The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has announced that its 2025 Provincial Nominee Program (SINP) has received an additional 1,136 nominations from the federal government, bringing its total annual allocation to 4,761. This adjustment reopens application pathways for several sectors that were previously paused due to reaching their caps. Against a backdrop of diverging immigration allocation trends across Canada, this development in Saskatchewan, along with increases in several other provinces, highlights the complex and evolving landscape of federal and provincial immigration policies.

The province of British Columbia held a new Provincial Nominee Program draw on August 19, 2025, exclusively targeting candidates in the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) category. A total of no more than 16 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued through the Base and Regional Pilot streams. The results confirm a clear trend in 2025, with the BC PNP prioritizing business and investment streams, marking this the sixth entrepreneur-focused draw of the year.

In its June 24 draw, Newfoundland and Labrador issued 320 invitations and successfully negotiated a 1,000-spot increase to its 2025 PNP allocation, signaling a strong commitment to attracting new immigrants. British Columbia’s July 8 draw once again targeted entrepreneurs, issuing no more than 17 invitations and underscoring its high priority for business and investment-class immigrants. Meanwhile, Manitoba extended 67 invitations on July 10, prioritizing international students who graduated from its institutions and skilled workers identified through "Strategic Recruitment Initiatives." These moves clearly reflect the unique immigration strategies each province is deploying based on its economic and labor market needs.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued new invitations to Entrepreneur Immigration applicants on May 28. A total of no more than 14 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued across the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) Regional and Base streams, with varying cut-off scores. Notably, compared to its skills immigration streams, BC's Entrepreneur Immigration program has maintained significant invitation frequency and stability in 2025, underscoring the province's continued focus on attracting business investment and promoting economic development.

Recent news of the U.S. planning a high-threshold "Gold Card" visa has sparked interest in whether Canada offers a similar pathway for directly purchasing permanent residency. Canada does not have such a "Gold Card"; its economic immigration programs primarily focus on attracting skilled talent rather than pure investment. However, Canada does provide several immigration streams for entrepreneurs and investors intending to establish or operate businesses within the country, leading to permanent residence. These include the federal Start-Up Visa Program, the unique Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, and various Provincial Nominee Programs for entrepreneurs.

New research highlights how Canada's Start-up Visa policy has become an attractive option for immigrants in the United States, particularly those holding H-1B visas.