Manitoba invites 417 STEM workers to apply for provincial nomination for permanent residence
On September 24, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) issued 474 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) for provincial nomination, inviting
- 417 workers in natural sciences, engineering, architecture, and IT occupations;
- 1 family physician;
- 16 French-speaking candidates; and
- 40 strategically recruited candidates.
Invited individuals can pursue Canadian permanent residence by submitting a complete application for provincial nomination within 60 days.
A successful nominee can request a work permit support letter from the MPNP, which they can use to apply to the federal government for a work permit.
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Provincial nominees may also be eligible to apply for a bridging open work permit (BOWP) after submitting their permanent residence application.
As of June 9, 2026, a base PNP applicant can apply for a BOWP months faster, due to a temporary policy easing the requirements.
Candidates who were not invited may be among the 2,700 at-risk Manitoba workers who can apply for open work permits under the Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge policy if they had a provincial support letter and active EOI profile as of December 31, 2025.
Draw details
Selection criteria for EOI draw #280 were broken down as follows:
| Stream/pathway | Selection criteria | Details | LAAs issued | Cutoff score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway | Occupation-specific selection | Employment in a natural sciences, engineering, architecture or IT occupation. | 417 | 760 |
| Employment in a healthcare NOC. | 1 | N/A | ||
| Francophone selection | Primary language of communication + valid test results. | 16 | N/A | |
| Skilled Worker Stream – in Manitoba and overseas | Direct invitation under a strategic recruitment initiative | Invitation under one of five eligible recruitment missions. | 40 | N/A |
Of the 474 LAAs issued in the draw, 148 went to candidates with a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code.
Skilled Worker in Manitoba
The Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway accounted for 434 invitations, issued to candidates who met one of three selection criteria:
1) Employment in a natural and applied sciences or related occupation
Under this selection category, invitations went to the highest-scoring candidates who reported current employment in Manitoba falling under Broad Occupational Category 2 of the National Occupational Classification system.
Occupations under this category span natural sciences, engineering, architecture and information technology sectors, and include specialized middle management positions, professional occupations in the natural sciences, and technical occupations related to natural sciences.
There are three Major Groups under Broad Occupational Category 2:
- Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences (code 21).
- Specialized middle management occupations in engineering, architecture, science and information systems (code 20).
- Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences (code 22).
Each code encompasses several occupations.
2) Employment in a healthcare NOC
Under this selection category, Manitoba issued one LAA to a candidate working in NOC 31102: General practitioners and family physicians.
The candidate was required to have declared current employment in NOC 31102 in their EOI profile to be considered in this draw.
3) Francophone selection
A total of 16 LAAs were issued to francophone candidates.
To be considered, candidates had to have indicated French as their language of communication with the MPNP in their EOI, in addition to having demonstrated their French proficiency in a government-approved immigration language test.
Skilled Worker Stream – in Manitoba and overseas
A total of 40 candidates were invited across both the MPNP’s Skilled Worker Stream pathways, targeting foreign nationals in Manitoba and overseas.
Candidates were eligible for selection only if their EOI profile showed that they had been invited through a strategic recruitment initiative or through the now-expired Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Candidates (TPP).
Invitations were broken down by strategic recruitment initiative as follows:
| Strategic recruitment initiative | LAAs issued |
|---|---|
| Regional Communities | 15 |
| Ethnocultural Communities | 9 |
| Employer Services | 9 |
| Francophone Community | 6 |
| Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Candidates (TPP) | 1 |
Why some eligible candidates may not have received an LAA
The province noted that candidates could still be excluded from consideration despite appearing to meet the selection criteria if:
- The candidate’s approved language test identification number was missing or invalid, or the results had expired by the draw date; or
- The candidate declared participation in a strategic recruitment initiative but failed to include a valid invitation number.
As of September 24, the MPNP has issued 6,883 LAAs across 19 provincial immigration rounds over the course of 2026.
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