PEI conducts the second unexpected draw of the year, i.e., the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) has held a surprise draw that was not part of the province’s planned Invitation to Apply (ITA) schedule.
In this round, PEI also changed how it selected candidates. Unlike recent draws, the province considered people who had weaker ties to Prince Edward Island. This means some candidates who were not living, studying, or working in PEI recently were still considered.
Draw Results
On December 23, the PEI PNP held its second unscheduled draw of the year. A total of 13 candidates received invitations through the Labour Impact and Express Entry streams.
All invited candidates were working in jobs and sectors that the province believes will help support PEI’s economy. These sectors were chosen because they meet current labour and economic needs in the province.
This approach is different from the last six draws, going back to July. In those draws, PEI mainly invited candidates who had recently graduated from certain PEI-based Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) or were working for a PEI employer at the time they received an invitation.
So far this year, almost all of the 1,609 invitations issued by the PEI PNP have come through the Labour Impact and Express Entry streams. Only one invitation was issued under the Business Work Permit Entrepreneur stream.
Second Extra Draw Of The Year
This draw is the second one this year that did not follow PEI’s expected ITA schedule, which usually plans one draw each month. The first surprise draw took place on October 27.
The province has not explained why it chose to hold these extra draws. However, one possible reason is that nomination spaces given to provinces for 2025 cannot be carried over into 2026 if they are not used.
Each year, Canada’s federal government decides how many people can immigrate through provincial programs. These numbers are set out in the Immigration Levels Plan. After that, each province receives its own nomination limit based on the total.
These limits decide how many people a province can nominate, while ITAs decide how many people can be invited to apply. Not every invitation leads to a final nomination.
In 2025, every province saw its nomination numbers cut by half, following lower permanent resident targets in Canada’s 2025–2027 Levels Plan. For 2026, however, the number of newcomers allowed to settle through provincial programs is expected to rise sharply.
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