Immigration to New Brunswick
New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, and French can be a major advantage. The NBPNP includes Skilled Worker, Express Entry, Critical Worker Pilot, and a Strategic Initiative for francophones. New Brunswick also uses the Atlantic Immigration Program, with demand in healthcare, hospitality, trades, and rural communities.
New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) streams
We cover 4 NBPNP streams. Each links to a detailed page with eligibility criteria, documents, and processing times.
New to provincial programs? Read our plain-English guide to PNPs.
New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream
The New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream offers a pathway to permanent residence for foreign nationals currently employed or with a job offer for a full-time, non-seasonal position with an eligible …
New Brunswick Express Entry Stream
The New Brunswick Express Entry stream is designed for highly skilled foreign nationals in the federal Express Entry pool who wish to settle in New Brunswick permanently. A provincial nomination fr…
New Brunswick Strategic Initiative
The New Brunswick Strategic Initiative is a Provincial Nominee Program stream intended for French-speaking foreign nationals who have eligible connections to New Brunswick and wish to live and work…
New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot
The New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot is an employer-driven provincial nominee program stream that addresses critical labour shortages in various sectors across New Brunswick. Candidates apply th…
Where New Brunswick is actually hiring
The sectors that drive New Brunswick's immigrant recruitment — and the occupations consistently in demand.
Francophone recruitment (province-wide)
NB targets francophones aggressively — the Strategic Initiative Stream is the most distinctive pathway. French speakers from Africa (Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia) and Europe (France, Belgium) feature prominently in invited cohorts.
Healthcare and long-term care
Like every Canadian province, NB has nurse and physician shortages — Horizon Health Network and Vitalité Health Network recruit foreign healthcare workers consistently. NSNP Skilled Worker and AIP both pick up healthcare offers.
Manufacturing and food processing
Sustained demand for production workers, supervisors, and skilled trades in the food-processing sector (McCain Foods, J.D. Irving) and forestry products (J.D. Irving, AV Group). The Critical Worker Pilot specifically targets TEER 4/5 roles in these industries.
Hospitality and tourism (seasonal-heavy)
Atlantic tourism drives strong demand for cooks, hotel staff, and service workers — NBPNP Skilled Worker and Critical Worker Pilot both nominate hospitality occupations. Seasonal roles aren't eligible (must be non-seasonal).
New Brunswick immigration — questions
How many NBPNP streams are there?+
Four worker-focused streams: Skilled Worker (with NB Experience and NB Graduates sub-pathways), Express Entry, Strategic Initiative (francophone), and Critical Worker Pilot. Plus a Business Immigration stream we don't cover here (entrepreneur-class), and a Private Career College Graduate Pilot.
Is the NBPNP Strategic Initiative only for French speakers?+
Yes — it's francophone-targeted by design. The headline gate is French at CLB 7+ via TEF Canada or TCF Canada. If you don't have French at that level, the Skilled Worker, Express Entry, or Critical Worker streams are the routes for you.
How is NBPNP different from AIP?+
Different programs with different eligibility. AIP is federal and requires a designated-employer job offer. NBPNP is provincial and has its own selection factor grid (67 points for EE stream, 65 for Strategic Initiative). Most Atlantic immigrants use one or the other, not both. NBPNP tends to be the route when your employer isn't AIP-designated.
Is New Brunswick a fit for you?
Free, email required. About 5–10 minutes. We'll check your profile against New Brunswick's 4 NBPNP streams plus the broader programs we cover.