Manitoba issues more invitations to foreign workers in latest immigration draw
The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) has held a new Expression of Interest (EOI) draw under two pathways of its Skilled Worker Stream.
The province issued invitations—or Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs)—to candidates both in Manitoba and abroad, who stated they were directly invited by the MPNP through a strategic recruitment initiative.
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On February 26, 2026, Manitoba issued 72 LAAs through the Skilled Worker in Manitoba and Skilled Worker Overseas pathways of its Skilled Worker stream.
Invitations were distributed across the following strategic recruitment initiatives, with 55% issued to candidates with an invitation through the Employer Services initiative.
| Strategic recruitment initiative | Invitations issued |
|---|---|
| Employer Services | 40 |
| Francophone Community | 5 |
| Regional Communities | 8 |
| Ethnocultural Communities | 12 |
| Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Program Candidates (TPP) | 7 |
Of the 72 LAAs issued, 11 went to candidates who declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code.
Manitoba emphasized that EOIs under the Skilled Worker Stream were considered only if candidates were directly invited via a strategic recruitment initiative or through the TPP.
The TPP was a temporary policy to allow provinces to support the issuance of open work permits for certain candidates of their Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), if certain conditions were met. The temporary policy ended on December 31, 2025.
Manitoba previously announced it would accept new Support Letter applications under the TPP until December 15, 2025, with the online form closed to new submissions as of December 16, 2025.
What are strategic recruitment initiatives?
Strategic recruitment initiatives are special measures through which Manitoba identifies and invites eligible immigration candidates—both in Manitoba and overseas—who can help fill critical labour gaps or meet other provincialimmigration goals.
Through these initiatives, foreign nationals are invited to submit a candidate profile and eventually apply for a provincial nomination after being selected in an MPNP draw.
The MPNP notes that these invitations are issued at the program’s discretion, meaning candidates can’t “self-select” into this connection type. Instead, they must be selected through the relevant avenues and be invited.
These invitations are often connected to MPNP activities like recruitment missions and exploratory visits, where candidates may be interviewed by a program officer and, if successful, receive a letter of invitation to submit a candidate profile.
What eligibility criteria must be met to be considered for a strategic recruitment initiative?
According to the MPNP’s documentation, candidates may be identified through recruitment missions (which can involve employer participation) or pre-approved exploratory visits intended to help potential applicants research communities and employment opportunities in Manitoba.
Eligibility criteria can vary by the specific initiative being selected for, but Manitoba lists common requirements for visits/missions, including:
- Being 21–45 years old;
- Showing you don’t have a stronger connection to another province;
- Having at least one year of post-secondary education/training (diploma/degree/certificate);
- Having two years of full-time work experience in the past five years; and
- Providing results from an approved language test (taken within the past two years) with scores equivalent to at least Canadian Language Benchmark level 5 in each language ability and overall.
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