On September 10, 2026, the Newfoundland and Labrador Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism (OIM) invited 36 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) — the province's 14th draw of the year, its smallest round of 2026, and the third round since the Expression of Interest (EOI) model launched in February 2025 in which no Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) candidate received an invitation, the second such round in a row. The province has now issued 2,592 invitations in 2026, comprising 2,198 through the NLPNP and 394 through the AIP; by comparison, Newfoundland and Labrador issued 3,376 invitations across 13 rounds in all of 2025, meaning that this year's total is 784 lower despite one additional draw, with round sizes contracting steadily since mid-August. The province has still not published its 2026 nomination allocation, and industry media have suggested that the recent pattern of small, frequent draws may reflect a limited pool of remaining spaces, though the province has offered no explanation. For those invited, a federal temporary measure in effect since June 9 allows provincial nominees applying for permanent residence (PR) from inside Canada to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) before receiving an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR), helping them avoid a gap in status during a base provincial nominee processing cycle that currently runs about 13 months.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a temporary public policy on September 9, 2026 that allows foreign nationals holding a valid work permit to enrol in a course of six months or less without applying for a study permit, even if the course ends after the period of stay authorized on their first entry to Canada. Signed by Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lena Metlege Diab on August 5, the policy took effect on September 4, runs until December 31, 2027, and may be revoked at any time. It revives a measure of the same name introduced in June 2023 that expired on June 27 of this year, but with a narrower reach: the earlier policy let eligible workers, including those on maintained status, study programs of any length without a study permit, whereas the new one requires applicants to hold a valid work permit and waives only the requirement that a course be completed within the initial authorized period of stay. As of June 30, 2026, roughly 1.55 million foreign nationals in Canada held a work permit only, and about 630,000 held a study permit. IRCC says the measure is intended to help workers already in the country, such as tradespeople, nurses and laboratory technicians, upgrade their skills and credentials to fill gaps in critical sectors, and that it does not change the government's overall target of reducing temporary residents to less than 5 percent of the population.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has raised the study permit proof-of-funds requirement as of September 1, 2026, with a single applicant studying outside Quebec now required to show at least $23,448 CAD for a first year of living expenses, up $553 from the previous $22,895, and with the thresholds for larger families rising in step. Alongside the higher dollar figures, IRCC has updated its guidance to make clear that officers will assess not only how much money an applicant has but where it came from and whether it will remain available throughout the period of study, with applicants expected to supply six months of bank statements and documents explaining the source of the deposits shown in them; those enrolled in programs longer than one year must also set out how they intend to pay for the remaining years. The threshold covers living costs only, meaning tuition and round-trip transportation must be demonstrated separately, and Quebec continues to apply its own financial capacity standard through the CAQ, set at $24,617 for a single applicant. The increase extends a policy direction Canada has followed since 2024, combining sharply higher financial requirements with a shrinking study permit cap, which falls to 408,000 for 2026, a 7% reduction from 2025.

Newfoundland and Labrador invited 97 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) on September 4, 2026, in the province's 13th draw of the year and only the second round since it moved to an Expression of Interest (EOI) model in February 2025 in which no Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) candidate received an invitation. The province has now issued 2,556 invitations in 2026 — 2,162 through the NLPNP and 394 through the AIP — well behind the 3,376 invitations it issued across 13 rounds in all of 2025, with the AIP's share falling from roughly 27% to about 15%. Candidates who receive an invitation should also note a change at the federal level: since June 9, 2026, provincial nominees who submit a permanent residence (PR) application from inside Canada have been able to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) before receiving an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR), allowing them to maintain status while their application is processed; the temporary measure is currently in place until December 31, 2026. Federal processing currently takes about 13 months for base PNP permanent residence applications and about 7 months for Express Entry-aligned (enhanced) nominations.

On July 28, 2026, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador issued a combined 445 invitations to prospective immigrants through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), of which 400 came through the NLPNP and 45 through the AIP. This was the province's ninth round of selections in 2026, and the total tied the single-round high of 445 set on March 6, a sharp reversal from the previous round on July 10, which issued just 57 invitations, the year's lowest. With this draw, the province has now issued a cumulative 1,989 NLPNP or AIP invitations in 2026, with the Provincial Nominee Program accounting for 83.6% of the total. The large-scale round comes after a turbulent stretch for the program: the federal government cut provincial nominee allocations by roughly half in 2025 and provincial draws contracted for a time, but federal allocations rebounded in 2026, and the July 28 draw is widely read as a clear rebound in the province's selection pace. Candidates who wish to be considered must first enter the pool through the provincial Expression of Interest (EOI) system, after which the province selects and invites candidates according to priority criteria such as healthcare, sales and service, local education, and French-language ability.

