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.

British Columbia held a new round of entrepreneur immigration invitations on July 28, 2026, issuing 10 invitations to apply through the Base Stream of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Entrepreneur Immigration category, with a minimum score of 117; those invited may apply for a provincial nomination and, in turn, for Canadian permanent residence at the federal level. It was the province's eighth Base Stream round of 2026 and one of only three rounds this year to invite Base candidates exclusively, bringing the year's entrepreneur invitations to at least 88 and the province's combined total with Skills Immigration to at least 3,824. Notably, through a period of federal tightening — BC's nomination allocation was cut from 8,000 in 2024 to 4,000 at the start of 2025, and set at 5,254 for 2026 — the entrepreneur category has kept a steady cadence of roughly one round per month, in sharp contrast to Skills Immigration, which was paused and then restructured around three pillars, Care, Build and Innovate. With the federal Start-up Visa (SUV) having stopped accepting new applications at the end of 2025 and details of the replacement pilot still unpublished, provincial business immigration routes such as the BC PNP are becoming one of the few stable options for foreign nationals who want to start a business in Canada. The draw also came days after the province launched its first Temporary Rural / Remote Health Support Initiative round on July 23, illustrating how BC is rationing a limited allocation across competing priority groups.

British Columbia returned to its Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) category on June 30, inviting candidates who plan to launch a new business or acquire and grow an existing one in the province, in what was the province's seventh entrepreneur selection of 2026 and its second EI round of the month—a break from the earlier once-a-month cadence; the round issued invitations across both permanent residence (PR) pathways while clearly favouring the Base Stream, which handed out 14 invitations to apply (ITAs) at a minimum score of 118, versus fewer than five for the Regional Stream at 113, and—apart from the February 10 round—it simultaneously set both the highest Base cut-off and the lowest Regional cut-off seen so far this year; across 2026 the province has now held 12 EI draws (seven Base, five Regional) for at least 78 provincial-nomination ITAs, an intensifying pace that comes as Ottawa sharply raises provincial nomination allocations and British Columbia's own share expands in step.

In May 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued updated officer guidance for the Professionals stream of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) work permit, sharpening the rules on who can apply, what documentation must accompany an application, what kinds of contracts qualify, and how officers must assess whether a foreign employer is genuinely operating in its home country; the most attention-grabbing change is the expansion of the applicant pool — beyond citizens of World Trade Organization (WTO) member nations and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand, permanent residents of Armenia and Switzerland are now eligible, broadening the reach of this LMIA-exempt short-term work permit pathway, which sits in Canada's International Mobility Program (IMP) under exemption code T33. At the same time, the new guidance splits eligible occupations into two formal groups with distinct contract requirements, explicitly disqualifies contracts signed through personnel placement or supply agencies, and uses far more direct language to require that the foreign service provider be a real, functioning business in its home country — meaning that if the foreign employer has a Canadian subsidiary, branch or affiliated entity, the contract will no longer qualify under GATS. Despite the wider tightening and clarification, the program's core rules — the 90-day cap within a 12-month window, the sectoral exclusions covering education, health-related, recreational, cultural and sports services, and the educational, licensing and professional-recognition requirements — remain unchanged, leaving the GATS Professionals pathway as one of the fastest legal routes for short-term cross-border service delivery into Canada.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) issued at least 341 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) across two back-to-back draws on May 5 and 6, 2026, covering both its Skills Immigration (SI) and Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) categories, with the vast majority going to SI candidates. These were the first official selections held since British Columbia unveiled its "Look West" strategy on April 23, restructuring the entire BC PNP around three pillars — Care, Build and Innovate — while permanently closing the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (ELSS) stream, ending technology-specific draws, and scrapping a planned dedicated pathway for international graduates. ITAs in this round were concentrated in four target areas — health, education, veterinary care and construction trades — with construction trades accounting for 121 ITAs, or 36.3 per cent of the total, in what is widely seen as the first clear signal that British Columbia's new immigration direction has now moved from policy announcement to live implementation.

British Columbia held its latest Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) selection round on April 14, 2026, issuing 14 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through the Base stream of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) with a minimum qualifying score of 115 — two points lower than the March 10, 2026 Base-stream draw and the largest standalone EI round the province has run so far this year. With six entrepreneur draws and at least 41 ITAs now issued in 2026 under a federal 2026 allocation of 5,254 nomination spaces (up roughly 31% from BC's initial 4,000-spot allotment in 2025 but still below what the province requested), BC PNP continues to focus on business candidates expected to generate high economic impact in the province.

British Columbia recently held a new draw under the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) program of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), issuing invitations to eligible candidates under both the Base and Regional streams. Those invited were mainly business applicants planning to establish a new business in British Columbia or acquire and expand an existing one. In this round, the minimum invitation score was 117 for the Base stream, with 7 invitations issued, while the minimum score for the Regional stream was 129, with fewer than 5 invitations issued. Since the start of 2026, British Columbia has completed five entrepreneur-category draws, reflecting the province’s continued steady pace in attracting business immigrants and supporting regional economic development.

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) officially opened its Employer-Driven and Francophone Streams on March 9, 2026. The Employer-Driven Stream has transitioned to an Expression of Interest (EOI) selection model, with its inaugural draw scheduled for March 25, when up to 65 eligible candidates will be invited to submit full applications. The Francophone Stream will continue accepting direct applications on a first-come, first-served basis. For the 2026 cycle, the federal government has allocated 197 nomination spaces to the Northwest Territories.

On February 18, 2026, the Government of the Northwest Territories officially announced its annual policy updates for the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP). Approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the territory's nomination allocation for 2026 is set at 197, maintaining the final increased quota from 2025. The core of this policy update is a comprehensive overhaul of the 2026 selection process, introducing an Expression of Interest (EOI) scoring model exclusively for the Employer-Driven Stream. This new system aims to optimize the processing of high-demand pathways through increased transparency and stronger alignment with local labor market needs. The NTNP will reopen intake for this stream, alongside the Francophone Stream, at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) on March 9, 2026.

Statistics Canada has launched a large-scale hiring campaign for the 2026 Census of Population, bringing on roughly 32,000 workers across Canada. Eligible applicants include work permit holders who meet residency and age requirements. The main openings are for enumerators and crew leaders, paid hourly with certain reimbursable expenses. For those planning to pursue permanent residence through Express Entry, some positions may provide supplemental Canadian work experience—but whether hours count toward the Canadian Experience Class depends on the role’s TEER level, NOC classification, and how closely actual duties align with NOC requirements.