The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) held three draws between September 1 and September 9, 2026, all aimed at candidates holding an Alberta job offer, issuing a combined 722 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination: on September 1, the Alberta Opportunity Stream invited 575 candidates with a minimum score of 56; on September 3, the Alberta Express Entry Stream – Accelerated Tech Pathway invited 96 tech workers with a minimum score of 60; and on September 9, the Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry invited 51 health care workers, also at a minimum score of 60. Invited candidates have a set window in which to submit a provincial nomination application, and once nominated they apply to the federal government for permanent residence (PR), with those already in Canada able to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) while they wait; under Operational Bulletin 699, which Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued and brought into force on June 9, 2026, in-Canada provincial nominees who have not yet received an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) for their PR application may apply for a BOWP on the strength of their submission confirmation email and proof of payment, a measure that runs until December 31, 2026. As of September 9, Alberta had issued 4,864 nominations this year, roughly 74 percent of its full-year allocation of 6,603, leaving 1,739 spots; the Worker Expression of Interest pool still held 35,957 active profiles, of which the Alberta Opportunity Stream alone accounted for 22,381 against just 837 remaining nominations in that stream, so competition remains intense. Health care and technology are both among Alberta's designated priority sectors for 2026, alongside construction, aviation, agriculture and manufacturing.

The Government of Alberta announced on August 10, 2026, that the federal government had granted the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) 200 additional regular provincial nomination spaces, increasing its annual allocation from 6,403 to 6,603. Following the adjustment, allocations across six streams and pathways rose by a combined 256 spaces, while allocations for the law enforcement and entrepreneur categories fell by a combined 56, resulting in a net increase of 200. As of July 30, the AAIP had issued 3,892 regular nominations, leaving 2,711 spaces available. At the same time, the Worker Expression of Interest (WEOI) pool contained 36,948 profiles, indicating that demand remains well above available capacity.

In a span of less than two weeks, from July 3 to July 15, 2026, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) ran six draws in quick succession, issuing invitations to apply for a provincial nomination to at least 1,167 candidates, with the focus falling squarely on health-care, law-enforcement and technology occupations along with applicants who plan to settle in the province's rural communities. A single Alberta Opportunity Stream round on July 15 accounted for 833 of those invitations, roughly 70% of the six draws combined, reinforcing the stream's grip on provincial selection this year, while the July 3 Express Entry draw for health-care workers delivered 92 invitations, the largest round of its kind in 2026. As of July 15, the AAIP had held 62 draws and issued more than 10,700 invitations so far in 2026, and had made 3,520 nominations against its annual allocation of 6,403 (a further 50 physicians and 12 francophone candidates were nominated under separate federal spaces that do not count toward that allocation). While the allocation has recovered from the low it hit after Ottawa's early-2025 cuts, it still sits about 30% below the 9,750 ceiling Alberta held in both 2023 and 2024.

On July 15, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it is pausing new intake for the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP): until further notice, it will not accept new interest-to-sponsor forms and will not issue invitations to potential sponsors. At the same time, the department said it will continue processing applications already in its inventory and plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence (PR) through the program in 2026, a figure aligned with the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan. The move extends a freeze on new applications that has been in effect since early 2026 and lowers the program's annual admissions target from 24,500 in 2025 to 15,000, a cut of roughly 39%. IRCC emphasized that family reunification remains a pillar of Canada's immigration system, and that families shut out of the PGP for now can still reunite through the super visa, which permits stays of up to five years per entry, is valid for multiple entries for up to 10 years, and has recently seen both its insurance and income requirements relaxed.

Alberta's Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) held six draws in the two weeks from June 17 to 29, 2026, issuing a combined 1,037 provincial nomination invitations to apply (ITAs) across in-demand sectors including health care, aviation, technology, and tourism and hospitality, with nearly 70% (about 69.4%) going to the Alberta Opportunity Stream; minimum scores across the six rounds ranged from 47 to 71, and the June 24 draw aimed squarely at aviation was the first of its kind in 2026. As of June 30, Alberta had held 56 selection rounds so far this year, issued no fewer than 9,599 invitations, and used 3,261 of the 6,403 nomination spaces allocated to it by Ottawa. Against a federal backdrop in which the government cut Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) numbers by roughly half for 2025 before raising the national target again for 2026, Alberta is concentrating its limited quota on the province's priority sectors, underscoring a labour-market-driven selection strategy that gives preference to workers already in the province.

The Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) has announced that it will reopen intake for family sponsorship applications on July 2, 2026, after the previous round reached its limit, setting a new two-year cap of up to 15,700 sponsorship undertakings, of which 13,300 are reserved for the spousal category and 2,400 for parents and grandparents. Compared with the first round of 13,000 places opened in 2024, the new total is roughly 20% higher, and for the first time adult dependent children aged 18 and older are excluded from the cap. MIFI says it will prioritize earlier-filed applications once intake reopens, and any applications received beyond the limit will not be processed, will be returned as submitted, and will have their fees refunded. Because family reunification for those settling in Quebec follows a process distinct from the rest of Canada, applicants intending to settle in the province must first apply to MIFI for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) before they can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

Alberta has introduced an online self-assessment tool called the "Eligibility Explorer," which it published on its AAIP updates page on June 17, 2026, to help foreign nationals quickly identify which Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) streams they may qualify for. After users indicate whether they intend to work in the province or start or buy a business and complete a short questionnaire, the tool lists possible permanent residence (PR) pathways within minutes and links them to detailed requirements and the option to create an Expression of Interest (EOI). The launch comes at a time of intense competition: as of early June 2026, more than 38,000 worker EOIs were vying for just 6,403 nominations in 2026, an allocation that remains roughly one-third below the province's 2024 peak even as Alberta cautions that the tool offers guidance only and does not confirm eligibility or guarantee an invitation.

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) held seven draws between May 20 and June 2, issuing 1,550 invitations to apply (ITAs) for provincial nomination to candidates in in-demand sectors including manufacturing, technology, agriculture, and construction, with the Alberta Opportunity Stream accounting for 64.1% of all invitations. The series featured several milestones: the May 20 round was the AAIP's first draw specifically targeting skilled trades linked to the construction sector, while the May 29 Accelerated Tech round, the May 27 Alberta Opportunity Stream selection, and the May 22 agriculture and May 21 manufacturing rounds under the Express Entry Priority Sector pathway were each the largest of their kind so far in 2026. As of June 2, the AAIP had conducted 43 draws this year and invited no fewer than 7,819 candidates; as of June 3, the province had used 2,587 of its 6,403 federally allocated nomination spaces, leaving 3,816 remaining—an allocation roughly 31% larger than Alberta's initial 2025 allotment, underscoring the province's expanding role within Canada's provincial nominee landscape.

Newfoundland and Labrador has become the latest province to opt into the federal government's temporary public policy giving rural employers more flexibility to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), according to a federal webpage update on June 2. The policy, in force since April 1, 2026, will see Newfoundland and Labrador adopt both available measures across all sectors: eligible rural employers may retain their existing share of low-wage temporary foreign workers even where it already exceeds the 10% cap, and may apply a 15% cap rather than the standard 10% on the proportion of low-wage positions filled by foreign workers. The measures take effect provincially on June 11 and are expected to remain in place until March 31, 2027. Only employers located outside Statistics Canada–defined census metropolitan areas qualify, and those that fail to meet all regular TFWP requirements—including proving efforts to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents first—are excluded; British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec have already opted in, while Alberta and Nunavut are not participating.

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) has confirmed that, starting April 7, 2026, foreign nationals submitting a Worker Expression of Interest (WEOI) will be required to pay a new $135 fee, a step that ends the previously free submission process and applies across every worker stream and pathway — including the Alberta Opportunity Stream, the Alberta Express Entry Stream (covering the Accelerated Tech Pathway, the Law Enforcement Pathway and priority sector draws), the Dedicated Health Care Pathways, the Rural Renewal Stream and the Tourism and Hospitality Stream — while remaining entirely separate from the existing $1,500 application fee; the change follows the February 25, 2026 addition of new wage and hours-of-work fields to the WEOI form and comes as more than 44,000 WEOIs sit in the selection pool, with Alberta holding a 2026 allocation of 6,403 nominations from IRCC, of which 1,475 had been issued as of April 1 and 4,928 remain available, with upcoming draws expected to prioritize health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture and occupations tied to designated Rural Renewal communities.