All provinces and territories, except for Quebec and Nunavut, currently use Express Entry. Provinces and territories are able to nominate a certain number of candidates through the Express Entry system to meet their local and provincial labour market needs. These are known as "enhanced" nominations. If an applicant gets an enhanced nomination from a province or territory, he or she is then given 600 additional points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool. All candidates must meet the eligibility criteria of one of the federal economic immigration programs in order to enter and be selected from the Express Entry pool.
Just as they manage their own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), provinces and territories set the criteria they use to nominate Express Entry candidates. Depending on the province/territory, Express Entry candidates may either enter the pool first and then be nominated by a province or territory, or be nominated by a province or territory and then complete an online Express Entry profile. Provinces and territories are also able to make nominations under their regular (“base”) PNPs outside the Express Entry system.