Alberta has issued 476 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination across four Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) draws held between September 24 and October 7, 2026.
The rounds appeared together on the province’s AAIP processing information page, which is now marked last updated October 7. Two were held under the Alberta Express Entry Stream, including the first aviation-focused priority sector round since June. The other two were held under the Rural Renewal Stream and the Alberta Opportunity Stream.
AAIP Draws — September 24 to October 7, 2026
| Date | Stream / Pathway | Minimum Score | Invitations |
| October 7, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (Aviation) | 56 | 22 |
| October 2, 2026 | Alberta Opportunity Stream | 54 | 123 |
| September 29, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Priority Sectors (General) | 64 | 200 |
| September 24, 2026 | Rural Renewal Stream | 51 | 131 |
| Total | 476 |
Largest Express Entry Priority Sector Round of the Year
The September 29 round, listed as Priority Sectors (General), issued 200 invitations at a minimum score of 64. It is the largest Alberta Express Entry priority sector round of 2026; earlier priority sector rounds each targeted a single sector, such as health care, manufacturing, agriculture or construction, and none issued more than 109 invitations.
The round has used up almost all of the pathway’s remaining room. As of October 7, the Alberta Express Entry priority sector pathway had issued 616 nominations against an allocation of 619, leaving just three nomination spaces for the rest of 2026.
Aviation Round Returns
The October 7 Priority Sectors (Aviation) round invited 22 candidates at a minimum score of 56. Aviation was last targeted on June 24, in a combined aviation and skilled trade round that invited 35 candidates at a cut-off of 47. Aviation is one of the sectors the AAIP has said it will prioritise in 2026.
Alberta Opportunity and Rural Renewal Rounds
The October 2 Alberta Opportunity Stream round issued 123 invitations at a minimum score of 54. That is four points lower than the September 23 round, which invited 113 candidates at 58, and slightly larger. Both rounds were far smaller than the stream’s 500-plus rounds of the summer.
The September 24 Rural Renewal Stream round invited 131 candidates at a minimum score of 51, matching the cut-off of the August 11 round, which invited 127.
Where Alberta’s 2026 Allocation Stands
As of the program’s October 7, 2026 update, Alberta had issued 5,541 nominations against a 2026 allocation of 6,603, leaving 1,062 nomination spaces for the rest of the year, with 948 applications still to be processed. At the September 23 update, the province had issued 5,221 nominations.
| Stream / Pathway | 2026 Allocation | Issued | Remaining |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 3,562 | 3,105 | 457 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,057 | 766 | 291 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 619 | 528 | 91 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sectors and other initiatives | 619 | 616 | 3 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 12 | Less than 10 | Not applicable |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 518 | 342 | 176 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 156 | 141 | 15 |
| Entrepreneur Streams | 60 | 36 | 24 |
Additional Federal Spaces for Physicians and Francophones
Separately from the 6,603 allocation, Alberta has issued 50 nominations to practice-ready physicians and 12 to Francophone candidates under a federal initiative that makes up to 10,000 additional spaces available across all provincial nominee programs. Nominations issued under that initiative do not count against Alberta’s provincial allocation.
Alberta’s Expression of Interest Pool
| Stream or pathway of interest | Profiles in the selection pool |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 21,667 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sectors and other initiatives | 4,912 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 3,138 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 1,964 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,570 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 1,179 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 48 |
| Total | 34,478 |
How AAIP Draws Work
AAIP draws are not held on a fixed schedule. The province conducts them as needed to address sector needs and provincial priorities, and it does not disclose recent draw parameters beyond the minimum score of invited candidates. Expression of interest score is not the only factor used in selection; the program considers a range of information provided in worker EOI profiles.
For 2026, the AAIP has said it will prioritise draws and nominations within its worker streams for occupations in health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture, and communities designated under the Rural Renewal Stream.
Alberta publishes each round on its AAIP processing information page. A full history of this year’s rounds is maintained on our Alberta immigration draws page.
Express Entry and the AAIP
Candidates nominated through the Alberta Express Entry Stream receive an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which in practice guarantees an invitation to apply for permanent residence in a subsequent federal Express Entry round.
Use our free CRS score calculator to estimate your Comprehensive Ranking System score and see how a provincial nomination would change your standing in the Express Entry pool.