Atlantic Canada PNPs Mid-2026 Review: New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland ITAs

New Brunswick PNP

The New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) runs three streams. The Express Entry Stream is for highly skilled candidates in the federal Express Entry pool who have employment in the province. The Skilled Worker Streamtargets candidates with New Brunswick work experience or a job offer in a priority occupation. As of May 2026, the Skilled Worker Stream’s New Brunswick Experience pathway has been limited to candidates working in specific priority sectors. The Strategic Initiative includes targeted draws for Francophone workers.

New Brunswick has not yet announced its 2026 nomination allocation. Its 2025 allocation stood at 2,750 spaces. If the province follows the same 31 percent increase seen across other programs this year, it would have approximately 3,600 nomination spaces for 2026.

NB PNP ITAs Issued in the First Half of 2026

Overall, NB has issued 2,352 invitations to apply in the first half of the year. Not all ITAs lead to a nomination, but there may also be some ITAs from last year that lead to a nomination in 2026.

New Brunswick Express Entry Stream ITAs

In the first half of 2026, New Brunswick issued 336 invitations to apply to candidates with a valid Express Entry profile and employment in the province. This reflected only 14 percent of the total ITAs issued by the province through June 2026.

Although two of the six invitation rounds were open to candidates in all sectors, most rounds focused on health care, professional and IT occupations, education, social and community services, construction trades, and manufacturing.

New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream

So far, 1,300 ITAs have been issued by the province under the New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream. This stream focuses on New Brunswick graduates and candidates with local work experience.

New Brunswick Strategic Initiative

716 invitations to apply were issued between January and June 2026 under the NB Strategic Initiative. This includes Francophone workers and priorities.

Prince Edward Island PNP

PEI’s provincial nominee program runs two main categories: the Labour Impact stream and the Express Entry stream. The Express Entry stream targets candidates who already have a profile in the federal Express Entry pool. The Labour Impact stream consists of three pathways: Skilled Worker Stream, Critical Worker Stream, and International Graduate Stream.

Prince Edward Island has not revealed its nomination allocation for 2026. Last year, the smallest province received 1,025 nomination spaces. Based on trends seen across other provinces, it is likely that the 2026 allocation room would be roughly 30 percent higher at around 1,340.

PEI PNP ITAs Issued in First Half of 2026

In the first half of 2026, PEI PNP issued 658 invitations to apply under its Labour Impact and Express Entry streams. The province has not disclosed how the invitations were split between the different streams.

If all these ITAs were to lead to nominations, the province would still have roughly 50 percent of its nomination spaces left to fill in the second half of the year.

PEI PNP draws are held each month on a pre-set schedule. Six more draws are expected this year.

Nova Scotia PNP

Nova Scotia restructured its provincial nominee program in February 2026, consolidating 10 streams into four: Skilled Worker, Nova Scotia Graduate, Entrepreneur, and Nova Scotia: Express Entry. The changes applied only to new EOI submissions. Candidates already in the pool were not affected.

Nova Scotia PNP ITAs Issued till May 2026

Nova Scotia has not publicly announced its nomination allocation for 2026. However, based on the hike other provinces received, we expect Nova Scotia to have 4,125 (3,150 + 31 percent) nomination spaces for 2026.

Between January and May 2026, 2,040 candidates received an invitation to apply for the Nova Scotia PNP. Although June numbers have not been released, ITA numbers from the first five months suggest that the province is well-placed to use its nomination allocation room for the year.

In the first half of the year, the province has focused on candidates in health care occupations, skilled trades, and other priority occupations.

Newfoundland and Labrador PNP

The NLPNP runs three main PNP categories for workers. The Skilled Worker category is for candidates with a full-time job offer from a Newfoundland and Labrador employer. The Express Entry Skilled Worker category is for candidates in the federal Express Entry pool who also have a provincial job offer. The International Graduate category is for those on a valid Post-Graduation Work Permit.

Newfoundland and Labrador has also not publicly confirmed its 2026 nomination allocation. The province was allocated 1,525 nomination spaces at the start of 2025. A 31 percent increase in line with other provinces would bring that figure to roughly 2,000 spaces this year.

NLPNP ITAs Issued in the First Half of 2026

In the first half of 2026, the province has issued 1,246 invitations to apply under the NLPNP. Not all ITAs lead to a nomination, but the province seems to be roughly at the 62 percent mark towards that target.

What to Watch in the Second Half of 2026

Health care and skilled trades appear as priority sectors across all four Atlantic programs, a pattern that is likely to continue in the second half of the year.

Of the four, PEI is the most predictable in terms of timing, with monthly draws scheduled through December. If you are in the PEI PNP pool, you have a clear sense of when the next opportunity to receive an ITA will come.

Newfoundland and Labrador has issued ITAs equivalent to roughly 62 percent of its estimated 2026 allocation, the highest proportion of any Atlantic province at the halfway mark. That leaves an estimated 750 spaces still available, though how many of the ITAs already issued convert to nominations will affect how much room the program has left.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia haven’t confirmed their allocations for the year but have remained active so far. The ITA volume in each suggests there is still room for further rounds. If you are in either province’s EOI pool, the second half of 2026 is likely to include continued draw activity, particularly in health care and skilled trades.