Significant immigration policy adjustments have been reported from Canada's eastern province of New Brunswick. Provincial immigration authorities confirmed that effective April 4, 2025, the province has ceased accepting new provincial endorsement applications aimed at obtaining Permanent Residency (PR) through the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). The primary reason is the rapid depletion of the province's allocated 1,250 AIP spots for the year, resulting in an early cap-out.
This decision to suspend application intake means that even endorsement applications submitted by designated employers after April 4th will not be approved. Furthermore, for the remainder of 2025, New Brunswick will not approve any new employers seeking designation under the AIP program.
However, for candidates who successfully submitted their provincial endorsement applications on or before the April 4th deadline (inclusive), their application processing will not be affected by this suspension and will continue according to normal procedures.
Other Atlantic Provinces' AIP Channels Remain Open, But with Limitations
Although New Brunswick's AIP channel is temporarily closed, opportunities have not entirely vanished for foreign skilled workers or international graduates hoping to immigrate to Canada through this program. Canada's other three Atlantic provinces—Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (PEI)—have not yet reached their annual AIP quota limits and continue to accept provincial endorsement applications from designated employers.
Nevertheless, potential applicants need to pay close attention, as some provinces, aiming to more accurately match local labour market needs, have already implemented additional conditions for AIP applications. For example, Nova Scotia is currently accepting applications across all National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes except explicitly for NOC 62020 (food service supervisors). Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island announced earlier this year that its AIP program will focus on and only accept endorsement applications for workers in three key sectors: healthcare, construction, and manufacturing. As of this writing, Newfoundland and Labrador has not announced any specific restrictions for its AIP program.
Multiple Factors Behind the Early Quota Exhaustion
Compared to last year, when the province's AIP quota was only exhausted in September, this year's cap was reached on April 4th, more than five months earlier, indicating exceptionally intense application competition.
This early closure is related to New Brunswick's February 18th announcement that it would no longer provide endorsements for certain occupations under the AIP. A deeper underlying cause is the ripple effect of federal-level policy: the federal government significantly reduced the planned 2025 allocations for provincial immigration programs (including PNP and AIP) by as much as 50%. This adjustment stems from the Canadian federal government lowering its overall permanent resident intake targets in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan.
The federal government is responsible for determining the annual quota distribution for each province's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and the Atlantic provinces' AIP. With provincial allocations cut in half, the number of individuals provinces can nominate through the AIP has drastically decreased. Facing limited spots and surging applications, provinces have had to implement stricter selection measures, such as restricting eligible occupations or sectors, to ensure the immigration program more effectively serves urgent local labour market needs.
About the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a collaborative immigration initiative between the Canadian federal government and the four Atlantic provinces, designed to attract and retain skilled workers and international graduates willing to work and live in these four provinces to meet local labour market demands.
The program is typically "employer-driven," meaning its core function is to help local employers find and hire qualified foreign talent to fill job vacancies. Employers wishing to hire overseas workers under AIP must first apply to their province and obtain "designated employer" status. Once designated, employers can submit a provincial endorsement application to the province after extending a valid job offer to a foreign candidate.
If the application is successful, the candidate will receive a Certificate of Endorsement. Holding this certificate and meeting other AIP eligibility criteria allows the candidate to formally apply for permanent residency to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
A key advantage of the AIP is that applicants, while waiting for their permanent residency application decision, can apply for a temporary work permit linked to the AIP program and their designated employer, allowing them to legally start working in Canada. According to information published by IRCC, the current standard processing time for PR applications submitted under the AIP is approximately 11 months.
For individuals who may not qualify for the AIP, exploring the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) offered by Canada's Atlantic provinces remains an alternative immigration pathway.
