British Columbia has released newly compiled data that reshapes how skilled workers understand their prospects of receiving a provincial nomination. With the province adjusting its selection strategy in response to a smaller 2025 nomination quota, applicants now have access to a detailed snapshot of the entire Skills Immigration pool — something the program has never disclosed so openly before.
Also Read BC PNP Unveils Updated Measures to Improve Transparency
A Closer Look at BC’s Changing Selection Landscape
The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is shifting away from narrowly targeted invitations and moving toward selection rounds that assess candidates across multiple pathways. This adjustment follows a significant cut to BC’s original 2025 allocation earlier this year, prompting the province to rethink how it prioritises talent.
Previously, invitations were commonly issued within specific streams, such as the Skilled Worker or International Graduate categories. Now, the province is focusing more broadly on candidates who offer high economic value, regardless of which Skills Immigration category they fall under.
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Score Distribution: Where 10,700+ Candidates Currently Sit
As of early November, the BC PNP Skills Immigration pool held 10,733 active profiles. Each profile is assigned a SIRS score, which determines its position within the pool. The recently released dataset breaks candidates down into score brackets, revealing a heavily concentrated middle tier.
While a small fraction of applicants score above 140, a large segment sits between 100 and 119 points – making that range the most crowded section of the pool. The lowest score ranges include only a minor percentage of total profiles, indicating most applicants fall closer to the mid-to-high scoring categories.
This distribution gives applicants valuable context: they can now see whether they fall into a highly competitive band or a less populated score range.
Percentiles: The New Tool for Measuring Competitiveness
In addition to score groups, the province has revealed percentile ranges showing how applicants compare with the rest of the pool. This ranking method helps candidates see exactly how many profiles they are ahead of — or trailing behind.
Top performers, scoring 140 or above, occupy the highest percentile ranks, representing roughly the top one per cent of the entire database. Meanwhile, applicants scoring below 60 points represent only a small fraction of the pool, falling near the bottom percentile band.
This percentile-based view offers a clearer understanding of competitiveness than the raw score alone.
How BC Is Choosing Candidates Under the New Approach
With fewer nominations available earlier in the year, BC has modified its invitation strategy. Recent draws have prioritised:
- candidates with strong SIRS scores, and
- individuals whose salary levels demonstrate high economic impact.
For example, a recent draw issued invitations to applicants meeting one of two criteria: a score of at least 140 points, or a $90-per-hour wage combined with a qualifying job offer in a TEER 0–3 occupation. This dual-path approach shows how the province is balancing points-based assessment with labour market value.
Boosted Nomination Spaces Offer Relief
In October, the federal government allocated an additional 1,254 nomination spaces to BCfor 2025. This came as a significant relief after the province’s allocation had been reduced earlier in the year. These extra spots are now being used to clear backlogs and expand the number of invitations issued before the year ends.
Furthermore, federal plans for 2026 indicate that provincial programs — including BC’s — will receive larger allocations as part of Canada’s increasing immigration targets outlined in the latest Immigration Levels Plan.
What Candidates Should Take Away From This
The province’s new data release demonstrates two major trends:
- BC is becoming more selective, favouring candidates with strong economic outcomes.
- Applicants now have greater visibility into their ranking within the pool.
Anyone planning to pursue the BC PNP should use this transparency to evaluate their standing, update their profile where possible, and stay alert to selection patterns as the province continues to balance labour needs with its evolving nomination capacity.
