N.W.T. minister heading to Ottawa next week to follow up on nominee program changes

Jocelyn Shepel · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 10:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A Northwest Territories curate is heading to Ottawa to travel up connected the territory's requests for its nominee program. 

On Tuesday, MLAs asked for much accusation astir redesigning the the nominee programme connected behalf of radical anticipating 2026 applications.

Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland volition question to Ottawa adjacent week. 

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program already saw changes earlier this year. Federally imposed cuts meant the fig of spots successful the program, which are commonly filled by radical seeking imperishable residency and individuals with expiring enactment permits, were chopped successful half.

The program attracts overseas nationals looking to immigrate to Canada, those already present with expiring enactment permits and individuals seeking imperishable residency. 

This twelvemonth determination were 90 spots for caller applications and 60 for applications from 2024 —150 spots full compared to what utilized to beryllium 300 spots.

"Restoring the allocation to 300, asking the national authorities to prosecute straight with GNWT and N.W.T. stakeholders, allowing the GNWT to widen enactment permits for a 2 twelvemonth N.W.T. circumstantial timeframe and to heighten enactment for colony services. These are each fantastic pieces," said Great Slave MLA Kate Reid.

Cleveland discussed she has already expressed the issue to the national authorities by letter.

Reid added that she has heard concerns astir the requests, specifically from programme hopefuls disquieted astir being near with small to nary enactment but to widen their enactment permit, consequently being near retired of programme applications adjacent year.

In effect to the national cuts, the N.W.T. government limited this year's applications for the programme to those whose enactment permits are acceptable to expire successful a twelvemonth oregon less. Reid said the occupation is if someone's enactment licence is extended 2 years, past with the existent acceptable up, they would beryllium ineligible to use for the nominee programme adjacent year.

"It's important for them to get clarity connected whether the GNWT volition proceed to lone see applications of those applicants whose permits are acceptable to expire wrong a twelvemonth oregon less," said Reid, 

Cleveland said the determination to bounds it this twelvemonth was based connected the contiguous concerns she received.

"One happening that rapidly became evident was that determination was interest implicit radical whose enactment permits would beryllium expiring successful January and February of 2026 …There is ne'er an volition to plan a programme that has a gap," said Cleveland.

"Certainly I bash cognize that going into adjacent twelvemonth that we person much radical funny successful the programme than we presently person spaces for." 

People connected maternity permission are near successful limbo, says MLA

In beforehand of Cleveland's travel to Ottawa, MLA for Range Lake, Kieron Testart brought up a abstracted portion of the programme he'd similar to spot addressed.

Testart said he's heard from programme hopefuls that are expecting children. He said if idiosyncratic goes connected maternity permission it makes them ineligible to apply.

"What is the curate doing to guarantee that expecting parents aren't excluded from this program? Or is the connection that women indispensable hold gestation successful bid to qualify?"

Cleveland said she is alert of the permission proviso and it is thing she is besides looking to address. 

Cleveland besides said her section volition beryllium moving with each stakeholders connected redesigning the nominee programme implicit the summertime and into this fall.