Canada boosts provincial immigration by a third for 2026

Provincial immigration has risen by a third across the board.

In what has been announced this year, the number of nominations for permanent residence allocated to each province and territory by the federal government has increased 31%, relative to the allocation announced for each nominee program at the beginning of 2025.

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Province	Nomination allocation in 2026	Nomination allocation start of 2025	Percentage increase compared to last year
Ontario	14,119	10,750	31.3
Alberta	6,403	4,875	31.3
Manitoba	6,239	4750	31.3
British Columbia	5,254	4000	31.3
Saskatchewan	4,761	3,625	31.3
Yukon	282	215	31.1
Northwest Territories	197	150	31.3

As of March 27, 2026, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island do not appear to have publicly announced their 2026 nomination allocation totals, even though some are already conducting 2026 draws. 

Should this trend continue to hold for the other nominee programs, we would expect to see the following be announced:

Province	2025 nomination allocation (baseline)	Assumed increase	Estimated 2026 allocation*
New Brunswick	2,750	31%	3,603
Nova Scotia	3,150	31%	4,127
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,525	31%	1,998
Prince Edward Island	1,025	31%	1,343

What this means for newcomers

The nomination allocation determines how many foreign nationals a province can nominate for permanent residence (PR) in a given year.

The higher the allocation, the more newcomers that a province or territory can put forward for Canadian PR through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in that year.

Allocated spots for nomination are different from landing targets under the government’s immigration levels plan.

A nomination takes place when a province or territory issues a certificate to a foreign national, at which point the foreign national becomes a provincial or territorial nominee.

A successful nominee must still apply to the federal government for PR.

PNP landings targets are objectives for the number of permanent residents who “land” in Canada after the success of their applications for permanent residence.

Since an application for PR is likely to take at least six months or perhaps as long as 18 or 24 months, admissions of new permanent residents under the levels plan will often lag nominations by a year or longer.

Note: Over 2025, many provinces and territories received an increase in nomination slots from the federal government. The numbers in the tables above highlight the nomination allocation at the beginning of 2025, not the final nomination allocations in 2025. 

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