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.

Nova Scotia announced on its immigration website on August 6, 2026 that it will begin charging application fees under the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) on September 1, 2026, setting a flat CAD $1,000 fee for all three work streams and $2,000 for the entrepreneur streams, where until now the province charged nothing at all for a provincial nomination application; the fee applies only to candidates selected from the Expression of Interest (EOI) pool for assessment on or after September 1, leaving anyone who received a selection notice on or before August 31 unaffected, and work stream candidates must pay within seven calendar days of being selected while entrepreneur candidates get either 90 or 180 days depending on the pathway, with any EOI that misses the deadline closed and never assessed; the province's stated reason is that demand for nominations keeps outrunning the annual allocation Ottawa gives it — provincial open data shows the 2026 NSNP allocation at just 2,344 places, down more than 30 percent from 3,570 in 2024, while 7,942 unprocessed NSNP expressions of interest were still sitting in the pool at the end of the second quarter of 2026, roughly 3.4 times the entire year's allocation; submitting an EOI remains free, and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) still carries no provincial application fee.

The Government of the Northwest Territories has announced that the federal government has granted the Northwest Territories Nominee Program an additional 103 nomination spaces for 2026, increasing the NTNP's annual allocation from 197 to 300. Following the increase, the Employer-Driven Stream will hold an additional Expression of Interest draw on August 26. Candidates who wish to be considered in that round must submit their EOI profiles by August 24. The final draw of the year remains scheduled for September 25.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

On June 4, 2026, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held its 11th provincial immigration draw of the year (officially Expression of Interest Draw #272), issuing 104 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) through the Skilled Worker Stream to candidates who had declared in their Expression of Interest (EOI) profile that they were directly invited by the MPNP under a strategic recruitment initiative or through the now-expired Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Program Candidates (TPP). Employer Services candidates received the largest share of invitations (40 LAAs, or 38.5%), followed closely by TPP candidates (39 LAAs, or 37.5%), and 15 of the invited candidates declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, positioning them for a 600-point boost under the federal system. As of June 4, Manitoba has issued 1,709 LAAs in 2026, all through the Skilled Worker Stream, and the province has already issued 1,743 nominations between January and April against a sharply increased federal allocation of 6,239 nominations for 2026.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) held its tenth selection round of 2026 on May 21, issuing 96 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) for permanent residence in Expression of Interest Draw #271, with every invitation going to Skilled Worker Stream candidates who had been directly invited by the province through a strategic recruitment initiative — leaving International Education Stream (IES) candidates and uninvited Expression of Interest profiles outside the round. Of the 96 LAAs, 48 went to candidates invited under the Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective PNP Candidates (TPP), 31 through Employer Services, and 9, 4 and 4 respectively under the Ethnocultural Communities, Francophone Community and Regional Communities initiatives; 20 invitations — roughly 21 percent — went to candidates who also declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, positioning them for an accelerated path to permanent residence through the federal system once nominated. The draw stands in sharp contrast to the May 7 Draw #270, which issued 906 LAAs and included a 431-LAA occupation-specific selection for education-sector workers, and reflects Manitoba's preference in 2026 — even after its federal nomination allocation rose to 6,239 — for small, tightly targeted rounds aligned with the province's labour market, demographic and regional development priorities.