Alberta has issued 367 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination across five Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) draws held between August 4 and August 12, 2026 — a burst of activity spanning four different streams and pathways.
The rounds targeted health care, agriculture, technology and rural communities, continuing the sector-focused approach Alberta set out for 2026. The province has said it will concentrate its draws on health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture and communities designated under the Rural Renewal Stream.
AAIP Draws — August 4 to August 12, 2026
| Draw date | Stream / pathway | Minimum score | Invitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 12, 2026 | Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry | 60 | 57 |
| August 11, 2026 | Rural Renewal Stream | 51 | 127 |
| August 7, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (Agriculture) | 55 | 38 |
| August 6, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 60 | 95 |
| August 4, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (Health Care) | 66 | 50 |
| Total | 367 |
Rural Renewal Stream Delivers the Largest Round
The biggest of the five draws came on August 11, when Alberta issued 127 invitations under the Rural Renewal Stream at a minimum Expression of Interest (EOI) score of 51. That is a significant step up from the 42 invitations issued in the July 7 Rural Renewal round, though the cut-off moved only slightly, from 55 to 51.
The Rural Renewal Stream requires a candidate to hold a job offer from an employer in a designated Alberta community and an endorsement letter from that community. It has been one of the program’s steadier performers in 2026, with 622 of its 1,057 allocated nominations issued so far.
Health Care Draws Set the Highest Cut-Off
Two of the five rounds targeted health care from different directions. The August 4 Alberta Express Entry Stream priority-sector round for health care occupations issued 50 invitations at a minimum score of 66 — the highest threshold of the five draws, and up from the 63 required in the June 11 health care round.
The August 12 round used the separate Dedicated Health Care Pathway, inviting 57 candidates through its Express Entry component at a minimum score of 60. That cut-off has eased from the 64 recorded on June 22, suggesting a slightly less competitive pool for this pathway.
Technology and Agriculture
The August 6 Accelerated Tech Pathway round issued 95 invitations at a minimum score of 60, up from 55 in the July 8 round. Alberta has extended this pathway’s eligible occupation list to include roles supporting data centre development in the province.
On August 7, an agriculture-focused priority-sector round issued 38 invitations at a minimum score of 55. Agriculture cut-offs have climbed steadily through 2026, from 49 in February to 48 in May, 52 in June and 56 in July, before settling at 55 in August.
Where Alberta’s 2026 Allocation Stands
As of the program’s August 12, 2026 update, Alberta had issued 4,184 nominations against a 2026 allocation of 6,603, leaving 2,419 nomination spaces for the remainder of the year, with 1,419 applications still to be processed.
| Stream / pathway | 2026 allocation | Issued | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 3,562 | 2,268 | 1,294 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,057 | 622 | 435 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 619 | 408 | 211 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sectors and other initiatives | 619 | 456 | 163 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 518 | 256 | 262 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 156 | 134 | 22 |
| Entrepreneur Streams | 60 | 33 | 27 |
Alberta has also issued 50 nominations for practice-ready physicians and 12 for Francophone candidates under a separate federal allocation of up to 10,000 spaces shared across all provincial nominee programs. Nominations issued under that initiative do not count against Alberta’s own allocation.
The worker EOI pool held 36,932 profiles eligible for selection at the time of the update, including 23,291 for the Alberta Opportunity Stream, 4,991 for priority sector draws, 2,046 for the Accelerated Tech Pathway, 3,490 for Tourism and Hospitality, 1,728 for Rural Renewal and 1,335 for the Dedicated Health Care Pathways.
AAIP draws are not held on a fixed schedule. The program conducts them as needed to address sector needs and provincial priorities, and does not disclose recent draw parameters beyond the minimum score and invitation count. Full figures are published on the Government of Alberta’s AAIP processing information page.
A nomination through the Alberta Express Entry Stream or the Dedicated Health Care Pathway’s Express Entry component adds 600 points to a candidate’s federal Comprehensive Ranking System score, which in practice secures an invitation to apply for permanent residence in a subsequent Express Entry round. Use our free CRS score calculator to estimate your CRS score and see how an Alberta nomination would change your standing in the pool.