Alberta invites 560 workers to apply for provincial nomination

Between Oct. 9–20, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) sent out no fewer than 562 invitations to apply for provincial nomination.

Across five draws, the AAIP selected workers in tourism and hospitality, healthcare, law enforcement, and a wide range of priority sectors.

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Candidates who receive an invitation may apply for provincial nomination and, upon approval, proceed with a federal application for Canadian permanent residence (PR).

In-Canada provincial nominees may qualify for a bridging open work permit (BOWP) after submitting their PR application.

Eligible Tourism and Hospitality Stream nominees may qualify for earlier access to BOWPs under a temporary federal measure that took effect on June 9, 2026.

Work permit holders who apply for a BOWP before their existing permit expires can be authorized to work under maintained status, which allows them to work under the conditions of their expired permit until they receive a decision, provided they remain in Canada.

Draw details

All but one of the five draws held by the AAIP during this selection cycle were Express Entry-aligned:

Draw date	Stream/pathway	Invitations issued	Minimum score
Oct. 20	*Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (General)	386	60
Oct. 16	Alberta Express Entry Stream – Law Enforcement Pathway	<10	49
Oct. 14	Tourism and Hospitality Stream	25	73
Oct. 13	Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry	53	57
Oct. 9	Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (Health care)	97	60

The province's Oct. 20 general priority sectors draw recorded both the highest invitation volume and lowest cutoff score for this selection type in 2026.

By contrast, the Oct. 14 tourism and hospitality draw issued the fewest invitations of any selection round in its category this year.

*Alberta’s 2026 priority sectors include

Health care.
Technology.
Construction.
Manufacturing.
Aviation.
Agriculture.

Alberta is also prioritizing communities designated under the Rural Renewal Stream.

Active worker expressions of interest (WEOIs) vs. invitations issued

The following table sets out the size of the WEOI candidate pool under each stream and pathway, alongside the number of invitations issued for each during 2026, based on Oct. 21 data.

Stream/pathway	Workers with active profiles	Invitations issued
Alberta Opportunity Stream	21,150	8,419
Rural Renewal Stream	1,069	1,174
Tourism and Hospitality Stream	1,527	252
Dedicated Health Care Pathways (EE + non-EE)	2,991	948
Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway	1,945	1,466
Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway	43	<60
Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/other initiatives	4,566	>1,861
Total	33,291	≥14,127

As of Oct. 21, the AAIP has held 89 selection rounds in 2026, inviting no fewer than 14,127 candidates to pursue provincial nomination.

Nomination issuances

Following an invitation under the AAIP, candidates can submit their application; those who are approved are issued a provincial nomination certificate.

The interval between an invitation and a provincial nomination can extend over several months.

Figures published on the AAIP's Processing Information web page indicate that the province had issued 5,831 nominations as of Oct. 21, 2026, equivalent to approximately 88.3% of its annual allocation of 6,603.

Alberta originally received an allocation of 6,403 from the federal government for 2026; in early August, the province announced it had received an increase of 200 spaces.

A nomination allocation sets the number of candidates a province can nominate within a given year and is separate from the number of invitations issued during provincial selection rounds.

Beyond its regular allocation, Alberta has also granted nominations to 50 practice-ready physicians and 12 francophone candidates using supplementary nomination spaces.

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