PROVINCIAL ROUNDUP: BC, ALBERTA, MANITOBA, NEW BRUNSWICK, PEI, NL AND NWT
Seven provinces and territories held or announced immigration activity this week, from a British Columbia entrepreneur draw and its largest Innovate round of 2026, to Alberta's busiest stretch of six draws in two weeks, New Brunswick's four-round week, a near-record round in Prince Edward Island, a Manitoba selection topping 470 invitations, another Newfoundland and Labrador round, and the Northwest Territories' final Expression of Interest draw of the year. Here's a full breakdown of what happened and what's still to come.
British Columbia: Entrepreneur Streams Hit a 2026 High, Then a Record Innovate Round
On September 22, British Columbia issued 10 invitations under the Entrepreneur Immigration Base stream and fewer than five under the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional stream, both at a minimum score of 119 — the highest Base cut-off since February and three points higher than the previous entrepreneur round on August 25. This was BC's tenth entrepreneur-focused draw of 2026, bringing the year's entrepreneur total to at least 114 invitations.
Two days later, on September 24, BC followed up with its largest Innovate: High Economic Impact round of 2026, issuing 714 invitations to apply — easily surpassing the 602 issued in August and the 569 issued in July. The round split into two selection groups: 426 invitations went to candidates with a job offer in a NOC TEER 0–3 occupation paying at least $52 per hour and $105,000 per year, with no minimum registration score required, while a further 288 went to the highest-scoring candidates in the pool at a minimum of 131 points. Notably, the wage threshold has now eased for three consecutive Innovate rounds, down from $58 per hour earlier in the year to $52 per hour in this round — a meaningfully lower bar for wage-based candidates than BC has set at any other point in 2026. Between the entrepreneur and Skills Immigration categories, British Columbia has now issued up to 6,173 invitations under the BCPNP so far this year.
The Base entrepreneur stream suits experienced entrepreneurs planning to establish or acquire a business anywhere in the province, while the Regional stream carries lower investment and net worth thresholds for those planning to settle in a smaller BC community.
Alberta: Six AAIP Draws in Two Weeks
Alberta published the results of six separate AAIP draws held between September 10 and September 23:
● September 10, 15 and 18: 166 invitations combined under the Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors pathway (manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare)
● September 21: up to 10 invitations under the Law Enforcement Pathway
● September 22: 100 invitations under the Accelerated Tech Pathway
● September 23: 113 invitations under the Alberta Opportunity Stream
This flurry of activity reflects how Alberta manages the AAIP throughout the year: smaller, more frequent draws across several specialized pathways rather than one large monthly round. With this batch included, Alberta has now invited 12,696 candidates through the AAIP in 2026.
Manitoba: 474 Invitations in Draw #280
On September 24, Manitoba issued 474 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) under Expression of Interest Draw #280, split across three selections: 418 under an occupation-specific selection targeting candidates already working in Manitoba in specific unit groups, 16 under a Francophone-specific selection for candidates who declared French as their language of communication with valid test results, and 40 under the Skilled Worker Stream for candidates directly invited through a strategic recruitment initiative.
Of the 474 total LAAs, 148 — almost a third — went to candidates with a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code, whose eventual nomination will add 600 points to their CRS score. This year, Manitoba has now invited 6,883 candidates through the MPNP, including 2,047 through Express Entry-linked selections.
New Brunswick: 610 Invitations Across Four Rounds in a Week
From September 10 to September 18, New Brunswick held four separate selection rounds, issuing 610 invitations and selections in total:
● New Brunswick Express Entry Stream – Employment in New Brunswick: 102 ITAs
● NB Skilled Worker – NB Graduate & NB Experience Pathways: 197 ITAs
● NB Strategic Initiative – Francophone Workers & New Brunswick Francophone Priorities: 251 invitations
● Atlantic Immigration Program: 60 invitations
The Francophone-focused selections made up the largest share of this week's activity — a signal worth noting for French-speaking candidates weighing their provincial options. New Brunswick has now invited 4,098 candidates in 2026. A nomination through the province's Express Entry Stream adds 600 points to a candidate's CRS score, which in practice guarantees an invitation in a later federal Express Entry round.
Prince Edward Island: 195 Invitations Ties the Year's Largest Round
On September 17, PEI issued 195 invitations through its Labour Impact and Express Entry categories — no Business Work Permit Entrepreneur invitations were issued, continuing a pattern that has held throughout 2026. This was the province's ninth draw of the year and ties July's round as the largest single invitation round of 2026, up sharply from August's 181. PEI has now invited 1,229 candidates so far this year, with priority continuing to go to candidates employed in priority sectors and international graduates from UPEI, Holland College, and Collège de l'Île. The next PEI PNP draw is scheduled for October 15, 2026.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Smallest AIP Allocation of the Year
On September 18, Newfoundland and Labrador issued 62 invitations — 61 through the NLPNP and just 1 through the Atlantic Immigration Program, the smallest single AIP allocation the province has made in any round this year. This was the province's 15th selection round of 2026 and its third round of September alone, following 97 NLPNP-only invitations on September 10 and 36 NLPNP-only invitations on September 4. To date, Newfoundland and Labrador has invited 2,654 candidates in 2026 — 2,259 through the NLPNP and 395 through the AIP — compared with 3,376 invited across all of 2025.
Northwest Territories: Final 2026 Draw Scheduled for September 25
The Government of the Northwest Territories has announced the final Expression of Interest draw of 2026 for the NWT Nominee Program's Employer-Driven Stream, scheduled for September 25. Prospective applicants must have their EOI profile submitted by September 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. MT to be considered, with approximately 100 profiles expected to be selected.
● NWT Nominee Program – Expression of Interest
This will be the territory's fourth Employer-Driven Stream draw of the year, following rounds in March, June, and August that together selected 248 top-ranking candidates across the NWT Express Entry, Skilled Worker, and Entry Level/Semi-Skilled categories. Territorial officials note that demand continues to exceed the 300 total nomination spaces IRCC has allocated to the NWT for 2026 — itself an increase from the 197 originally allocated at the start of the year.
If you're weighing a smaller program: Programs like the NWT Nominee Program and PEI's Business Impact category illustrate how differently provinces and territories manage limited allocations — some run frequent, larger draws, others hold just a handful of highly competitive rounds per year. Matching your profile to a program's actual selection pattern, not just its eligibility criteria on paper, meaningfully changes your odds.
Not Sure Which of These Programs Fits You?
Are you an entrepreneur, a skilled worker in Alberta or Manitoba, a French-speaking candidate, or someone with a job offer in a smaller province or territory wondering which of this week's programs applies to you? With seven different programs moving in seven different directions this week, understanding which pathway actually fits your occupation, wage, language ability, and timeline matters more than chasing whichever headline looks most promising.
At Global Opportunities, we help you compare these provincial and territorial pathways side by side and identify the one that genuinely fits your profile. Contact us today to map out your options.
Sources: Government of British Columbia, WelcomeBC – BCPNP Invitations to Apply; Government of Alberta, AAIP Processing Information (alberta.ca); Government of Manitoba, MPNP Expression of Interest Draw #280 results (immigratemanitoba.com); Government of New Brunswick, Immigration New Brunswick – Invitations to Apply; Government of Prince Edward Island, PEI Office of Immigration – Expression of Interest Draws; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism; Government of the Northwest Territories, official Nominee Program newsroom and Expression of Interest pages (gov.nt.ca, immigratenwt.ca). All figures verified direct