The Government of Yukon has received an additional 67 allocations for the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP) for 2025 from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This brings the total number of nominee allocations to 282 for this year.
These additional allocations are the result of the Government of Yukon’s ongoing advocacy to IRCC on behalf of Yukon employers. This increase allows the program to invite more employers from the Expression of Interest (EOI) pool to apply. In addition, due to withdrawals from the first round of invitations, 13 invitations can also be reissued.
If invited to submit an application, the information provided during the EOI intake will be subject to verification. Invitations will be sent in the coming weeks.
In April 2025, the program ran an EOI intake, in which employers submitted basic information about the foreign worker they wished to nominate. For 2025, employers from this pool are being selected to submit a full YNP application if their candidate fell into one or more of the following priority areas as of April 22, 2025, when the EOI intake closed:
- Foreign nationals who have lived and worked in the Yukon for at least one year
- Yukon University graduates
- Francophone or French-speaking
- Recipients of a Temporary Measure Letter of Support, as indicated by their employer in their Expression of Interest form
Through the EOI intake, the program received just over 500 eligible submissions, with almost 400 of those aligning with the priorities. Given this, the department is unable to undertake a rolling assessment of further candidates who may become eligible for the priority areas throughout the year.
There are 10 allocations available specifically for regulated health care positions until September 30, 2025. If an employer is seeking to apply to the program for one of these positions, they may apply at any time and can contact the YNP for more information. After this date, they will be redistributed to the EOI pool, to ensure the program can use all its allocations by the end of the year.
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In January 2025, IRCC informed the Yukon of a 50 per cent reduction in nominee program allocations for the year. This meant the Yukon’s nominee allocation for 2025 was 215, prior to this increase.
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The intake period for the Expression of Interest opened on March 21, 2025, and closed on April 22, 2025.
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Moving to an Expression of Interest model is consistent with other jurisdictions in Canada, as the Government of Yukon works to adapt to the changing immigration landscape across the country.
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This approach allows the Government of Yukon to invite employers to submit applications for foreign nationals that align with the 2025 priorities, rather than relying on a first come, first serve approach.
- The Yukon was previously allocated 215 nominations for this year.
- Carry-over applications received in a previous year and up until January 22, 2025 were reviewed and 54 applications were processed, leaving 161 nominations remaining.
- Ten spaces for positions in regulated healthcare positions have been set aside until September 30, 2025, leaving 151 nominations available.
- Between May 23 and May 27, 2025, 153 invitations to apply were issued, composed of:
- Nineteen, 2024 temporary measure letter of support recipients.
- Fifty-four, 2025 temporary measure letter of support recipients.
- Seventy-eight applicants aligning with other priorities.
- Two for positions in regulated healthcare positions.
- From the 153 invitations sent out, 10 were withdrawn by the employer and three were withdrawn by the department.
- In August 2025, this means the Government of Yukon has 80 new invitations to apply being sent out.
Damian Topps
Communications, Economic Development
867-667-5378
[email protected]