Canada’s immigration system skilled profound adjustments over the course of 2025, with numerous applications, pilots, and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams seeing cancellations or indefinite pauses.
However regardless of these suspensions, there are nonetheless quite a few appropriate options for international nationals searching for Canadian everlasting residence (PR)—together with soon-to-launch pathways.
Uncover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Everlasting Residence
This text will cowl which PR pathways have been discontinued in 2025, and the very best options for these affected by their closure (or indefinite suspension).
Provincial Nominee Program streams
Over the course of 2025, we noticed a number of Provincial Nominee Applications (PNPs) shut or put an indefinite pause on their provincial immigration streams:
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP): Categorical Entry Expert Trades Stream
The OINP introduced the closure of the OINP’s Categorical Entry Expert Trades Stream on November 14, 2025, noting “systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud” considerations—leading to new purposes not being accepted and submitted purposes being returned.
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP): All Entrepreneur and Farm pathways
On March 27, 2025, the SINP acknowledged it might not be accepting new purposes, contemplating new expressions of curiosity (EOI), or issuing any additional invites for the next streams—and has no plans to reopen them sooner or later:
New Brunswick Nominee Program (NBNP): Categorical Entry Stream – NB Scholar Connection Pathway
In early February of this yr, the NBNP discontinued this stream, stating it “isn’t returning for 2025.” It’s unclear whether or not this stream will reopen in 2026.
It was designed as a PR pathway for worldwide scholar graduates from in-province designated studying establishments.
The province additionally stopped accepting new EOIs for its Expert Employee – Precedence Occupations pathway in March of 2025, however did not present any additional particulars.
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP): All scholar streams
The BC PNP closed its Worldwide Put up-Graduate (IPG) Stream on January 7 of this yr and later stated three new scholar streams could be launched: a Bachelor’s Stream, Grasp’s Stream, and Doctorate Stream—set to open in January 2025.
This by no means ended up occurring, as on April 14th, the province stated it was suspending these streams indefinitely till its “allocation ranges are restored.”
Yukon Nominee Program: Yukon Group Program pilot
This pilot, which supplied two-year open work permits to achieve Yukon expertise and qualify for PR, ended on June 30, 2025, as deliberate (after 5 years of operation).
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
Categorical Entry: When you qualify for one in all Categorical Entry‘s applications and have a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation, you possibly can submit an Categorical Entry profile and be drawn by Canadian Expertise Class (CEC) attracts when you have qualifying work expertise, PNP attracts (when you have a nomination), or category-based occupational or language attracts—in case your Nationwide Occupational Classification (NOC) code is eligible.
Occupational-based class attracts sometimes have decrease Complete Rating System (CRS) cut-off scores than CEC attracts, and customarily solely require six months of full-time work expertise to qualify. These affected by the closure of the OINP’s Categorical Entry Expert Trades Stream, for instance, might be thought-about for Trades attracts—the newest of which had a CRS cut-off of 505.
See your eligibility for all Categorical Entry streams right here
Various PNP pathways: These affected by the above-listed suspensions or closures could discover it helpful to verify in the event that they meet eligibility standards for different PNP streams—each in the identical province or others. For instance, the NBPNP famous that New Brunswick graduates with eligible employment can nonetheless apply by the NB Employment pathway beneath the NB Categorical Entry Stream.
It’s value noting that many PNPs prioritize these with connections to the province, however some have streams don’t.
Assess your eligibility for all Categorical Entry-linked PNP streams right here
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP): When you’re occupied with settling in Atlantic Canada, you possibly can pursue PR by the Atlantic Immigration Program. You have to have a job provide from a chosen employer in one of many taking part provinces, and the job provide have to be endorsed by the province (amongst assembly different standards).
Remember that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) at present has a 37-month processing time for AIP purposes.
Immigration pilots: These with a job provide from a chosen employer in a taking part group can acquire PR by the Rural Group Immigration Pilot (14 taking part communities) or the Francophone Group Immigration Pilot (six taking part communities).
The FCIP requires you to satisfy an NCLC degree 5 throughout all language skills.
