According to a report by the Canadian newspaper Ming Pao, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has introduced several new categories this year that do not require an employer application. As a result, it is increasingly attracting the attention of Chinese international students. Although Chinese applicants currently account for only 7.2% of the total approved nominations, Alberta anticipates that with the federal government's reduction of eligible occupations under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the increased difficulty of the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the province will see a higher number of Chinese applicants switching to the AINP over the coming year.
Statistics on AINP approved nominations show that in 2012, the Philippines ranked first with 1,174 nominees, accounting for 29.5%; India ranked second with 806 nominees, accounting for 20.3%; and China ranked third with 285 nominees, accounting for 7.2% of the total nominations, followed by the United Kingdom and Pakistan.
In terms of nomination categories, the employer-driven skilled worker stream remains the most common, with a total of 1,089 nominations, accounting for 27.4% of all nominees. This is followed by the Family Stream with 770 nominees, accounting for 19.3%, meaning one-fifth of all nominations belong to the family category. The employer-driven international student category had 434 nominees, accounting for 10.9%.