The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held its 278th Expression of Interest (EOI) draw on August 27, 2026, issuing 741 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAA) to foreign nationals, of which 600 went to people already working in Manitoba in National Occupational Classification (NOC) major group 72, "technical trades and transportation officers and controllers," at a minimum ranking score of 731 points; a further 62 were targeted at bus drivers (NOC 73301) and general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102), 21 went to Francophone candidates, and 58 went to skilled workers invited directly through strategic recruitment channels. Occupation-targeted selections accounted for 89.3 per cent of all invitations in the round, underscoring how Manitoba has concentrated its places on workers already in the province and on shortage occupations since its federal allocation was cut. Of the 741 candidates, 150 reported a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, which means a provincial nomination would give them an additional 600 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Notably, Manitoba's 2026 allocation of 6,239 nominations is unchanged from its 2025 total after a federal top-up, even as the national provincial nominee allocation has rebounded from 55,000 in 2025 to 91,500 for 2026 - a contrast that is the practical backdrop to how narrowly this round was drawn. Candidates who receive an LAA have 60 days to submit a complete application to the MPNP.

As of August 26, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has begun accepting study permit applications under a new cap year of the Francophone Minority Community Student Pilot (FMCSP), with a ceiling of 2,970 applications and an intake window running until August 25, 2027 or until the cap is reached. The pilot is open to citizens of 33 francophone countries and territories and covers 17 francophone and bilingual post-secondary institutions outside Quebec, and its defining feature is that applicants who enter Canada on a pilot-specific study permit, graduate and meet the conditions can apply for permanent residence (PR) directly, without competing for the limited invitations handed out to other international graduates through Express Entry or the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) — the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw of August 18, 2026 carried a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off of 523, and provincial nomination allocations have been cut by roughly half since 2025, which makes an all-but-uncontested pathway a rare commodity. Uptake, however, has been thin since the pilot launched in August 2024: a report by the Auditor General shows that only 780 study permits were issued against the first year's cap of 2,300, and as of July 2026 just 515 students and 150 accompanying family members had arrived through the stream — the direct reason Ottawa opted in July to extend the pilot by a single year rather than make it permanent, as francophone institutions had urged.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held Express Entry round #437 on August 19, 2026 at 12:35:37 UTC, issuing 5,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates in the French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2 category with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 382 — the lowest cut-off recorded in the French category in 2026 and the lowest in any French-language draw since March 2025. The tie-breaking rule was set at March 1, 2026, 18:34:05 UTC, candidates had to rank within the top 5,000 of the category to be invited, and invitations were issued over a window running from August 19 to August 20, 2026 under Ministerial Instructions signed in Ottawa by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab; those invited may apply for permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). This was the tenth French-language draw of 2026, bringing the category's year-to-date total to 50,500 ITAs — surpassing the full-year 2025 figure of 48,000 in just eight months — and the cut-off has now slid across three consecutive rounds from 420 to 382 while the tie-breaking date has moved further back in time, a combination widely read as evidence that the supply of high-scoring French-speaking profiles in the pool is being exhausted. With Ottawa targeting Francophone permanent residents outside Quebec at 9 percent of admissions in 2026 and 10.5 percent by 2028, French-language ability has become the single most powerful advantage available in Express Entry — yet IRCC is simultaneously advancing a CRS reform proposal that would cut or remove French-language points, clouding the medium-term outlook for this pathway.

