Alberta PNP (AAIP) in 2026: streams, EOI and draws

This guide is for skilled workers, health professionals, graduates, business people and families who want to settle in Alberta and need to know how the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) selects people in 2026. It explains the Worker expression of interest, the streams open now and what Alberta is looking for.

Who Alberta suits

Alberta suits, above all, people who already live and work in Alberta on a valid permit. Most of its worker streams are written for them: the Alberta Opportunity, Rural Renewal and Tourism and Hospitality streams all expect you to be working in the province, usually with a job offer from an Alberta employer.

If you are still abroad, your door into Alberta is mostly the Alberta Express Entry stream, which picks from the federal Express Entry pool and has dedicated pathways for health care professionals, technology workers and police occupations.

Alberta also keeps four entrepreneur streams open on its program page, which makes it one of the few provinces where business people, farmers and some graduates still have a provincial route.

How the AAIP works in 2026

A nomination is not permanent residence. It is Alberta's recommendation; you then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which checks medicals, security and admissibility and decides.

There are two kinds of nomination. A base nomination is made outside Express Entry, and you apply to IRCC directly. An enhanced nomination comes through the Alberta Express Entry stream and adds 600 points to your CRS score; in 2026 the federal draws for provincial nominees have had cut-offs in the 700s and 800s.

For workers, Alberta selects through a Worker Expression of Interest (EOI):

Submit a Worker EOI. Since 7 April 2026 it costs $135, and it stays valid for one year. Since 26 May 2026 you can edit it.
Wait for a draw. Alberta holds draws as needed and says the EOI score is not the only factor in who is selected. As of 23 September 2026, about 35,600 EOIs were waiting in the pool.
Apply for nomination if invited, then apply to IRCC.

Alberta's 2026 allocation is 6,603 nominations, after an increase of 200 on 10 August 2026. By 23 September 2026, 5,221 had been issued and 1,382 remained, so the space left in 2026 is limited. Alberta has also used federal spaces outside its allocation for practice-ready physicians and French speakers. Live figures: AAIP processing information.

The streams open now

The full list and eligibility rules are on the AAIP program page.

Alberta Opportunity Stream. For qualified candidates who live and work in Alberta and have a job offer from an Alberta employer. It is Alberta's largest stream.

Rural Renewal Stream. For temporary workers with a job offer from an employer in a community Alberta has designated, plus an endorsement letter from that community.

Tourism and Hospitality Stream. For candidates who live and work in Alberta and have a full-time job offer to continue with an Alberta tourism and hospitality employer. Its share of the allocation is small.

Alberta Express Entry Stream. Alberta may invite candidates from the federal Express Entry pool. It has dedicated pathways for health care professionals (the Dedicated Health Care Pathways), technology workers (the Accelerated Tech Pathway) and police occupations.

Entrepreneur streams. The Rural Entrepreneur stream (start or buy a business in a rural community), the Graduate Entrepreneur stream (graduates of approved Alberta institutions), the Farm stream (experienced farmers buying or starting a farm) and the Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur stream (graduates of institutions outside Canada launching a start-up). An update on 12 August 2026 clarified the "economic establishment" requirement; no pause has been announced.

A federal pilot also applies in one Alberta community: Claresholm takes part in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which needs a job offer from a designated employer and the community's recommendation — see IRCC's community list.

What changed in 2025–2026

2025: the cut and a top-up. Provincial allocations across Canada were cut by about half for 2025. Alberta's was raised by 1,528 on 9 September 2025, to 6,403.
25 March 2025: no job-offer points. A job offer no longer earns CRS points in Express Entry. In Alberta, it helps through the AAIP streams instead.
2026: the same base, then a little more. Alberta started 2026 at 6,403 and received 200 more on 10 August, for 6,603.
7 April 2026: an EOI fee. Each Worker EOI now costs $135 and lasts one year.
26 May 2026: editable EOIs. You can update your EOI instead of starting again.
12 August 2026: the entrepreneur "economic establishment" requirement was clarified.

Priority occupations and sectors

Alberta's own structure tells you its priorities: health care (the Dedicated Health Care Pathways), technology (the Accelerated Tech Pathway), police occupations, rural communities (Rural Renewal and Rural Entrepreneur) and tourism and hospitality. You can browse occupations on this site at /occupations/.

Nurses. Since 4 April 2023, the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta lets nurses registered and in good standing in nine jurisdictions — including India and the Philippines — apply directly and write the NCLEX-RN. New currency-of-practice and English-proficiency criteria have applied since 1 October 2025. Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador are the provinces whose faster nursing routes currently include India.

Teachers. Alberta assesses teachers directly rather than through Pathways to Teach Canada.

Express Entry still matters. Federal healthcare and social services, trades and French-language draws ran through 2026 — see Express Entry.

Students and graduates

Graduates of approved Alberta post-secondary institutions have their own business route, the Graduate Entrepreneur stream. Graduates of institutions outside Canada who want to launch a start-up can look at the Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur stream.

For most graduates, though, the route is work: build Alberta experience, secure a job offer, and enter through the Alberta Opportunity stream or, with an Express Entry profile, the Alberta Express Entry stream. Federally, one year of skilled work in Canada can make you eligible for the Canadian Experience Class, and a Canadian post-secondary credential adds 15 or 30 CRS points.

Families and settling in

Your spouse or partner and dependent children are normally included in your permanent residence application once you are nominated.
Spousal open work permits are now limited to spouses of workers in TEER 0–1 or priority-sector jobs, and of master's and doctoral students. Check this before your spouse plans to work.
The Rural Renewal and Rural Entrepreneur streams depend on a community's support. If your family is open to life outside Calgary and Edmonton, ask which designated communities need your skills.
Nurses should start licensing early; the regulator's timeline usually sets the pace.

Following Alberta draws on this site

We report AAIP draws, stream notices and allocation updates under /category/pnp-news/, and collect the background by subject at /topics/. For federal Express Entry rounds, including the provincial-nominee draws, follow IRCNews.

How Polinsys helps

Joy Stephen, RCIC (CICC licence R419719), gives you an honest written assessment before any fee: which AAIP stream fits your work and status in Canada, whether your Express Entry profile could attract an Alberta invitation, whether an entrepreneur or farm stream is realistic for you, and whether another province or a federal route suits you better. If you go ahead, we prepare your EOI and nomination application, check your employer's or business documents, and then prepare your permanent residence application to IRCC. We never promise a result. Ask your questions first at our free Friday Q&A: https://polinsys.com/webinar/.