Sask. reboots foreign worker nominee program with focus on health care, ag and trades

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 12:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The state is rebooting its Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) with stricter criteria, ending a five-week intermission successful applications that started aft Ottawa slashed the fig of disposable spots for overseas workers successful the province.

SINP is meant to code labour shortages by having immigrants capable vacant positions.

The rebooted SINP moves nominees successful 3 sectors to the beforehand of the enactment and reworks rules to woody with the national government's new, little nominee allocations for provinces, according to a quality merchandise from the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training.

The state said it is prioritizing applications from workers successful wellness care, agriculture and skilled trades. 

Saskatchewan's allocation for 2025 is 3,625, the lowest level since 2009, the state said. The national authorities besides present requires that 75 per cent of each nominees are already surviving successful Canada arsenic impermanent residents.

Ottawa's caller migration program for 2025-27 chopped migration levels to supply "well-managed, sustainable growth" successful the look of nationalist challenges astir housing, infrastructure and societal service, an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson said past month.

The state is "disappointed with the national government's decision" to slash nominee allotments by 50 per cent, but said "the changes announced contiguous volition guarantee that our reduced fig of nominations is utilized efficaciously and successful a mode that prioritizes gathering our economy," said Immigration and Career Training Minister Jim Reiter successful the quality release.

New SINP rules include:

• The state volition prioritize overseas candidates moving successful wellness care, agriculture and trades.

• For each different jobs, applicants indispensable already beryllium impermanent Canadian residents connected a valid visa.

• A 25 per cent headdress connected nominations successful the hospitality, nutrient services, retail commercialized and trucking sectors.

• The state nary longer takes nominations for spas, salons and favored attraction services (veterinarians stay eligible).

• The categories for entrepreneur, planetary postgraduate entrepreneur and husbandman owner/operator are closed.

The retooled SINP means the state volition instrumentality applications for the Saskatchewan Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand sub-categories. Candidates who get their applications returned tin petition a interest refund.

More than 90 per cent of the province's economical migration happens done the SINP, according to the Immigration and Career Training ministry.

What is SINP? 

Employers are allowed to prosecute overseas nationals done the programme erstwhile they're capable to beryllium they can't find anyone other successful the state to capable a position.

Once a concern is qualified, they are provided with a occupation support signifier allowing them to prosecute a overseas nationalist via SINP.

That idiosyncratic indispensable past work full-time for that leader for at slightest six months to qualify for the programme and stay in the country.