Alberta PNP (AAIP)

To be nominated, you need skills that match jobs Alberta is short of, or you need to plan on buying or launching a business in the province. You also have to be able to support your family financially.

The program splits into streams. Each stream is its own route with its own set of rules, so it pays to figure out which one suits you before applying.

These streams serve foreign workers who already live and work in Alberta or who intend to. If you are hoping to qualify through most of the worker streams, Alberta will expect your job offer and employer to follow its rules.

• Alberta Opportunity Stream: for those already living and working in the province with an offer from an Alberta-based employer.
• Tourism and Hospitality Stream: for those based in Alberta holding a full-time offer to stay on with an employer in the tourism and hospitality sector.
• Rural Renewal Stream: a rural community has to be designated first, meaning Alberta approves it to recruit newcomers. After that, you need a job offer from an employer there plus an endorsement letter from the community.
• Alberta Express Entry Stream: Alberta can invite people whose profiles sit in the federal Express Entry pool, as long as they meet the province's minimum requirements and priorities. That pool is an online registry the federal government keeps of people hoping to move to Canada for work.
• Dedicated Health Care Pathway: for those holding offers in health care professions Alberta deems eligible, according to Alberta.

Alberta offers four entrepreneur streams for people who want to settle in the province and buy or launch a business there. One of them, the Farm Stream, targets farmers with experience who intend to purchase or launch a farm in the province.

During 2026, the worker streams will focus draws and nominations on jobs in health care, tech, construction, manufacturing, aviation, and agriculture. Communities approved under the Rural Renewal Stream get priority too. Alberta notes the list is not exhaustive, so other occupations can still be picked.

Alberta's processing page, updated 7 October 2026, is the source for these numbers. "Assessing up to" means the newest application date Alberta was reviewing when the page was updated.

• Whole AAIP: 6,603 spaces, 5,541 nominations given, 1,062 still open, with no date shown.
• Alberta Opportunity Stream: 3,562 spaces, 3,105 nominations given, 457 still open, with 13 July 2026 as the latest date reviewed.
• Rural Renewal Stream: 1,057 spaces in total, 766 nominations given, 291 still open, with 17 August 2026 as the latest date reviewed.
• Dedicated Health Care Pathways: 518 spaces in total, 342 nominations given, 176 still open, with 29 August 2026 as the latest date reviewed.
• Accelerated Tech Pathway: 619 spaces, 528 nominations given, 91 still open, reviewing up to June 2026.
• Tourism and Hospitality Stream: 156 spaces, 141 nominations given, 15 still open, reviewing up to 27 July 2026.

Part of the Alberta Express Entry Stream, the Accelerated Tech Pathway has an eligible job list covering work that supports Alberta data centres.

Nationwide, Canada has set aside up to 10,000 extra spaces for practice-ready physicians and French speakers across all provinces. Nominations Alberta gives these candidates in 2026 sit outside its 6,603 total. So far in 2026, Alberta has given 50 of them to doctors and another 12 to French-speaking candidates.

Doctors must work in one of the physician job codes and satisfy the rules of the Dedicated Health Care Pathway. French speakers can work in any job the AAIP accepts, and they need French test scores of level 5 or better in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Alberta did not create any new streams for this, so the regular stream rules apply.

1. Confirm you qualify and pick the stream that fits you. Alberta asks every applicant to start here.
2. For most worker streams, submit an expression of interest. That is a brief online profile telling Alberta you would like to be considered. The current system went live on 30 September 2024.
3. Work through the document checklist and submit everything on it. Alberta says this keeps the process fair and helps processing stay on schedule.

No. Employers and employment agencies cannot make workers pay for a job or a job offer. Should an employer ask you for money of any kind, you can get help from Alberta's office of Employment Standards or its advisory office for temporary foreign workers.

Alberta published several changes during 2026, listed on its program page:

• On 26 May, Alberta announced that worker expressions of interest can now be edited after submission.
• 17 June: Alberta rolled out its Eligibility Explorer.
• 10 August: Alberta was given additional nomination spaces.
• 12 August: Alberta spelled out who qualifies for the entrepreneur streams.

A nomination opens the door to applying for permanent residence through the federal government. Processing at the federal level takes about 7 months right now through Express Entry, and about 13 months otherwise.

In the federal government's recent draws for provincial nominees, the lowest invited score was 772 on 13 October 2026, after 725 on 28 September 2026. Past draws do not tell you what future ones will do.