Alberta has issued 722 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination across three Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) draws held on September 1, September 3 and September 9, 2026.
The province published all three rounds together in a single update on September 10. The bulk of the invitations went to the Alberta Opportunity Stream, the program’s main pathway for workers already employed in the province, with the remainder split between the Accelerated Tech Pathway and the Dedicated Health Care Pathway.
AAIP Draws — September 1, 3 and 9, 2026
| Date | Stream / Pathway | Minimum Score | Invitations |
| September 9, 2026 | Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry | 60 | 51 |
| September 3, 2026 | Alberta Express Entry Stream – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 60 | 96 |
| September 1, 2026 | Alberta Opportunity Stream | 56 | 575 |
| Total | 722 |
Alberta Opportunity Stream Cut-Off Eases to 56
The September 1 Alberta Opportunity Stream round issued 575 invitations at a minimum score of 56, down from a cut-off of 58 in the August 14 round. The volume fell alongside the score, from 743 invitations in August to 575 in September.
The stream remains the AAIP’s highest-volume pathway by a wide margin, and its pool is correspondingly deep: 22,381 of the 35,957 profiles currently in Alberta’s worker expression of interest pool identify the Alberta Opportunity Stream as their stream of interest. A lower cut-off paired with a smaller round suggests the province is drawing further down that pool while pacing its remaining allocation.
Tech and Health Care Hold at 60
The September 3 round under the Accelerated Tech Pathway issued 96 invitations at a minimum score of 60, almost exactly matching the August 6 round of the same pathway, which invited 95 candidates at the same cut-off. The pathway’s eligible occupation list includes roles supporting data centre development in Alberta.
The September 9 round under the Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry issued 51 invitations, also at a minimum score of 60, against 57 invitations at the same cut-off on August 12. Both Express Entry pathways have now held steady at 60 points across consecutive rounds, in contrast to the movement seen in the Alberta Opportunity Stream.
Where Alberta’s 2026 Allocation Stands
As of the program’s September 9, 2026 update, Alberta had issued 4,864 nominations against a 2026 allocation of 6,603, leaving 1,739 nomination spaces for the remainder of the year, with 1,238 applications still to be processed.
| Stream / Pathway | 2026 Allocation | Issued | Remaining |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 3,562 | 2,725 | 837 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,057 | 673 | 384 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 619 | 447 | 172 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sectors and other initiatives | 619 | 527 | 92 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 518 | 310 | 208 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 156 | 141 | 15 |
| Entrepreneur Streams | 60 | 34 | 26 |
Two categories are now close to exhausted. The Tourism and Hospitality Stream has 15 nomination spaces left against an allocation of 156, and the Alberta Express Entry priority sector pathway has 92 left against 619 — roughly one more round at recent volumes. The Accelerated Tech Pathway, at 172 remaining, has room for perhaps two further rounds at the September pace.
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 | 22,381 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sectors and other initiatives | 5,067 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 3,372 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 2,039 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,750 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 1,302 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 46 |
| Total | 35,957 |
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 or the Dedicated Health Care Pathway – Express Entry 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.
With both Express Entry pathways settled at a cut-off of 60 and the Alberta Opportunity Stream down to 56, candidates scoring in the mid-to-high 50s are now in range across Alberta’s main pathways. 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.