Alberta updates worker expression of interest policy, issues refunds to select candidates

As of May 26, 2026, Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) candidates who submitted a Worker Expression of Interest (WEOI) can now edit their submission without cancelling it.

Prior to this change, candidates were required to cancel their WEOI and submit a new one to make changes to their profile—requiring them to pay the WEOI fee again.

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Alberta also confirms that candidates who receive invitations under certain streams may now decline those invitations and return to the WEOI pool before the 15-day invitation period expires, to be considered under other streams for which they are eligible.

The Government of Alberta published these changes on its AAIP – Updates webpage on May 26, 2026, with immediate implementation.

Limited WEOI fee refunds

The AAIP is also refunding candidates who, between April 7– May 26, created and submitted a WEOI and paid the submission fee, but needed to cancel their submission to make edits.

The WEOI fee was introduced on April 7, 2026. With this May 26 update, Alberta is retroactively compensating those who were caught under the old rules right before this change.

This is not an automatic refund; a candidate must request a refund of their original WEOI fee through the Opportunity Alberta contact form.

The Government of Alberta notes that certain individuals are not eligible for a refund, including candidates who cancelled due to Express Entry profile updates or who resubmitted a WEOI profile during an active invitation period.

Updating one’s WEOI does not extend its validity. All WEOIs remain valid for one year from the date of submission, regardless of updates made.

Recent changes to Alberta’s WEOI system

The May 26 update follows the April 7 introduction of a $135 WEOI submission fee, required as of that date for all candidates seeking to immigrate under the following worker streams or pathways:

• Alberta Opportunity Stream;
• Alberta Express Entry Stream (Accelerated Tech Pathway, Law Enforcement Pathway, and priority sector draws);
• Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry);
• Rural Renewal Stream; and
• Tourism and Hospitality Stream.

Prior to this, on February 25, Alberta introduced new fields to the WEOI, allowing the province to gather specific information on wages and hours of work for candidates with an in-province job offer—noting that WEOIs missing this information would not be considered in future draws.

The WEOI model that the AAIP currently uses for provincial immigration consideration under worker streams or pathways was introduced on September 30, 2024.

About the WEOI system

To be considered under one of the AAIP’s worker streams or pathways, a foreign national must first fill out and submit a WEOI in the AAIP portal.

In this form, individuals must provide information about their work experience, education (level and location completed), language ability, family connections in Alberta, and more, and pay the $135 submission fee.

Once a WEOI is submitted, candidates enter the Worker Stream pool. Each WEOI is scored and ranked using the AAIP’s points grid—which allots up to 100 points for Human Capital and Economic factors.

The province regularly conducts draws from the Worker Stream pool and invites candidates to apply for provincial nomination based on “WEOI scores, provincial labour market needs and priorities, available nominations, and application volumes.”

Once a candidate has been selected, they can submit a full application to the AAIP (which requires paying a $1,500 application fee).

Those who are successful receive a provincial nomination and can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

A look at the AAIP’s published figures

The federal government granted Alberta a total of 6,403 nomination spaces for 2026. As of May 14, it has issued 2,191 nominations to Program candidates.

As of that date, there were 40,161 WEOIs in the candidate pool, taking into account all worker streams and pathways—with the majority under the Alberta Opportunity Stream (63.7%).

As per the last update, the AAIP had 1,289 provincial nomination applications awaiting processing in its inventory.

Alberta has stated that its 2026 draw and nomination priorities will include occupations in healthcare, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture, and communities designated under the Rural Renewal Stream.

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