Alberta AAIP Draws Issue 767 Invitations In
Alberta issued 767 invitations for provincial nominations across two draws in mid-August 2026. The Alberta Opportunity Stream accounted for most invitations, while a separate round targeted health care workers outside Express Entry.
Alberta has invited 767 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination through two draws held by the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) in August 2026. The draws took place on August 14 and August 19, according to the program's update.
Most of the invitations were issued through the Alberta Opportunity Stream. This is the program's primary pathway for foreign workers who are already employed within the province. A second, smaller draw was conducted specifically for health care candidates who are not in the federal Express Entry system.
Alberta Opportunity Stream Draw
The draw on August 14 was the larger of the two. It resulted in 743 invitations being sent to candidates in the Alberta Opportunity Stream. The minimum score required for an invitation was 58.
This stream continues to be the AAIP's highest-volume pathway. The previous draw for this stream was on July 15, 2026, which invited 833 candidates with a lower minimum score of 53. The five-point increase in the required score suggests a larger and more competitive pool of candidates is now available. At the time of the update, 22,648 of the 36,255 profiles in Alberta's worker expression of interest pool had identified the Alberta Opportunity Stream as their preferred pathway.
Dedicated Health Care Pathway Draw
A separate draw was held on August 19 under the Dedicated Health Care Pathway for candidates not in Express Entry. This round issued 24 invitations. The minimum score for this draw was 60.
This represents a significant increase from the previous draw for the same pathway on July 14, 2026. That earlier round invited 51 candidates with a much lower minimum score of 52. The non-Express Entry stream is designed for health care workers who are either ineligible for the federal Express Entry system or who have not created an Express Entry profile.
2026 Nomination Allocation Status
As of the program's August 19, 2026 update, Alberta had issued a total of 4,560 provincial nominations for the year. The province's nomination allocation from the federal government for 2026 is 6,603 spaces. This leaves 2,043 nomination certificates available for the remainder of the year, with 1,335 applications still in processing.
Alberta has also utilized 62 of the additional federal immigration spaces reserved for specific groups. According to the source, 50 of these spaces were used for practice-ready physicians and 12 for Francophone candidates. Nominations issued under this special initiative do not count against Alberta's main allocation of 6,603 spaces.
The worker expression of interest pool contained 36,255 profiles eligible for selection. The breakdown by stream or initiative is shown in the table below.
| Pathway / Initiative | Number of Profiles |
|---|---|
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 22,648 |
| Priority Sector & Other Initiatives | 5,012 |
| Tourism and Hospitality | 3,437 |
| Accelerated Tech Pathway | 2,102 |
| Rural Renewal | 1,735 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways | 1,273 |
| Law Enforcement Pathway | 48 |
AAIP draws are not scheduled on a fixed calendar. The program conducts them as necessary to meet sectoral needs and provincial priorities. The program only discloses the minimum score and the number of invitations issued for each draw. Full figures are published on the Government of Alberta's official AAIP processing information page.
