New Brunswick's Provincial Nominee Program: the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)

New Brunswick's Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) is one of Canada's original PNPs. It lets the province nominate foreign nationals for Canadian permanent residence when their skills and connections match New Brunswick's labour market and demographic goals, targeting skilled workers with an NB job offer or work history, French-speaking newcomers, entrepreneurs, employer-sponsored critical workers, career-college graduates, and candidates already active in the federal Express Entry pool. Its streams split into two kinds: base streams, where you apply directly to the province and are scored on New Brunswick's own points grid, and an Express Entry-aligned stream, where a provincial nomination adds Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points to an existing federal Express Entry profile. Most streams run on an Expression of Interest (EOI) model — you submit a scored profile, and only the highest-scoring candidates in each round receive an invitation to apply, so meeting the minimum score is no guarantee.

Active New Brunswick streams

• New Brunswick Skilled Worker stream — a base stream (no CRS score) for candidates with a full-time, non-seasonal job offer from, or recent work history with, an eligible New Brunswick employer, across three pathways: NB Experience (6+ months of NB work and residency), NB Graduates (a post-graduation work permit from a New Brunswick designated learning institution), and NB Priority Occupations (a job offer from a Government of New Brunswick recruitment mission plus a year of related experience).
• New Brunswick Express Entry stream — the province's Express Entry-aligned stream, open only to candidates already in the federal Express Entry pool, through either the Employment in New Brunswick pathway (12+ months of continuous full-time TEER 0-3 work for an NB employer) or the New Brunswick Interests pathway (a letter of interest tied to your Express Entry profile, no employer required); a nomination adds 600 CRS points to your federal score.
• New Brunswick Strategic Initiative — a base stream for French-speaking foreign nationals with a qualifying New Brunswick connection, such as an eligible employer's job offer, a recruitment-mission offer, at least a year of study at Université de Moncton or the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB), or 12 months of remote work for a Canadian employer while living in the province; a minimum of 65 points on the stream's grid is required.
• New Brunswick Business Immigration stream — a base stream for entrepreneurs and senior managers, requiring a personal net worth of at least $500,000 CAD ($300,000 for farming applicants), a business plan with a minimum of $150,000 CAD in eligible investment, active day-to-day management, and a minimum of 65 EOI points; it replaced New Brunswick's earlier Entrepreneurial stream, now closed to new applicants.
• New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot — a base, employer-driven pilot targeting critical labour shortages in specific sectors and regions; candidates need a valid job offer from one of a limited number of government-approved participating employers, with no direct-application route available.
• New Brunswick Private Career College Graduate Pilot Program — a base pilot for international graduates of select one- or two-year New Brunswick private career college programs (in fields such as health, IT and cybersecurity, business administration, and supply chain and logistics) who are not eligible for the federal Post-Graduation Work Permit; candidates need employer support and a genuine intention to settle permanently in the province.