Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP): 2026 Streams and Draws

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) is Alberta’s provincial nominee program. In 2026 it has 6,603 nominations to give out. Most workers apply by submitting a Worker Expression of Interest (WEOI). Alberta then invites candidates to specific streams in draws, prioritizing in-demand sectors and rural communities. The main 2026 changes were a new $135 WEOI fee, the ability to edit your WEOI, new wage and hours fields, and stricter Rural Renewal Stream rules.

Key points

• 2026 allocation: 6,603, including 200 extra nominations announced August 10, 2026.
• $135 fee to submit a Worker EOI since April 7, 2026. The worker stream application fee is $1,500.
• WEOIs are valid for one year, and since May 26, 2026 they can be edited.
• Rural Renewal Stream changes took effect January 1, 2026, including per-community endorsement limits.
• An Eligibility Explorer tool launched June 17, 2026.

AAIP streams in 2026

From Alberta’s AAIP application streams page, as of October 2026:

Worker streams

Stream	Who it is for
Alberta Opportunity Stream	Workers already living and working in Alberta with a job offer from an Alberta employer
Tourism and Hospitality Stream	Workers already in Alberta with a full-time job offer from a tourism or hospitality employer
Rural Renewal Stream	Candidates endorsed by a designated rural community
Alberta Express Entry Stream	Candidates in the federal Express Entry pool. Includes the Dedicated Health Care Pathway, and the page also lists technology and police occupation pathways

Entrepreneur streams

Stream	Who it is for
Rural Entrepreneur Stream	People starting or buying a business in a rural Alberta community
Graduate Entrepreneur Stream	International graduates of approved Alberta post-secondary institutions starting or buying a business
Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream	Graduates of non-Canadian institutions launching a start-up, working with a designated agency
Farm Stream	Experienced farmers buying or starting a farm in Alberta

On August 12, 2026, Alberta clarified how it assesses the economic establishment requirement for the three entrepreneur EOI streams. The eligibility criteria themselves did not change.

The Worker Expression of Interest

Alberta’s worker streams run on an EOI system. These are the 2026 changes from the AAIP updates page:

Date (2026)	Change
February 25	New wage and hours fields added for candidates with Alberta job offers
March 11	Alberta confirms WEOIs without the wage and hours information will not be considered in future draws
April 7	$135 fee to submit a WEOI introduced
May 26	Candidates can edit their WEOI; editing does not change its one-year validity. Candidates can also decline invitations to streams they don’t want and return to the pool before the 15-day period ends
June 17	Eligibility Explorer launched to match people with streams

If you cancelled a WEOI between April 7 and May 26, 2026 to make edits, Alberta offered refunds in most cases. The exceptions are people who cancelled during an invitation period or to update an Express Entry profile.

How AAIP draws work

1. Check eligibility with the Eligibility Explorer.
2. Submit a WEOI and pay the $135 fee. Include the wage and hours details if you have an Alberta job offer.
3. Wait for a draw. AAIP runs draws for specific streams and pathways. It posts results but does not publish fixed selection criteria in advance.
4. Respond to an invitation within the deadline. You can decline invitations to streams you don’t want.
5. Submit your application and pay the $1,500 worker stream fee.
6. Receive a nomination if approved, then apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

Recent AAIP draws have been widely reported to focus on sectors such as health care, technology, construction, manufacturing, aviation and agriculture, as well as Rural Renewal candidates. Because Alberta does not publish draw parameters, treat these as patterns, not rules.

Rural Renewal Stream changes (from January 1, 2026)

The Rural Renewal Stream links candidates with designated rural communities. Changes announced November 18, 2025 took effect on January 1, 2026:

• Endorsement limits for each designated community.
• One-year validity for Endorsement of Candidate Letters.
• A TEER-based endorsement model.
• Candidates in Canada must hold a valid work permit when they apply and when they are assessed.

Alberta said the stream’s priorities are “rural development, economic diversification and high-demand occupations.” With limited endorsements per community, getting an endorsement early in the year may matter more than before.

Fees

Fee	Amount (CAD)
Worker EOI submission (from April 7, 2026)	$135
Worker stream application	$1,500
IRCC economic PR application, principal applicant	$1,590 including the right of permanent residence fee

IRCC fees are from the IRCC fee list. Employers and agencies in Alberta cannot charge workers a fee for a job offer. Alberta asks anyone charged such a fee to contact Employment Standards or the Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office through 310-0000.

AAIP and Express Entry

The Alberta Express Entry Stream picks candidates from the federal pool. A nomination through this stream is an enhanced nomination worth 600 CRS points, which almost always leads to an invitation to apply for PR. Keep your Express Entry profile up to date, because Alberta searches the pool directly. Read our Provincial Nominee Program guide to see how base and enhanced nominations differ.

Which AAIP stream fits you?

These examples apply the stream descriptions on Alberta’s site. Use the Eligibility Explorer to confirm.

Your situation	Stream to look at first
Working in Alberta on a work permit, with an Alberta job offer	Alberta Opportunity Stream
Working in an Alberta hotel, restaurant or tourism business	Tourism and Hospitality Stream
Living or working in, or offered a job in, a designated rural community	Rural Renewal Stream (community endorsement needed)
In the Express Entry pool, especially with a health care job offer	Alberta Express Entry Stream, including the Dedicated Health Care Pathway
Graduate of an approved Alberta institution who wants to run a business	Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
Graduate of a non-Canadian institution with a start-up idea	Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream (through a designated agency)
Experienced farmer planning to farm in Alberta	Farm Stream

Common WEOI mistakes

• Leaving the wage and hours fields empty. Since March 2026, Alberta has said WEOIs without this information will not be considered in future draws.
• Letting the WEOI expire. A WEOI is valid for one year. Editing it does not reset that clock.
• Accepting an invitation to the wrong stream. Since May 26, 2026, you can decline an invitation to a stream you don’t want and go back to the pool, as long as you do it before the 15-day period ends.
• Paying someone for a job offer. It is not allowed in Alberta, and a purchased job offer can put your application at risk.

The 2026 allocation

Alberta’s allocation rose to 6,603 after IRCC added 200 nominations, announced August 10, 2026. Alberta posts the breakdown by stream on its processing page. For other provinces, see PNP allocations 2026 by province.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a licensed lawyer or regulated Canadian immigration consultant (RCIC).

What to do next

• Use Alberta’s Eligibility Explorer to see which streams fit you.
• If you have a WEOI, check that the wage and hours fields are complete.
• If you live in a rural community, ask whether it is designated under the Rural Renewal Stream and how many endorsements remain.
• Follow changes on our updates page and the Canada hub.