Quebec applications
The Quebec Expertise Program
On November 19, 2025, the Authorities of Quebec ended its Quebec Expertise Program (PEQ), which supplied PR by two streams: The Quebec Graduates Stream and The Non permanent Overseas Employees Stream.
This program has been paused since October 31, 2024.
Immigration pilots
On November 6, 2025, the Authorities of Quebec introduced that it might formally be discontinuing its three pilot applications on January 1, 2026, as deliberate:
- Pilot program for staff in meals processing;
- Pilot program for orderlies; and
- Pilot program for staff within the synthetic intelligence, data applied sciences and visible results sectors.
As of November 6, it had reached its cap for all three pilots, besides the Francophone profile beneath the latter pilot, for which it might settle for purposes for till December 31, 2025.
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
The Expert Employee Choice Program (PSTQ) is now the one pathway to PR for expert staff in Quebec—which was beforehand on maintain till July 27, 2025, after changing the Common Expert Employee Program in 2024.
Expert staff wishing to immigrate to Quebec by this program should submit a declaration of curiosity through Arrima.
Study extra about your choices and get help immigrating to Quebec
Agri-Meals Pilot
The Agri-Meals Pilot, which offered a pathway to PR for people working in choose agri-food occupations (eight complete), closed on February 13, 2025—about three months sooner than initially deliberate resulting from excessive demand.
The pilot launched in 2020, however was prolonged in 2023, with a deliberate finish date of Could 14, 2025.
The agricultural and food-processing sectors that certified included meat product manufacturing, greenhouse, nursery and floriculture manufacturing (together with mushroom manufacturing), and animal manufacturing.
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
Categorical Entry (and category-based choice): Two out of eight NOCs eligible for the Agri-Meals pilot—Butchers – retail and wholesale (NOC 63201) and Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors (NOC 82030)—are expert, and thereby eligible beneath Categorical Entry*.
Additional, these falling beneath NOC 63201 could qualify for Categorical Entry category-based choice beneath the “Agriculture and agri-food” class.
*To be eligible for Categorical Entry, you have to first meet the necessities for one in all Categorical Entry’s three applications: CEC, Federal Expert Employee Program, or Federal Expert Trades Program.
PNPs: When you meet eligibility standards, it’s possible you’ll be eligible to acquire PR by a PNP, particularly when you have connections to that province.
You might be eligible beneath a extra common stream, or streams focusing on the identical NOCs as these eligible for the Agri-Meals Pilot—equivalent to Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Expertise Pathway, which targets 5 of the eight Agri-Meals Pilot-eligible NOCs.
AIP: If a province prioritizes agri-food occupations, you should have a bonus—for instance, Newfoundland and labrador deemed “agriculture” a precedence sector in 2025.
Rural Group Immigration Pilot (RCIP): The RCIP gives a path to PR for these with a job provide from an area employer (in one of many 14 taking part areas), which have to be endorsed by the regional financial growth group. Every group publishes its precedence sectors, and sometimes additionally eligible occupations.
In 2025, a number of communities prioritized agricultural and meals processing occupations, equivalent to Claresolm, Alberta—which focused three of the identical occupations because the Agri-Meals Pilot. It’s seemingly that a few of these communities will proceed to hunt out staff agricultural and meals processing staff to fill labour gaps in 2026.
Assess your eligibility for the RCIP
Dwelling Care Employee Immigration Pilots
On December 19, 2025, the federal authorities introduced that it might not be accepting purposes, and could be implementing a long-term pause for its two residence care employee immigration pilots:
- Dwelling Care Employee Immigration Pilot: Baby Care (HCWP: CC); and
- Dwelling Care Employee Immigration Pilot: Dwelling Assist (HCWP: HS).
Each pilots hit their cap mere hours after opening on the primary day and have been anticipated to reopen in Spring of 2026. As of now, IRCC is not going to start accepting purposes once more till March 30, 2030.
These pilot applications present a path to PR for staff who’ve job presents in residence care or baby care.
