Most provinces in Canada have an agreement with the Government of Canada that allows them to nominate immigrants who wish to settle in that province. If you choose to immigrate to Canada as a provincial nominee, you must first apply to the province where you wish to settle and complete its provincial nomination process. The province will consider your application based on its immigration needs and your genuine intention to settle there.
As of January 2015, most of the provincial nominee programs have combined their programs with the Express Entry system and will now accept a portion of their applicants through that program.
After you have been nominated by a province or territory, you have to make a separate application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for permanent residence. A CIC officer will then assess your application based on Canadian immigration regulations.