New Brunswick has negotiated an increased immigration allocation with the federal government.

The province has received an additional 1,500 spots for its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), bringing its total immigration allocation this year to 4,250 spaces.

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The additional 1,500 spots have all been allocated to the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP).

The total number of spaces includes nominations for the NBPNP as well as endorsements for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).

In February, New Brunswick had announced that its immigration nomination allocation for the year had been cut by 50% from last year’s levels, with only 2,750 slots available.

In exchange for the increased allocation to provincial economic immigration, the province agreed to accept up to 400 asylum claimants.

Who is the NBPNP prioritizing?

The NBPNP has announced that it will continue to focus its nominations on workers in priority sectors:

• Health.
• Education.
• Construction trades.

Other sectors will continue to be supported but only with limited allocations.

Meanwhile, workers in some occupations will be restricted from participating.

The NBPNP’s immigration reduction earlier this year led the province to prioritize in-demand sectors.

How has the NBPNP managed to increase its allocation for 2025?

New Brunswick negotiated a deal with the federal government, under which the provincial government has agreed to welcome 400 asylum claimants within two years.

The federal government has agreed to support the provincial government with funds through the Interim Housing Assistance Program, which will help asylum claimants with temporary housing needs.

In the coming weeks, New Brunswick officials will meet with asylum claimants already in Canada who have shown interest in relocating to the province. Those who choose to move will be supported by local settlement agencies with housing, integration, and employment.

The province believes that many of these individuals are ready to join the workforce and will be matched with employers facing labour shortages, including companies such as J.D. Irving, Ltd.

How Canadian provinces and territories are dealing with reduced immigration allocations in 2025

New Brunswick is the second province to announce a revised immigration allocation after negotiating with the federal government.

In February, Newfoundland and Labrador negotiated an increase to its 2025 PNP allocation, bringing its total number of nominations for the year to 2,525. Previously, it had been allotted just 1,050 provincial immigration slots.

Other provinces and territories continue to grapple with a 50% reduction in provincial immigration nomination slots.

Ontario recently confirmed that its provincial nomination allocation for 2025 had been cut to 10,750 – down from 21,500 in 2024.

British Columbia saw its nomination allocation reduced from 8,000 to just 4,000 for 2025, a move that led the province to make major changes to its PNP, including closing several streams and limiting the number of applications in 2025 to just 1,100.

These cuts are in line with the current immigration policy. In the previous Immigration Levels Plan, published in Nov of 2023, IRCC had set a provisional landings target of 120,000 for the PNP for 2025.

However, in the most recent Immigration Levels Plan, published last October (2025-27), this target has been set to just 55,000 for 2025.

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