Atlantic Immigration Program vs Nova Scotia Nominee Program

If you want to settle permanently in Nova Scotia, two programs do most of the heavy lifting: the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) and the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP). Both end in the same place, a federal permanent residence application, but they get you there in very different ways. One is built around your employer. The other is built around the province choosing you from a pool. Knowing which door you are actually standing in front of can save you months of wasted effort, so here is a clear head-to-head.

The short version

The AIP is employer-driven. You need a job offer from an employer the province has specifically designated, plus a settlement plan, and the employer asks the province to endorse you. The NSNP is province-driven. You submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), and Nova Scotia selects candidates from that pool based on its own labour-market priorities. In one, an employer opens the door. In the other, the government does.

Atlantic Immigration Program: the employer holds the key

The AIP is a federal program run jointly with the four Atlantic provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. It became permanent in 2022, so it is no longer a pilot. What makes it distinctive is that it is employer-led from start to finish.

Here is the sequence:

• Designated employer. Before anything else, your employer has to be designated by the province. To qualify, a business generally needs at least two years of continuous operation under the same management in an Atlantic province and a commitment to work with a settlement service provider. Designation is free.
• Job offer. You need a valid, full-time, non-seasonal job offer from that designated employer, in a NOC 2021 TEER 0–4 occupation. A big advantage: the AIP does not require an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment), which the regular Temporary Foreign Worker route does.
• Settlement plan. Before you can be endorsed, you (and any family joining you) must get an individualized settlement plan from an approved provider.
• Endorsement. The employer applies to Nova Scotia to endorse your specific position, and the province issues a Certificate of Endorsement.
• PR application. With that endorsement in hand, you apply directly to IRCC for permanent residence. There is no separate Express Entry ranking to clear.

For candidate eligibility, you generally need about a year of relevant work experience in the past five years (graduates of a recognized Atlantic institution are exempt), the education required for your job's skill level, and language ability of CLB/NCLC 5 for most jobs (CLB 4 for TEER 4 roles). If you want the fuller picture, see our guide on the AIP employer-driven pathway.

Nova Scotia Nominee Program: the province picks from a pool

The NSNP is Nova Scotia's own provincial nominee program, and it works on a completely different logic. In late 2025, the province moved all its immigration submissions into an EOI pool. You submit your application, it is treated as an EOI, and Nova Scotia runs periodic draws to select which candidates move forward. It is not first-come, first-served, and being selected does not guarantee approval. Selection is based on provincial priorities such as healthcare, skilled trades, and other in-demand sectors.

As of February 18, 2026, the NSNP has four streams:

• Skilled Worker
• Nova Scotia Graduate
• Entrepreneur
• Nova Scotia: Express Entry

These were consolidated from a longer list of ten older streams, so the four still carry sub-criteria that mirror the earlier programs. Several NSNP pathways do not require employer designation, and some (like the Express Entry and labour-market-priority routes) do not require a job offer at all. When Nova Scotia selects you, it issues a nomination, which is your trigger to apply to IRCC for PR. You can read more in our 2026 NSNP streams overview.

One more thing worth knowing: where you live can matter. Some NSNP advantages, including lower investment thresholds for the Entrepreneur stream and certain 2026 selection priorities, favour candidates outside the Halifax area. We cover that in living outside Halifax.

Side by side

Both routes finish the same way, with a permanent residence application to IRCC. The difference is the key that unlocks it: an employer's endorsement versus a provincial nomination.

Can you pursue both?

Yes. They are parallel options, not mutually exclusive, and Nova Scotia's immigration office actually administers the AIP endorsement alongside the NSNP. A Nova Scotia employer and candidate can qualify under either program. In practice, which one you use usually comes down to your circumstances rather than a strategic choice. If you have a job offer from a designated employer, the AIP is often the cleaner path. If you fit the province's priority profile, the NSNP may select you without any employer designation at all.

Which one should you choose?

Match the route to your situation:

• You have (or can get) a job offer from a designated Atlantic employer. Lean toward the AIP. The employer-plus-settlement-plan structure is built exactly for this, and you skip both the LMIA and any points ranking.
• You are already living and working in Nova Scotia in a priority sector. The NSNP is likely your best bet. Get an EOI into the pool and let the province's draws work in your favour, especially if your occupation is in healthcare, skilled trades, or another in-demand field.
• You are applying from outside Canada and not in healthcare or skilled trades. Be realistic. Much of the NSNP's current framework favours people already in the province, so a designated-employer AIP offer may be your most practical route.

If you are unsure which category you fall into, our provincial nominee program explainer is a good place to build the background before you commit time to either application.

This is general information, not legal advice — for your situation, consult an authorized immigration representative (an RCIC or a Canadian immigration lawyer).