New Brunswick conducted its first Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) draws of 2025 on March 5 and 6, issuing a total of 498 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates under two key pathways of the New Brunswick Skilled Worker stream. The draws focused on addressing labor shortages in healthcare, education, social services, and construction trades — sectors that are crucial to the province’s economic growth.
Also Read New Brunswick Conducts First Provincial Immigration Draws of 2025
Targeted Pathways and Occupations
Candidates were invited under the following two pathways:
- New Brunswick Skilled Worker – New Brunswick Experience Pathway – For individuals already working full-time in the province for at least six months.
- New Brunswick Skilled Worker – New Brunswick Graduates Pathway – For international graduates with a valid post-graduate work permit (PGWP) and a job offer from an eligible employer.
The province focused on high-demand occupations, including healthcare workers (nurses, support workers), educators, social service providers, and construction trades (carpenters, electricians).
Changes to New Brunswick Immigration in 2025
New Brunswick has received an allocation of 2,750 immigration spots in 2025 — 1,500 under the NBPNP and 1,250 under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). Significant changes to the NBPNP include:
- New Brunswick Express Entry Stream – The program now accepts applications under the Employment in New Brunswick and New Brunswick Interests pathways. However, the New Brunswick Student Connection pathway has been discontinued.
- New Brunswick Strategic Initiative Stream – Paused for 2025 due to high application volumes.
- New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream – Now includes a third pathway, the New Brunswick Priority Occupations pathway, which targets high-demand jobs from government-led recruitment missions.
Certain occupations, such as administrative assistants, cooks, retail managers, and food service workers, have been excluded from eligibility under the updated program.
Also Read
- New Brunswick Conducts Multiple PNP Draws for Skilled CandidatesThe Canadian province of New Brunswick has recently organised several immigration selection rounds aimed at attracting skilled professionals and international graduates. Between March 3 and
- Canada Opens Special PR Route for Temporary WorkersCanada has begun implementing a new immigration pathway that will allow thousands of temporary foreign workers already in the country to transition to permanent residence.
- Canada Conducts First Express Entry Draw for Senior Managers Category in 2026Canada has conducted a new round of invitations through its Express Entry immigration system, marking the debut draw under a newly introduced category targeting experienced
- Canada Issues 5,500 ITAs in New Express Entry Draw for French SpeakersCanada has conducted another round of invitations through the Express Entry, welcoming thousands of skilled immigration candidates. In the latest draw, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Canada Issues 4,000 More PR Invitations in Latest CEC Draw as CRS Holds SteadyCanada has conducted another round of invitations under the Express Entry system, issuing 4,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class
New Brunswick’s revised immigration strategy reflects the province’s focus on attracting skilled talent to support its economic and labor market needs.