On July 10, 2026, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador issued a combined 57 immigration invitations through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), with 17 invitations going to NLPNP candidates and 40 to AIP candidates. This was the province's eighth draw of 2026 and the smallest of the year, a sharp pullback from the 445 invitations issued in the first round back in March. AIP candidates accounted for 70.2% of this round's invitations, the first time AIP invitations have outnumbered NLPNP invitations since September 2025. As of July 10, the province has issued a cumulative 1,544 invitations so far this year, with more than four-fifths (81.8%) going to NLPNP candidates. Notably, this steady narrowing of draw sizes is unfolding just as the federal government has raised its overall 2026 Provincial Nominee Program allocation by roughly 66%, a striking contrast worth watching.

As Canada moves into the second half of 2026, the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have each used roughly half of their annual allocations, yet the two provinces are structured differently and measure their progress in different ways. As of the end of May, Manitoba had issued 2,167 nominations out of an annual allocation of 6,239, of which 697 were enhanced nominations issued through Express Entry; from January through June the province held 12 selection rounds and issued 1,833 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAA), with the Skilled Worker Stream accounting for 66%, plus two targeted draws aimed at healthcare (192) and education occupations (431). Saskatchewan, meanwhile, had issued 2,628 nominations out of its 4,761 allocation as of June 30, using up 55%; for 2026 it divides its nominations into three sector categories -- priority, capped and other -- with priority sectors (healthcare, agriculture, skilled trades, mining, manufacturing, energy, technology) reserving at least 50% of spots and already 62% used, capped sectors (accommodation and food services, trucking, retail) limited to 25% and about 60% filled, and the next capped-sector application window set for September 7. Both provinces' allocations are sharply smaller than in 2024, an ongoing aftershock of the federal government's overall cut to provincial nomination spots in 2025.

New figures from the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) show that as of June 30, 2026, the province had issued 2,628 nominations this year, about 55% of its 2026 allocation of 4,761 spaces, with priority sectors already 62% used, ahead of capped sectors at 60% and other sectors at 37%, leaving 2,133 spaces still available for the second half of the year; the 4,761-space allocation matches Saskatchewan's finalized 2025 total but remains more than 40% below the 8,000 spaces the province held in 2024, a reminder of the federal government's sharp cuts to provincial nominee allocations in early 2025 followed by a partial restoration late in the year. At the same time, Saskatchewan is opening a new round of capped-sector intakes across four staggered windows on July 6 and 7 for trucking, retail trade, accommodations and food services, splitting accommodations and food services into two separate categories for the first time, with two further intake dates set for September 14 and November 2; capped-sector employers may apply only during these designated windows, and only for workers with six months or less remaining on their work permits, while priority-sector and other-sector employers face no such restriction and may apply at any time.

Newfoundland and Labrador held its seventh provincial immigration draw of 2026 on June 10, issuing a combined 108 invitations through the Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), with the provincial program accounting for the large majority (89 invitations, or 82.4%) and the Atlantic Immigration Program making up the remaining 19. It was the first June draw ever held by the province's Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism (OIM), and it also broke the steady decline in per-round invitations seen across 2026 so far, with this round's 108 invitations edging up from 103 in the previous draw. As of June 10, the province has issued a cumulative 1,487 invitations this year, 83.8% of which have gone to provincial nominee candidates. This run of draws unfolds against a backdrop in which the federal government sharply tightened provincial nominee allocations beginning in 2025 before partially restoring them for 2026; and even with smaller single-round totals, the province's cumulative invitation volume this year remains well ahead of the same period in 2025.

On June 11, 2026, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) announced on its official news webpage that it has closed the Career Employment Pathway (CEP) under its International Education Stream (IES), effective immediately, meaning former CEP candidates wishing to settle in Manitoba must now pursue other routes to permanent residence; going forward, candidates with at least six months of in-province work experience may be considered, if eligible, under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway, and graduates of a Manitoba designated learning institution currently working in the province will be prioritized in targeted Expression of Interest (EOI) draws, with the province saying the move is intended to establish "clear, consistent criteria for all Manitoba graduates" and to better align education, work experience, and labour market needs, while the Graduate Internship Pathway remains in place for eligible master's and doctoral graduates who complete a Mitacs internship, and Skilled Worker in Manitoba draws, of which the province has held 11 targeting MPNP candidates so far in 2026, will continue on a regular basis.