minimum of 5 for each French language skill |
If job offer is for NOC C or D occupation |
Minimum of 4 for each English language skill |
Minimum of 4 for each French language skill |
Closing Thoughts
The Alberta Government’s continued commitment to creating immigration streams intended to drive local economic growth and provide expedient pathways to Permanent Residence for skilled and talented professionals and entrepreneurs around the globe is commendable. As such, foreign workers and entrepreneurs interested in contributing new perspectives, business ideas and innovation to rural Albertan communities may wish to consider these new streams. Other provinces/territories may also benefit from re-examining their existing programs, revamping them, and introduce new programs that address community-specific challenges that can be resolved through strategic immigration initiatives.