Temporary residents who have lived and worked in Nova Scotia for several years say they’re now facing deportation after recent eligibility changes to provincial immigration pathways.
Sandeep Kaur, who lives in Halifax, said she submitted an application to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program in November 2023 — but after a two-and-a-half year wait, she was told her file was closed as of May 1.
“After 29 months, my file is just being kicked from the system. So, the funny part is — and the sad part as well — I couldn’t even reapply my file,” she told Global News during an interview on Tuesday.
In April, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, a pathway to permanent residency, introduced a 12-month expiry date for submissions into its program. In addition, the program closed all submissions filed before May 1, 2024.
Kaur said she’s unable to reapply to the program as she was working in the food sector — an industry that’s no longer eligible for nominations. She says her work permit expired in 2025, and, if nothing changes, she’ll be forced to leave Canada in December.
“It’s literally drained me emotionally and financially. I am planning to go back which I don’t want to,” Kaur said, adding that she first arrived in Canada to attend a post-secondary institution in 2019.
She, alongside her friend Arshdeep Singh, are calling on the province to extend work permits for up to two years while permanent residency applications are being processed.
They say this would allow temporary residents to continue contributing to the economy, or pivot to working in higher-priority fields, while awaiting a decision on their application.
As of Friday, a petition calling for these changes has been signed by 1,670 workers and 57 employers.
“It doesn’t matter like if you have a family over here, doesn’t matter if you have friends and you build a career or a life over here. Just because of one document you are nothing,” said Singh, who worked as a security officer until his work permit expired in 2024.
In an email to Global News, Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration said work permits, along with permit extensions, are the responsibility of the federal government.
“The permit extension measure referenced by petition organizers was a temporary federal public policy implemented in Manitoba in 2024 and is no longer in effect,” said Greg Hanna, a department spokesperson, in an emailed statement.
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Impact on businesses
Mike Mills, the president of Cabco Communications Group, said he lost two employees this year due to expiring work permits.
“Essentially, they were basically given 90 days to leave the country. So, very difficult as an employer. These are hardworking individuals who were contributing to our business, the economy, paying taxes. One of them had family here,” he said.
“My simple question is ‘why would we not extend work permits for people who are actively employed contributing to the economy and waiting on their PR status?’ And I still haven’t received a good answer from anyone in that regard.”
In 2025, the federal government pledged a return to “sustainable immigration levels”, announcing a commitment to reducing Canada’s temporary population to less than five per cent of the country’s total population by the end of 2027.
Peter MacAskill, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce’s vice-president of policy, said the association is receiving regular calls from concerned business owners about labour shortages stemming from immigration policy changes.
“Their employees are there on work permits. What they’re finding out now is after spending a year, two years, three years investing in these employees, training these employees, they’re finding that some of these employees are not getting renewed. And that’s causing an impact on their business,” he said.
“It includes construction, it includes manufacturing, it include restaurants, it includes food and beverage, it including retail. It’s across the spectrum.”
The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia said eateries across the province are feeling the pressure.
“Our industry has not been able to access the provincial nominee program since 2024,” said Natasha Chestnut, executive director of the association.
“Restaurants are … losing their cooks and chefs. Because there was nothing when the policy was rolled out, you know, federally with these changes, there was really nothing in place that said, well, those already here filling a necessary role can stay, right?”
Chestnut said, for many years, restaurants across the province were experiencing a shortage of kitchen staff — which made them look towards foreign workers. Now, many of them are leaving.
“If you don’t have a cook and you don’t have a chef, then you don’t have a restaurant to operate.”
Province, federal minister responds
Patty Hadju, Canada’s Minister of Jobs and Labour, said the federal government is working with provinces and territories to make sure it “gets the balance right” with immigration.
“We want to make sure though that the fit is right between what our labour market needs, making sure that Canadians have the first chance at any employment in the workforce and making sure we have an immigration pathway,” she told Global News during an interview on Thursday.
According to numbers from Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration, spaces in the province’s nominee program have dropped by more than half since 2024.
“The province received 3,709 nomination and endorsement spaces in 2026 from the federal government, compared with 4,609 in 2025 and 6,300 in both 2024 and 2023,” said Greg Hanna, a spokesperson with the province.
Despite the declining nomination space, demand continues to grow.
“Based on current trends, Nova Scotia expects to receive approximately 14,000 EOIs (Expressions of Interest) in 2026,” Hanna said, noting the number of submissions was 11,000 in 2025.
Due to the limited space, the province said it’s prioritizing workers who are responding to “labour market needs” — such as those pursuing careers in healthcare, skilled trades, and construction.
But according to Shanette Smith, an immigration consultant in the Halifax area, these shifting priorities have left many temporary residents with their futures hanging in the balance.
“It seemed like Nova Scotia actually valued immigrants. Now, I don’t get that feeling anymore. They are treating immigrants kind of like they’re disposable,” she said.
Smith said the province shouldn’t forget the people who’ve spent thousands coming here in recent years — before looking elsewhere to fill labour gaps.
“They already know the layout of the land, the system, how it works. They have employment, which is why they’re looking for work permits to keep their jobs.”
On Tuesday, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program announced a one-time eligiblity extension for certain circumstances, but Smith said it still won’t make a difference for many.
“I would not encourage myself to come to Canada in this kind of situation I’m now seeing,” she said.