Nova Scotia Nominates Highest Number Of Immigrants To Date

More than 700 families are one step closer to calling Nova Scotia home, the highest number to date.

"We have the potential for 700 families to choose Nova Scotia, to put down roots and to be a part of the province's growing economy" said Marilyn More, Minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration.

An additional 23 people have been nominated under the Federal Skilled Worker pilot project, which will help Nova Scotia address its labour shortages.

The federal government sets the number of immigrants a province can nominate and makes the final decision on whether they can become a permanent resident.

In November, the federal government provided an additional 200 immigration nominees on top of the existing cap of 500 to the province, giving Nova Scotia a total of 700 nominations in 2012.

"We have an aggressive immigration strategy to help attract new skilled labour to Nova Scotia and its working," said Ms. More. "We are successfully marketing the province internationally and attracting and keeping more immigrants. The province is on its way to almost doubling the number of immigrant families who stay in Nova Scotia."

The immigration strategy is part of jobsHere to help ensure there is enough skilled labour for Nova Scotia's businesses and industries.

Under the strategy, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program is the best option for attracting international professional and skilled workers to help meet the changing needs of the province's economy in areas such as shipbuilding, information technology and health care.

"We will continue to lobby the federal government to increase the immigration cap so that we can attract more professional, young, skilled workers from around the world to help grow successful communities," said Ms. More.

For more information on the Nova Scotia immigration strategy, visit www.novascotia.ca/jobshere.