Municipal Nominee Program (MNP) is a regional economic program of immigration created for local communities and labor councils working for local communities In the municipal nominee program immigrants are employed by the local communities on the basis of their skills and according to the labor market requirements which complete their local market needs. The Municipal Nominee Program was introduced by the Canadian government to help newcomers so that they can integrate themselves into the local communities easily through job offers. This program can help immigrants settle and work in smaller cities in Canada. This program is introduced to encourage the immigrants to live and work in small-sized communities existing in small towns and cities can grow in the economic sector by immigrating skilled workers to these small towns to meet the labor requirement of smaller cities.
Defining Features of the Municipal Nominee Program
Here we have given the main features of the Municipal Nominee Program:
- The municipal nominee program will provide at least 5,000 vacancies to newcomers each year.
- The immigrants who arrive in Canada through this program are able to apply for citizenship of Canada which costs $680 now.
- The physical presence duration to get permanent residency in Canada will decrease up to 3 years and 4-years of the current requirement.
Economic immigration is very important and has always been beneficial for Canadian economic success and played a very important role in building Canada a strong and prosperous nation.
The business owners of that community help the newcomers in finding accommodations and help them to learn the additional language required in their community because the services that are provided by the business organization can be difficult and costly for new immigrants to settle down in their new community.
The Canadian federal government has launched many pilot programs to help newcomers to move in every smallest town of Canada which have very less population Some of these programs are:
- Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP)
- Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
- Rural and Northern Pilot Program (RINP)
The Canadian government is making efforts to focus on some special regions to fill their labor market requirements through immigration programs.
Provincial Nominee Program
The Provincial Nominee Program is focused to encourage applicants to apply for permanent residence in Canada from around the world. This program focuses on people who are having skilled experience, good education as well as work experience in specific fields which can help in the economic growth of Canada. People who are skilled, people with educational qualifications, and people with job experience could be useful in filling the gap in the labor market of Canada. This program will be helpful for foreign workers who would be wanting to immigrate to the nation and work in a particular province or territory. Every province, as well as the territory of the nation, has its own criteria for giving permanent resident status to applicants.
Municipal Nominee Program (MNP) Vs Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
The Municipal Nominee Program and the Provincial Nominee Program have been created to complete the local market skilled labor requirements all over the country. Each territory and province have their own immigration conditions introduced by them according to their local market labor requirements under the provincial nominee program. The federal government in Canada has provided authority to each province and territory to work according to their requirements in each region. Even Though the Provincial Nominee Program is successful in attracting newcomers to smaller cities and towns but not on a permanent basis because almost 80% of newcomers shift to big cities after spending some time in smaller regions. which will not justify the purpose of these kinds of programs. purpose of these programs. To cover up these drawbacks the Municipal Nominee Program is introduced which will offer various benefits to newcomers by providing autonomy to smaller communities and their municipalities into the provinces and territories and giving them authority to select their newcomers.
Why is the Municipal Nominee Program necessary?
The Municipal nominee immigration program is introduced by the Canadian government to fill the labor gaps of smaller cities and their communities. The immigrants know that it is their right to live and work anywhere in Canada after their arrival because of section 6 of the Canadian charter. The newcomers choose to live in metropolitan cities after getting their permanent residency visas. They mostly prefer to live in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver which creates a difficult situation for smaller communities that are struggling to fill their labor market gaps to run their economy smoothly.
By introducing the Municipal Nominee Program Canadian Government wants to provide support to the local and small communities to make their life easy. This program was introduced to provide authority to the local employers who are living in smaller communities to nominate immigrants with required skills and valid working experience directly. This program is a modified version of the Provincial Nominee Program, which became an ideal program for other countries too which wants to invite more numbers of newcomers from all over the world.
How will the Municipal Nominee Program work?
If you want to move to Canada using The Municipal Nominee Program then you have to understand how it works. The Canadian government has mentioned very clearly that this program is not a final stage and it required more strategies to practically start this program on its full capabilities and also the Canadian government has expected almost 5,000 new immigrants per year under the MNP program. Generally, this program is to line up the employer and immigrants to choose the smaller cities and towns where they get employed before their arrival in Canada.
Selection Criteria Of Municipal Nominee Programs
The federal government in Canada has not released the complete details on the selection criteria of the Municipal Nominee Program. The basis of considering a candidate will be most probably related to immigrant retention.
Many small communities have to face difficulties retaining the newcomers after their arrival in these small communities. According to a survey, it shows that high retention rates provided to immigrants in these municipalities can make this program successful. Many other regional programs of immigration also consider the same idea with the existing immigrants of their area. They will focus on providing services to new arrivals to comfort them to find accommodation to settle them in that community. In various provinces, the immigration programs just require proof from the candidates to demonstrate their intentions to live and work in that particular province in which they get nominated. Some regional nomination programs require a connection in that particular region like
- You have a valid job offer from the employer of that province
- Your family members or blood relatives already living there
- You have worked there
- You have studied there
These norms can make sure you stay in that region after being a permanent resident in Canada.
Immigration Levels Plan Of Canada
The Municipal Nominee Program is designed to improve the immigration system which can help to boost economic growth and provide support for diversity to make small communities more prosperous and maintain the peace and safety of Canadian people. The Immigration Levels Plan of the Canadian Government for 2021 to 2023 is that the newcomers to whom the Canadian Government intends to invite from 2021 to 2023.
The number of candidates for permanent residency that Canada is planning to welcome into the country is increasing every year. The immigration target set for 2020 could not be met due to the travel restrictions that had been placed for the safety of the residents of the country in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This means that the plans for the next year will be set higher than before. The number of immigrants being welcomed is broken down by the IRCC into categories through which the candidates get their acceptance to Canada. These can be pilot programs, Provincial Nominee Programs, or numerous other immigration programs. Around 56% of the total immigration is done through economic Immigration, 25% being family class immigration and 16% being refugees and humanitarian classes.
The introduction of the Municipal Nominee Program will most likely welcome immigrants who fit the criteria of pilot programs under the Immigration Level Plan. As per the planning, the program would be operational for 5 years. This time period will also be used by IRCC to make a decision regarding whether the program should be made a permanent immigration program for Canada.
