Immigrant Entry to Smaller Urban Centres and Coordination with Local Labour Markets in Canada: Effects of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Abstract

Canada has historically been and continues to be an immigrant nation. Despite debates on the true economic effects of immigration, it is generally considered by Canadians as a desirable way to grow and develop he economy, labour force, and population. However, Canada's expanse and regional diversity has led to a varied immigration landscape - major cities accepting larger numbers of immigrants relative to native Canadians than smaller cities. The Proviincial Nominee Program (PNP) was implemented in the late 1990s and early 2000s in part to address this. Under the PNP, Provinces and Territories have more discretion on their immigrant intake. Using panel data for select Canadian cities over 12 years, this study investigates changes in the landing points of immigrants to Canada as a resutl of he PNP. It is shown that the PNP has had mixed results, successful at promoting more immigrant arrival to smaller but still major urban centres and some recent success at promoting immigrant arrival to areas in high demand for labour.