British Columbia has invited 500 candidates to apply for provincial nomination through its latest occupation-focused immigration draw.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) held the draw on August 6, 2026. The selection focused on workers in five priority areas, including construction, healthcare, childcare, education, and veterinary care.

The province said the draw was aimed at selecting highly qualified workers who can help meet important labour needs across British Columbia.

This was the BCPNP’s 11th Skills Immigration (SI) draw of 2026 and its 19th selection round overall.

Latest BCPNP Draw Details

The latest invitations were issued across five occupational groups. The draw followed British Columbia’s updated immigration priorities, which now place more focus on healthcare, care-related jobs, and skilled trades.

The largest number of invitations went to candidates working in construction trades.

Core Objective Occupational Category Number Of NOCs Targeted Invitations Issued Minimum Score
Care Childcare 1 183 102
Care Healthcare 31 124 84
Care Education 2 <5 68
Care Veterinary care 2 6 72
Build Construction trades 9 187 88

The childcare group received 183 invitations, making it the largest group in the draw. Construction trades followed closely with 187 invitations, while healthcare workers received 124 invitations.

Targeted Childcare Occupations

Only early childhood educators (42202) received invitations under this occupational category.

Early childhood educators (ECEs) must have held either a one-year or five-year ECE Certificate issued by the ECE registry to have been considered for a targeted invitation. 

Targeted Healthcare Occupations

  • 30010 – Managers in health care
  • 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
  • 31101 – Specialists in surgery
  • 31102 – General practitioners and family physicians
  • 31110 – Dentists
  • 31112 – Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
  • 31120 – Pharmacists
  • 31121 – Dietitians and nutritionists
  • 31200 – Psychologists
  • 31201 – Chiropractors
  • 31202 – Physiotherapists
  • 31203 – Occupational therapists
  • 31204 – Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy
  • 31209 – Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
  • 31300 – Nursing coordinators and supervisors
  • 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
  • 31302 – Nurse practitioners
  • 31303 – Physician assists, midwives and allied health professionals
  • 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
  • 32102 – Paramedical occupations
  • 32103 – Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
  • 32111 – Dental hygienists and dental therapists
  • 32112 – Dental technologists and technicians
  • 32120 – Medical laboratory technologists
  • 32121 – Medical radiation technologists
  • 32122 – Medical sonographers
  • 32123 – Cardiology technologists and elect. diagnostic techs
  • 32200 – Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
  • 33101 – Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
  • 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
  • 41300 – Social workers

Note: Candidates with a job offer under NOC 33102 were eligible for targeted healthcare invitations only if they were registered with the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry. 

Targeted Education Occupations

  • 41220 – Secondary school teachers (French-speaking only)
  • 41221 – Elementary/Kindergarten teachers (French-speaking only)

To have been invited, candidates need to have declared employment in British Columbia’s K-12 system and have an NCLC level 5 or higher in French.

Targeted Veterinary Care Occupations

  • 31103 – Veterinarians  
  • 32104 – Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians 
    • Valid professional designation was required.  

Targeted Construction Trades Occupations

  • 72106 – Welders and related machine operators
  • 72200 – Electricians (except industrial and power system)
  • 72201 – Industrial electricians
  • 72300 – Plumbers
  • 72301 – Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
  • 72310 – Carpenters
  • 72400 – Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
  • 72401 – Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
  • 72402 – Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics

Eligibility for a targeted invitation required construction trades workers to hold a valid trade certificate from SkilledTradesBC or be registered in an apprenticeship with SkilledTradesBC that aligned with their job offer. 

This was British Columbia’s fifth occupation-specific selection round of 2026. Earlier rounds have also considered factors such as registration scores, wages, salaries, and job offers.

The province has said that future Skills Immigration draws may focus on different priorities. This means the requirements and selection factors may change between invitation rounds.

Some of the factors that may be considered include:

  • Educational level, field of study, and location of study
  • Professional designation in British Columbia
  • Length and skill level of work experience
  • Language proficiency
  • Occupation
  • Wage and skill level of a candidate’s job offer
  • Plans to live and work in a particular region of the province
  • Strategic priorities that align with provincial labour demands or support government pilot projects and initiatives

As of August 6, the BCPNP had issued at least 4,236 invitations through the Skills Immigration category in 2026.

Skills Immigration Registration Pool

Foreign nationals seeking consideration under the Skills Immigration category must first submit a registration, also known as an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile.

The program uses the information in each profile to calculate a registration score. It then places candidates in the relevant pool for consideration in future invitation rounds.

As of August 6, the BCPNP registration pool had 8,306 registrations.

Score Range Number Of Registrations
0 – 59 212
60 – 69 373
70 – 79 739
80 – 89 1,219
90 – 99 1,468
100 – 109 1,651
110 – 119 1,332
120 – 129 1,023
130 – 139 241
140 – 149 38
150+ 10

The 100 – 109 score range had the largest share of candidates, with 1,651 registrations. This represented 19.8% of the total registration pool.

The latest draw shows British Columbia’s continued focus on workers who can support key sectors facing labour shortages. Candidates in healthcare, childcare, education, veterinary care, and construction may continue to see targeted opportunities as the province adjusts its immigration selections to match workforce needs.

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