Between October 1 and October 7, 2025, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) held three separate provincial nomination draws, issuing a total of 1,324 Invitations to Apply (ITAs). Among them, the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) accounted for the majority, with 1,003 invitations, maintaining its lead as the province’s largest channel of nominations. The Accelerated Tech Pathway and Priority Sectors (Construction) streams, both aligned with the federal Express Entry system, targeted applicants in high-demand occupations. In addition, the Government of Alberta received an increase of 1,528 nomination spots in September, raising its total 2025 allocation to 6,403. As of October 10, the province had issued 4,228 nominations, leaving 2,175 available for the remainder of the year.

The Government of British Columbia announced on October 2, 2025, that the province's Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has received an additional 1,254 nomination allocations from the federal government. This brings British Columbia's total allocation for 2025 from 4,000 to 5,254. The provincial government stated that it will prioritize using these additional allocations to process backlogged International Post-Graduate (IPG) stream applications from 2024, while continuing to focus on attracting healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and high economic impact candidates.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently disclosed its 2025 permanent residence (PR) application processing plan in its latest Minister Transition Binder. According to the document, the immigration department will not clear all categories of application backlogs this year, but will instead adopt a categorized processing strategy. Express Entry-related programs, community pilot programs, and Quebec's skilled worker pathways will process all pending applications, while other economic immigration programs will only process a portion of their backlogs, with processing ratios ranging from 2% to 35%.

On October 2, 2025, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) conducted another round of draws for the year, issuing a total of 485 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for provincial nomination to candidates across two major immigration categories. The Skills Immigration category issued 474 invitations, marking the first reopening of this category since May 8, 2025. The Entrepreneur Immigration Base Stream issued 11 invitations, continuing the province's policy direction of attracting entrepreneurial talent.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently confirmed that the federal government is studying targeted measures to attract technical professionals affected by the new U.S. H-1B visa policy. This move comes in response to President Trump's sudden announcement of a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas. Canada previously launched a work permit program specifically for H-1B holders in July 2023, with 10,000 spots filling up in less than 48 hours, demonstrating strong market demand. Immigration experts and business groups are urging Canada to seize this opportunity, while also noting the need to streamline permanent residence application processes to truly retain talent.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently updated its official website to indicate that the "applicants not working in Canada" stream under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP) has been officially closed. This stream was marked as "closed" on September 29, 2025, without ever having opened to accept applications since the program's launch. Despite this closure, overseas caregivers still have alternative pathways to immigrate to Canada through Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, and other routes. Industry analysts suggest this decision may be linked to severe application backlogs and the federal government's policy shift toward prioritizing the transition of temporary residents already in Canada to permanent residence status.

Between September 12 and 17, 2025, Alberta conducted three rounds of immigration invitations across different categories through the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), issuing over 1,400 invitation letters to technology professionals, law enforcement workers, and candidates under the Alberta Opportunity Stream. This series of invitations demonstrates the province's targeted immigration strategy addressing specific labor market demands.

Latest data released by Statistics Canada on September 24, 2025, reveals that Canada is facing a major demographic turning point. Affected by federal government immigration policy adjustments, Canada's population growth rate in Q2 2025 was only 0.1%, marking the lowest post-war level (excluding pandemic period). Meanwhile, population aging trends are accelerating again, posing severe challenges to the national labor market and economic development.

According to the latest data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as of August 31, 2025, the department's application backlog reached 958,850 cases, continuing to rise from July's 901,700 cases, representing a 6.33% increase. This marks the fourth consecutive month of worsening backlog issues for IRCC, with study permit applications experiencing particularly severe delays, surging from 23% in July to 32% in August.

With US H1-B visa application fees skyrocketing to $100,000, an increasing number of international tech professionals are turning their attention to Canada. This article provides a detailed analysis of Canada's main work permit and immigration pathways, offering comprehensive guidance for professionals seeking to develop their careers in North America.