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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.