B.C. Targets High-Impact Workers in New Immigration Draw

British Columbia invited 279 candidates to apply for provincial nomination on June 18, 2026, through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program.

The province selected candidates considered to have high economic impact. These candidates qualified through one of two factors: a wage or salary linked to a TEER 0–3 job offer, or their registration score in the Skills Immigration pool.

This was the B.C. PNP’s 13th selection round of 2026. It was also the seventh draw this year focused on Skills Immigration candidates.

Most Invitations Based On Registration Score

More than half of the invitations went to candidates selected by registration score. According to the draw details, 53.4 per cent of the total invitations were issued through this factor.

Candidates selected by registration score needed a minimum score of 136.

The other group included candidates with a TEER 0–3 job offer and an offered wage of at least $62 per hour. That works out to about $125,000 per year.

These invitations were issued under B.C.’s Innovate initiative. The province says this initiative is used to invite high economic impact candidates and “top talent in all sectors.”

British Columbia did not release the specific occupations or sectors of the candidates invited in this draw.

Future Draws May Use Other Factors

The province noted that high economic impact invitations may not always be based only on wages, job offers, or registration scores.

Future Skills Immigration selections may consider several other factors. These include education, field of study, where a candidate studied, professional designation in B.C., work experience, language skills, occupation, and wage or skill level of a job offer.

The province may also consider whether a candidate plans to live and work in a certain region of B.C. Strategic priorities tied to provincial labour needs, projects, or initiatives may also play a role.

Smallest Skills Immigration Draw This Year

At 279 invitations, this was the smallest Skills Immigration draw held by British Columbia so far in 2026.

By comparison, the province’s largest Skills Immigration draw this year took place on April 22. In that round, B.C. invited 484 candidates using the same selection criteria.

As of June 18, British Columbia has issued 2,764 invitations to apply through its Skills Immigration category in 2026.

The province has also held six Entrepreneur Immigration selection rounds this year. Those rounds have invited at least 54 entrepreneurs.

Nearly 10,000 Candidates In Pool

As of June 2, the latest available data showed 9,902 registrations in the B.C. PNP Skills Immigration registration pool.

The largest group of candidates had scores between 100 and 109. This range included 2,039 registrations, representing 20.6 per cent of the pool.

Other major score ranges included 90 to 99, with 1,829 registrations, and 110 to 119, with 1,532 registrations.

Only 44 candidates had scores between 140 and 149, while six candidates had scores of 150 or higher.