Nova Scotia PNP (NSNP) in 2026: the four streams

Nova Scotia nominates workers, graduates and entrepreneurs for Canadian permanent residence through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP). This guide is for skilled workers, nurses, students and families, in Canada or abroad, who want to understand how the program works in 2026 and where they might fit.

Who Nova Scotia suits

Nova Scotia is selecting carefully this year. Its federal allocation is limited, and it has said so plainly. It gives its places mostly to people already living and working in the province, and, for recruitment from abroad, to occupations with serious shortages.

It suits you best if you:

already work in Nova Scotia, especially outside Halifax;
studied at a Nova Scotia institution;
work in health care or a skilled trade, or another occupation that supports critical services;
are a physician or a construction worker with the right experience.

For a worker abroad outside those occupations, Nova Scotia is a difficult route in 2026, and we will tell you so in your assessment.

How the NSNP works in 2026

A nomination is Nova Scotia's recommendation to IRCC; it does not make you a permanent resident. After nomination, you apply to IRCC, which checks medicals, security and admissibility.

Nova Scotia selects from an expression of interest (EOI) pool:

You submit an EOI describing your work, education, language and connection to Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia selects candidates from the pool against its current priorities.
If invited, you send a full application. Since 1 September 2026, NSNP applications carry a fee.
If nominated, you apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

A base nomination is made outside Express Entry. An enhanced nomination, through the Nova Scotia: Express Entry stream, adds 600 points to your Comprehensive Ranking System score.

Canada gave the provinces and territories 43,999 nomination spaces for 2026. Nova Scotia has not published its own 2026 figure, so we do not quote one. As the province itself says, meeting a stream's requirements does not guarantee selection.

The four streams open now

On 18 February 2026, Nova Scotia reduced ten streams to four. The change applies to EOIs submitted after that date; earlier EOIs are not affected.

Nova Scotia Graduate. For international graduates of Nova Scotia institutions who meet demand criteria. It takes in the former International Graduates in Demand stream. Details: Nova Scotia Graduate.

Skilled Worker. For workers with a job in the province and the skills it needs. It now includes a Construction Worker criterion (the former Critical Construction Worker Pilot, with the same requirements) and a Physician criterion (the former Physician stream). Details: Skilled Worker.

Entrepreneur. For people who will run a business in Nova Scotia. It includes the former International Graduate Entrepreneur stream as a criterion. Details: Entrepreneur.

Nova Scotia: Express Entry (enhanced). For candidates with an active Express Entry profile. It brings together three former streams (Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry, Labour Market Priorities, and Labour Market Priorities for Physicians) with their eligibility rules kept. Details: Nova Scotia: Express Entry.

What changed in 2025–2026

2025: the federal government cut provincial allocations to about half their 2024 level.
18 February 2026: ten streams became four.
14 July 2026: a one-time expansion of selection priorities for people already in the province. It covered EOIs submitted by 30 June 2026 from candidates living and working in Nova Scotia whose work permits expire in 2026 or earlier, who met one or more conditions: a TEER 0–4 job in a key sector such as health care, manufacturing, construction or agriculture; a Nova Scotia graduate in a TEER 0–5 job; a TEER 0–5 job outside the Halifax Regional Municipality; a sales or service job paying at least $20 an hour; or any job paying at least $27 an hour.
1 September 2026: NSNP application fees began.

For international recruitment, Nova Scotia says it will keep its focus on occupations with significant shortages: health care, skilled trades and selected occupations that support critical services.

The Atlantic Immigration Program

Nova Scotia is one of the four provinces in the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), a permanent federal program. You need a job offer from an employer designated by the province, an endorsement from Nova Scotia and a settlement plan. The four Atlantic provinces share 3,315 AIP endorsement spaces in 2026. Nova Scotia's 2026 selection update covers both the NSNP and the AIP.

New Brunswick, a neighbour, paused new AIP employer designations on 14 September 2026. That pause is New Brunswick's alone; in Nova Scotia, what matters is whether your employer is designated here.

Health care and the trades

Health care and the skilled trades are where Nova Scotia is recruiting from abroad.

For nurses, the federal route is Express Entry's Healthcare and Social Services category, which covers registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse aides and needs 12 months of experience in the last three years, in Canada or abroad. On licensing, be careful with older advice: Nova Scotia's fast-track pathway for nurses licensed in designated countries, including India, paused new intake on 20 January 2025, and the regulator has set no reopening date. Nurses now follow the standard route, starting with NNAS, before applying to the regulator.

For physicians and construction workers, the Skilled Worker stream now holds the routes that used to be separate streams.

Students and graduates

The Nova Scotia Graduate stream and the AIP's exemption from work experience for Atlantic graduates both reward study in the province, and the 2026 one-time expansion favoured Nova Scotia graduates. Study permits are capped, and most college and undergraduate students need a provincial attestation letter. Choose your program and institution with permanent residence in mind: a qualifying diploma, then a job in the province, ideally in a priority sector or outside Halifax.

Families and settling in

When you are nominated, your spouse or partner and dependent children are included in your permanent residence application. Nova Scotia's 2026 priorities reward people working outside Halifax, and one community, Pictou County, takes part in the federal Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which needs a job with an employer designated by the community. A family that is open to living outside the city has more options.

Following Nova Scotia draws on this site

We report Nova Scotia's selections, notices and fee changes in /category/pnp-news/, and you can browse by subject at /topics/. For Canada-wide Express Entry draws and policy news, read IRCNews.

How Polinsys helps

Joy Stephen, RCIC (CICC licence R419719), gives you an honest written assessment before any fee: which of the four streams fits your occupation, experience, language and ties to Nova Scotia, whether the AIP is open to you, and which other provinces or Express Entry routes to pursue alongside. If you go ahead, we prepare your EOI and applications and follow Nova Scotia's changes for you. Ask your questions first at our free Friday Q&A: https://polinsys.com/webinar/.