The eligible Nationwide Occupational Classification (NOC) codes for every embody:
| Pilot | Eligible NOCs |
|---|---|
| HCWP: CC | -Dwelling baby care suppliers (NOC 44100)
-Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202) |
| HCWP: HS | -Dwelling assist staff, caregivers and associated occupations (NOC 44101)
-Nurse aides, orderlies and affected person service associates (NOC 33102) |
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
Categorical Entry (and category-based choice): Two of the above NOCs fall beneath expert work expertise (NOCs 42202 and 33102) and thereby qualify for Categorical Entry consideration.
They’re additionally eligible for category-based attracts—NOC 44202 is eligible beneath the “Training” class, and NOC 33102 is eligible beneath the “Healthcare and social companies” class.
Get a Free Categorical Entry Evaluation
PNPs: People in any of the 4 occupations above can also have luck by the PNP, as many provinces have constantly prioritized these in training, caregiving, and healthcare roles in 2025—and should proceed to take action in 2026.
Manitoba, for example, continuously invited people beneath NOC 44101 for provincial nomination, and Ontario held many attracts focusing on these in NOCs 33102 and 42202.
AIP: If a international nationwide has a job provide from a chosen employer in an Atlantic province, and meets all different eligibility standards, they will apply to IRCC for PR.
In 2025, all of the Atlantic provinces prioritized healthcare occupations, with New Brunswick additionally prioritizing Training occupations (although it stopped accepting new purposes in April 2025). Wanting ahead, we all know that at the least one Atlantic province—Nova Scotia—will proceed to prioritize healthcare and social help roles.
RCIP: Most of the communities taking part within the RCIP focused the identical NOCs because the Dwelling Care Employee Pilot in 2025, equivalent to Timmins (Ontario) or West Kootenay (BC). You’ll be able to verify every group’s web site for his or her 2026 precedence sectors and occupations.
Begin-up Visa Program
On December 31, 2025, IRCC stopped accepting new purposes beneath the Begin-up Visa Program—with an exception made for many who already secured a legitimate dedication from a chosen group made in 2025 (however haven’t utilized but).
This system, which formally closed as of January 1, 2026, allowed international entrepreneurs to achieve PR by establishing a brand new enterprise in Canada, exterior Quebec.
This system’s termination is probably going linked to software volumes exceeding governmental processing capabilities, with prolonged processing instances (10+ years) drawing criticism over the course of 2025.
Concurrently this program’s closure was introduced, IRCC additionally acknowledged it might be extending the pause on the Self-Employed Individuals Program (10+ yr wait time) “till additional discover.”
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
The federal government famous that particulars on a brand new focused pilot program for immigrant entrepreneurs will probably be introduced in 2026, which can “assist deal with the big software stock for Canada’s enterprise applications.”
Till then, the very best guess for international entrepreneurs is prone to be acquiring a provincial nomination by an entrepreneur-focused PNP stream. Listed below are some examples of PNP streams focusing on entrepreneurs:
Financial Mobility Pathways Pilot
The Financial Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) stopped accepting purposes by its two streams (job provide stream and non-job provide stream) in July of 2025—and formally concluded on December 31, 2025, as deliberate.
The EMPP is a PR pathway that hyperlinks expert refugees and different displaced folks with Canadian employers.
Alternate options you possibly can pursue:
This previous June, the federal authorities introduced plans to introduce a brand new everlasting immigration program, knowledgeable by the EMPP’s robust outcomes, earlier than the pilot concluded.
It didn’t launch this new program earlier than the expiry of the EMPP, however IRCC officers verify the division is at present engaged on it. As soon as this new program launches, designed to profit each refugees and Canadian employers, it should seemingly be the very best EMPP different.
In its 2026-2028 Immigration Ranges Plan, the federal authorities introduced a one-time initiative to transition round 115,000 Protected Individuals (like these beforehand eligible for the EMPP) from non permanent residence standing to PR standing—extra particulars on this one-time coverage are anticipated in 2026.
If eligible, international nationals may submit a refugee safety declare or apply to IRCC for Humanitarian and Compassionate consideration (in “distinctive” circumstances).
Uncover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Everlasting Residence
