How the two families compare
| Federal | Provincial | |
|---|---|---|
| Who selects you | Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada | A province, which nominates you to the federal government |
| How | Ranked against every other candidate in a pool | Assessed against that province's criteria and current priorities |
| Where you live | Anywhere in Canada except Quebec | The nominating province, and you must intend to settle there |
| Typical trigger | A strong overall profile: age, education, language, experience | A job offer, existing work experience in the province, or a local credential |
| Best when | Your profile scores well on its own | Your profile does not score well federally, but a province wants what you do |
They are not mutually exclusive. A provincial nomination through an enhanced stream adds 600 points to your federal ranking score, which in practice puts you at the top of the federal pool. For many people the provincial route is not an alternative to the federal one, it is how they win it.
Choose a family
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b
Federal
Express Entry and the programmes inside it: Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades, plus category based selection.
In preparationProvincial
Nominee programmes run by each province and territory, each with its own streams, criteria and selection priorities.
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