Yellowknife — August 7, 2026

The Northwest Territories’ 2026 allocation for the Nominee Program was increased by 103 nominees this week, bringing this year’s total allocation to 300. The increase follows provincial and territorial advocacy to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which sets provincial and territorial nominee allocations annually.

This increase restores the territory’s allocation back to 2024 and 2025 levels. To accommodate the increase, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is adding an additional Expression of Interest draw on August 26, 2026. To be considered for this draw, applications must be submitted by August 24, 2026.

A return to 300 allocations reflects ongoing advocacy by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to ensure the territory's immigration priorities and unique labour market needs are reflected in its allocation numbers. The GNWT fully used its allocations in both 2024 and 2025.

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program allows the GNWT to nominate foreign nationals for permanent residency who intend to live and work in the NWT and meet territorial labour-market needs. The program offers three streams: Employer-Driven, Francophone, and Business.

Since February 2026, the Nominee Program’s selection process has used an Expression of Interest system for the Employer-Driven Stream. This system was implemented following the feedback gathered during public engagement in September 2025, where employers, prospective immigrants and community members highlighted the need for a clearer and fairer intake process. There have been Two Expression of Interest Draws have occurred since the beginning of the year. With the additional August 26 date added, four draws will occur for the 2026 program. The cutoff to submit a profile to the Expression of Interest pool for the last draw, occurring on September 25, 2026, is September 22, 2026.

More information about the Expression of Interest System is available here.

The Francophone and Business streams do not operate under the Expression of Interest System and continue to evaluate applications on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Two online information sessions on the Northwest Territories Nominee Program will take place August 18 and August 20, 2026:

Employers and foreign nationals are invited to attend either session to learn more about the program, get more information about application processes and ask Government of the Northwest Territories employees any questions.

Date and time:
Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (register by Monday, August 17, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.)
Thursday, August 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (register by Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at noon)

Location:
Online via video call. Email immigration@gov.nt.ca to receive the Zoom link for access to the presentation.

French interpretation will be available.

For media requests, please contact:

Agata Gutkowska
Manager, Public Affairs and Communications
Department of Education, Culture and Employment
Government of the Northwest Territories
Email: ecepublicaffairs@gov.nt.ca