For those who wish to immigrate to a particular Canadian province or territory, Canada's Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) provide a route to permanent residence in Canada. Every Canadian province and territory has its own PNP apart from Quebec and Nunavat, which is tailored to the unique economic and demographic requirements of the region. The provinces of Canada are unable to provide permanent resident status on their own; all decisions about this status must be approved by the federal government at the federal level. The provincial programs are regarded as "nominee" programs for this reason.
The province will designate a successful PNP applicant to apply for permanent residency in the federal government. This implies that applying for a PNP to immigrate to Canada is always the first step in a two-phase process. An interested immigrant must first be approved at the provincial level before applying to the federal government.