Manitoba held its 276th Expression of Interest (EOI) draw on July 30, 2026, issuing 766 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs), of which 605 went to candidates currently working in manufacturing and utilities occupations in the province at a cut-off score of 632, a single category accounting for nearly 80% of the round; a further 74 went to workers in seven targeted occupations including aerospace engineers, air pilots, aircraft mechanics and family physicians, 17 went to candidates who communicate with the province in French, and the remaining 70 were issued as direct invitations under the strategic recruitment initiative, led by the Francophone Community with 25. Of the 766 candidates, 94 declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, meaning that once they receive a provincial nomination they will pick up an additional 600 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Notably, almost every invitation in this round went to people already working or living in Manitoba, continuing the province's "keep the people we already have" posture adopted in 2025; as of July 30, Manitoba has held 15 draws in 2026 and issued 4,822 LAAs, roughly 3.4 times the 1,424 issued over the same period in 2025, even though its federal nomination allocation for this year stands at 6,239, still more than 30% below the 9,500 allocated in each of 2023 and 2024.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has published the scoring criteria for applicants to its Ontario Workforce Priority Stream (OWPS), posting the details on its official website on July 20, 2026 and marking a pivotal step in the province's 2026 immigration overhaul. Under the new rules, applicants who hold a job offer are ranked across 11 factors — among them work region, occupational skill level, wages, occupational category, Ontario work experience and language ability — for a maximum of 130 points, with the highest scorers first in line to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for a provincial nomination and, ultimately, a route to Canadian permanent residence (PR) through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). OWPS is organized into three pathways: one for higher-skilled occupations in National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER categories 0 to 3, one for lower-skilled TEER 4 and 5 occupations held by work-permit holders, and one for self-employed physicians who can bill through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). The grid is the latest operational detail to emerge after Ontario shut down all of its former immigration streams and, on June 26, 2026, laid out the full eligibility requirements for the three OWPS pathways — an overhaul set against Ottawa's sharp cuts to provincial nomination allocations beginning in 2025, which at one point halved Ontario's allotment from its 2024 level. The OINP's Expression of Interest (EOI) system remains closed for now and is expected to reopen later this summer, at which point the province anticipates holding draws and issuing invitations to candidates.

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.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its 425th Express Entry draw on July 9, 2026, inviting the top 5,000 candidates in the French-language proficiency category and issuing 5,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence at a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 420, the highest cut-off and the largest single-round total the category has recorded in 2026 and an increase of 11 points from the 409 seen in the previous French draw at the end of May; it was also the third Express Entry draw in a matter of days, extending a steadily reinforced francophone immigration strategy that has now produced seven French-specific draws in 2026 and 35,500 cumulative invitations, in line with the current 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which sets rising annual targets for the share of French-speaking immigrants settling outside Quebec and a long-term goal of 12% by 2029.

The Government of Canada has put forward a temporary, targeted measure known as the Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge, which would let roughly 2,700 foreign workers already living and working in Manitoba keep their work authorization — and their legal status — while the province finishes outstanding Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nominations. The proposal follows from a 2024 federal public policy that granted up to two-year open work permits to prospective provincial nominees, under which Manitoba had committed to nominate all supported candidates by December 31, 2026; the province has since said it cannot meet that deadline, and the new measure would extend it to December 31, 2027. According to the federal government, more than 1,600 of these workers have already become permanent residents through the earlier policy, while about 2,700 are still waiting for a provincial nomination and could lose their legal status without further action. The proposal is now before the Government of Manitoba, and could only take effect if the province accepts it.

On June 26, 2026, Ontario formally published regulatory amendments introducing the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, marking Phase One of the province's comprehensive overhaul of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). The new stream contains three pathways, aimed respectively at higher-skilled workers (TEER 0 to 3), lower-skilled workers (TEER 4 to 5), and self-employed physicians eligible to bill through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). All three pathways are in effect immediately, but applicants cannot be considered until Ontario reopens its Expression of Interest (EOI) system, which officials say is "expected to open later this summer." The reform follows a plan that Ontario first proposed in December 2025 and that culminated on May 30, 2026, when the province closed all of its former permanent residence streams in a single move. It is being advanced against a backdrop of federal cuts to provincial nomination allocations, which saw Ontario's allocation fall from 21,500 in 2024 to 10,750 in 2025 before recovering to 14,119 in 2026. The goal is to ensure that every nomination is matched more precisely to Ontario's labour shortages. A planned Phase Two would add three further pathways for priority healthcare, entrepreneurs and exceptional talent, none of which yet has a confirmed opening date.

On June 18, 2026, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) issued 124 provincial nomination invitations to candidates under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba and Skilled Worker Overseas pathways, marking the province's 12th provincial immigration draw of the year (officially Expression of Interest Draw #273), all conducted through the Skilled Worker Stream. Every invitation went to candidates who had been directly invited by the province under a strategic recruitment initiative or who hold a Manitoba-supported work permit, distributed by category as Employer Services 49, Temporary Public Policy (TPP) 32, Regional Communities 19, Francophone Community 15 and Ethnocultural Communities 9, with Employer Services accounting for the largest share; 22 of the 124 invitations went to candidates who also held a valid Express Entry profile number and a job seeker validation code. As of June 18, Manitoba has issued 1,833 provincial nomination invitations in 2026, and against a backdrop in which the federal government granted the province 6,239 nominations this year and the national PNP allocation had earlier been cut sharply, this draw continued Manitoba's approach of prioritizing candidates who are already working in the province and more likely to stay.