AAIP invites workers intending to settle in rural communities
Alberta has retroactively published its final draw of February, inviting workers holding job offers in rural in-province communities to apply for provincial nomination.
This most recent draw (February 26) followed closely on the heels of a Tourism and Hospitality Stream draw taking place just two days earlier—and marks the province’s 13th draw of the year overall.
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Draw results
On March 4, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) updated its draw page to include its 10th February draw.
This draw invited provincial nominee candidates through the Program’s Rural Renewal Stream:
| Stream | Minimum score | Invitations issued |
|---|---|---|
| Rural Renewal Stream | 55 | 30 |
This marks the province’s second draw under the Rural Renewal Stream in 2026, both of which took place in February—with the first seeing a similar score cut-off (54), but a much higher number of invitations issued (212).
Rural Renewal Stream eligibility criteria
To get permanent residence through the AAIP’s Rural Renewal Stream, foreign nationals must meet the eligibility requirements listed below.
- Possess an Endorsement of Candidate letter from the community (“Designated Community”) they intend to settle in;
- Have a job offer from an Alberta employer, in an eligible occupation;
- Demonstrate at least 12 months of full-time work experience (in an eligible occupation), within the last 18 months—gained within or outside Canada;
- TEER 0 job offers: TEER 0–1.
- TEER 1 job offers: TEER 0–2.
- TEER 2/3 job offers: TEER 1–4.
- TEER 3 job offers: TEER 2–4.
- TEER 5 job offers: TEER 5, in the same NOC code.
- Meet language proficiency requirements, dependent on one’s job offer TEER;
- TEER 0–3 job offers: Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)/ Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) 5, each language skill.
- TEER 4/5 job offers: CLB/NCLC 4, each language skill.
- Have a Canadian high school diploma or foreign equivalent;
- Foreign credentials require an Educational Credential Assessment.
- Show sufficient settlement funds based on number of family members and population size of settling community; and
- Only required for those who are not residing in Canada, or those who reside in Canada but are not working.
This stream is designed to support economic development needs and population growth to Alberta’s rural communities, and operates on a community-endorsement model.
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Provincial nomination figures
The federal government granted Alberta a total of 6,403 nominations in 2026. At the time of this writing, the province has already used 822 nominations—leaving 5,581 nominations remaining.
A total of 1,147 applications are currently awaiting processing in the AAIP’s inventory.
Below is a detailed overview of how Alberta's overall 6,403 nomination allocation has been distributed by stream, the number of nominations already granted and remaining available spaces, and number of applications awaiting processing for each.
| Stream/pathway | 2026 nomination allocation | Nominations issued | Nomination spaces remaining | Applications to be processed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 3,425 | 564 | 2,861 | 491 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,000 | 13 | 987 | 177 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 150 | 32 | 118 | <10 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry) | 500 | 56 | 444 | 40 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 600 | 75 | 525 | 104 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 38 | <10 | N/A | <10 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/initiatives | 600 | 79 | 521 | 58 |
| Entrepreneur Streams | 90 | <10 | N/A | 270 |
The Alberta Opportunity Stream’s nomination allocation alone accounts for 53.5% of all nominations to be issued by the province in 2026. To date, 68.6% of all nominations issued (822) have been through this stream (564).
Worker Expressions of Interest figures
As of March 4, 2026, there are a total of 45,390 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in AAIP’s candidate selection pool waiting to be drawn.
You can view the table below to see the EOI distribution by stream/pathway—most of which fall under the Alberta Opportunity Stream (63.7%).
| Stream / pathway (EOI selection pool) | EOIs in candidate pool |
|---|---|
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 28,930 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 2,936 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 4,586 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry) | 1,582 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 2,661 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 88 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/initiatives | 4,532 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Family connection & occupation in demand | 75 |
The province notes that candidates may be invited to apply under a different stream or pathway than the one they originally selected in their Expression of Interest.
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