Alberta kickstarts 2026 by issuing over 1,100 invitations across four draws

author avatar
Asheesh Moosapeta
Published: February 8, 2026

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) has published details of its latest provincial immigration draws, held between January 26 and February 2, 2026.

Over this period, Alberta issued 1,169 invitations across its:

  • Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry);
  • The Alberta Express Entry Stream’s Accelerated Tech Pathway; and
  • The Alberta Opportunity Stream.

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Summary of draws (January 26–February 2)

Alberta’s most recent draw results show four rounds of invitations having occurred in a single week.

The largest draw in this date range was Alberta’s February 2 selection through the Alberta Opportunity Stream, which accounted for 78% of invitations issued on its own.

Draw date Stream / pathway Number of invitations issued Cut-off score 
February 2, 2026 Alberta Opportunity Stream 915 57 
January 29, 2026 Alberta Express Entry Stream – Accelerated Tech Pathway 148 63 
January 27, 2026 Dedicated Health Care Pathway – non-Express Entry 43 45 
January 26, 2026 Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry 63 61 

Notably, the lowest cut-off score over this period appeared in the non-Express Entry Dedicated Health Care draw on January 27, with a minimum score of 45.

2026 priorities and selection approach

As of its most recent update, Alberta says AAIP draws and nominations in 2026 will prioritize occupations tied to health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture, as well as communities designated under the Rural Renewal Stream.

The province has noted, however, that it may issue invitations outside of these designated priorities.

The province also emphasizes that draws are not scheduled and that the published minimum score is not the only factor considered for selection—others may include:

  • Work experience in a priority occupation;
  • Working as a licensed physician in Alberta; or
  • Being a francophone newcomer looking to immigrate to the province.

Provincial nomination figures

Alberta reports a 2026 nomination allocation of 6,403, with 405 nominations issued and 5,964 spaces remaining as of February 5, 2026.

So far, the majority of nominations issued have been through the Alberta Opportunity Stream.

Alberta also notes that up to 10,000 federal immigration spaces are available across all Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) for practice-ready physicians and Francophones meeting federal criteria—and AAIP nominations issued under that initiative in 2026 won’t count toward Alberta’s 6,403 allocation.

AAIP stream-level snapshot

The AAIP’s processing information also includes stream allocations, issued nominations, remaining spaces, and the size of each EOI pool.

As of February 5, here are the figures provided by Alberta for each stream/pathway:

Stream / pathway 2026 nomination allocation Nominations issued (2026) Spaces remaining EOIs in selection pool 
Alberta Opportunity Stream 3,425 255 3,170 28,412 
Rural Renewal Stream 1,000 Less than 10 N/A3,185 
Tourism and Hospitality Stream 150 29 121 4,928 
Dedicated Health Care Pathways (EE + non-EE) 500 34 466 1,406 
Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway 600 34 566 2,653 
Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway 38 Less than 10 N/A 91 
Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/initiatives 600 48 518 4,371 
Total EOI pool (all worker streams) 45,276 

As of the time of this writing, there are 1,006 applications awaiting processing in Alberta’s inventory.

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