The Government of the Northwest Territories has announced that the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) will reopen for applications from 9:00 AM (Mountain Time) on February 27 until 5:00 PM (Mountain Time) on March 6, 2025. This intake is designed to meet the immigration quota for 2025, processing 90 new applications, along with 60 remaining applications from 2024, totaling 150 nomination slots.
After the intake closes, if the number of applications exceeds the program’s capacity, the NTNP will randomly select which applications to process, and applicants will be notified by email. The selected applications will be processed based on the expiration dates of their work permits.
The changes also include adjustments to the NTNP’s quotas to better respond to applicants with expiring work permits, recognize those who have committed significant time to their NWT employers, and support the diverse needs of employers in the Northwest Territories.
Quotas and Eligibility Requirements by Category
Employer-Driven Stream
The NTNP’s “Employer-Driven” stream allows employers to hire foreign workers and nominate them for Canadian permanent residence (PR). As the name suggests, the Employer-Driven stream requires an NWT employer to apply on behalf of the immigration candidate; foreign nationals cannot apply directly to this stream. This stream includes three subcategories:
- Entry-Level / Semi-Skilled Occupations category;
- Skilled Worker category;
- NWT Express Entry category.
The 2025 allocation for each of these subcategories includes specific eligibility criteria. Unless otherwise specified, applicants must have work experience gained immediately prior to applying for the NTNP and must have worked with the nominating employer in the same occupation.
Employer-Driven and Francophone Stream
The NTNP will allocate 10 additional applications through the Employer-Driven and Francophone streams, specifically for Francophone candidates. NWT employers can submit applications based on the number of employees they have, with the following allocation:
- 1 to 10 NWT employees: 1 application
- 11 to 49 NWT employees: 2 applications
- 50+ NWT employees: 4 applications
The Francophone stream requires candidates to be bilingual and to have a valid job offer from an NWT employer. Applicants can be employed in any National Occupational Classification (NOC) Training Education Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) level.
Background on 2025 Adjustments
These changes are a result of a 50% reduction in the territory’s immigrant nomination quota for 2025, a trend seen across all of Canada’s provinces and territories this year. In response to domestic housing and affordability pressures, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced late last year that it would halve the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) landing targets for 2025. As a result, the total admission targets under Canada’s PNPs fell from 110,000 in 2024 to just 55,000 in 2025.
This change has had significant downstream effects on many provinces and territories. Several regions, including New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yukon, have altered their application intake processes in response. The Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) was no exception, having hit its overall immigration allocation for the year as early as July 2024, marking a significant milestone in the program’s history.
The adjustments to the NTNP aim to ensure that the immigration system remains adaptable to changes in Canada’s overall immigration policy while balancing the needs of the local labor market and maintaining fairness in the immigration process.
