The NWT has received more spaces under its nominee program for immigrant workers — just not the amount it was hoping for.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) announced on Tuesday that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has given it 47 additional spaces, bringing the territory's allotment to 197.
It's still well below the number in 2024, which was 300. That figure was cut in half by the Justin Trudeau government in January, which caused the GNWT to put a temporary halt to the program less than 12 hours before it was scheduled to open.
Designed to help immigrants attain permanent residency, the program exceeded its cap of 300 applications in record time last year. There were just 139 applications in 2023. In order to come to Canada through the program, applicants must have a valid job offer from an employer based in the territory or be willing to either open, purchase or invest in a business located within the NWT.
The release from the GNWT indicated that while the number of spaces increased, the program would not be taking in any additional applications for 2025. Instead, the department indicated that the additional spaces will be allocated to eligible applicants from the second 2025 intake who were not initially selected for assessment.
Eligible applicants will be notified by email, moved into the assessment queue, and assessed in the order of work permit expiry date, the GNWT stated.
The program opened for 2025 back in February and closed on March 6. Just 90 applications were set to be approved this year, even though the allotment was 150. The GNWT explained that it received 60 more applications than the limit in 2024, which were being processed toward this year's allocation. A second round of applications was opened in early July for 21 spaces that remained unfilled.
The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce warned earlier this year of a pending labour crisis, attributing it to immigration challenges across the city and the NWT.
Matt Halliday, the chamber's president, stated that the territory's nominee program is undersized for existing labour market demands. He noted that hundreds of applications were submitted when only 90 spots were made available.
Because of that, businesses have been unable to secure placements and risk being short on staff, according to Halliday, who called for an extension of expiring work permits.
"Without immediate federal action to extend permits, businesses will be forced to cut services, reduce hours or shut down entirely," he said. "A labour crisis of this scale also undermines Canada’s Arctic sovereignty by destabilizing the very businesses that sustain ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø communities."
Yellowknife businesses that have employees with permits expiring in either 2025 or 2026 were projected to impact 717 workers, making up about five per cent of the city's workforce, according to Halliday.
ECE Minister Caitlin Cleveland has been lobbying the federal government to restore the territory's allocation back to its former number of 300, saying in July that it was "one of the few tools we have to attract and retain working-age people in the midst of a national labour shortage."
"Without it, we are losing people we need," she added.
In talking about Tuesday's announcement, Cleveland stated that immigration is one of the most effective tools to strengthen the NWT economy, diversify industries and advance nation-building in the North.
"These additional 47 spaces will help fill critical labour shortages in key sectors, but we are not stopping here," the minister stated. "We will continue advocating for a nominee program that reflects ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø realities, grows our population and strengthens our sovereignty. A strong, inclusive North is built by the people who choose to call it home and we must ensure they have the opportunity to stay in the NWT.”
