Alberta invites workers for rural immigration stream, i.e., Alberta has shared details of its final draw of February under the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP). In this draw, workers who have job offers in rural communities within the province were invited to apply for a provincial nomination.
This draw took place on February 26. It came only two days after another draw held under the Tourism and Hospitality Stream. With this round, Alberta completed its 13th draw of the year.
Latest Draw Results Released
On March 4, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program updated its official draw page. The update included the results of the province’s 10th draw conducted in February.
This round of invitations targeted candidates under the Rural Renewal Stream.
Below are the details of the draw:
| Stream | Minimum Score | Invitations Issued |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 55 | 30 |
This was the second draw held under the Rural Renewal Stream in 2026. Both draws happened in February.
The earlier draw had a slightly lower cut-off score of 54. However, that draw issued a much larger number of invitations, totaling 212.
Eligibility Requirements For The Rural Renewal Stream
Foreign nationals who want to apply for permanent residence through the AAIP’s Rural Renewal Stream must meet several eligibility conditions.
The requirements are listed below.
- Possess an Endorsement of Candidate letter from the community (“Designated Community”) they intend to settle in;
- Have a job offer from an Alberta employer, in an eligible occupation;
- TEER 0–5 for workers already in Alberta.
- TEER 0–3 for workers in another province or outside Canada.
- Demonstrate at least 12 months of full-time work experience (in an eligible occupation), within the last 18 months—gained within or outside Canada;
- TEER 0 job offers: TEER 0–1.
- TEER 1 job offers: TEER 0–2.
- TEER 2/3 job offers: TEER 1–4.
- TEER 3 job offers: TEER 2–4.
- TEER 5 job offers: TEER 5, in the same NOC code.
- Meet language proficiency requirements, dependent on one’s job offer TEER;
- TEER 0–3 job offers: Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)/ Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) 5, each language skill.
- TEER 4/5 job offers: CLB/NCLC 4, each language skill.
- Have a Canadian high school diploma or foreign equivalent;
- Foreign credentials require an Educational Credential Assessment.
- Show sufficient settlement funds based on number of family members and population size of settling community;
- Only required for those who are not residing in Canada, or those who reside in Canada but are not working.
The Rural Renewal Stream was created to support economic growth and increase population in smaller communities across Alberta. The program follows a community endorsement system, where participating rural communities select candidates who plan to live and work there.
Provincial Nomination Allocation
In 2026, the federal government allowed Alberta to issue a total of 6,403 provincial nominations.
So far this year, the province has already issued 822 nominations. This means 5,581 nomination spaces are still available.
At the same time, 1,147 applications are currently waiting to be processed in the AAIP system.
The following table shows how Alberta’s nomination spaces are divided across different streams. It also shows how many nominations have already been issued and how many spaces remain.
| Stream/Pathway | 2026 Nomination Allocation | Nominations Issued | Nomination Spaces Remaining | Applications To Be Processed |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 3,425 | 564 | 2,861 | 491 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 1,000 | 13 | 987 | 177 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 150 | 32 | 118 | <10 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry) | 500 | 56 | 444 | 40 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 600 | 75 | 525 | 104 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 38 | <10 | N/A | <10 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/initiatives | 600 | 79 | 521 | 58 |
| Entrepreneur Streams | 90 | <10 | N/A | 270 |
The Alberta Opportunity Stream holds the largest share of nominations in 2026. It accounts for 53.5% of the province’s total allocation.
So far, most nominations issued this year have also come from this stream. Out of the 822 nominations granted in 2026, 564 were issued through the Alberta Opportunity Stream. This represents 68.6% of all nominations issued so far.
Worker Expression Of Interest Pool
As of March 4, 2026, there are 45,390 candidates in the AAIP Expression of Interest (EOI) pool waiting for an invitation.
The table below shows the number of EOIs under each stream or pathway. The majority of candidates are in the Alberta Opportunity Stream.
| Stream / Pathway (EOI Selection Pool) | EOIs In Candidate Pool |
| Alberta Opportunity Stream | 28,930 |
| Rural Renewal Stream | 2,936 |
| Tourism and Hospitality Stream | 4,586 |
| Dedicated Health Care Pathways (Express Entry and non-Express Entry) | 1,582 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Accelerated Tech Pathway | 2,661 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Law Enforcement Pathway | 88 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Priority sector draws/initiatives | 4,532 |
| Alberta Express Entry – Family connection & occupation in demand | 75 |
The province has also explained that candidates may sometimes receive an invitation under a different stream or pathway than the one they originally selected in their Expression of Interest.
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