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Dear future neighbour,

Manitoba is once again rewarding candidates it went out and found itself. On August 13, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) sent out 53 invitations to apply, and every single one went to someone who had already been personally invited through one of the province’s targeted recruitment initiatives.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s worth engaging with a recruitment mission, a job fair, or a targeted outreach program tied to Manitoba immigration, this draw is a solid answer: yes, it is. This latest round brings Manitoba’s total number of draws for 2026 up to 16.

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How the invitations were shared out

The MPNP pulled from both its Skilled Worker in Manitoba and Skilled Worker Overseas categories for this round. To even be considered, candidates had to declare in their Expression of Interest (EOI) profile that they’d been invited through a recruitment mission or through the now-closed Temporary Public Policy that once granted open work permits to prospective provincial nominees.

This is how the 53 invitations broke down by initiative:

Employer Services led the pack, accounting for the largest share of invitations at just over 28%. Only six of the 53 candidates selected had a valid Express Entry profile and job seeker validation code attached.

So far in 2026, Manitoba has issued 4,875 invitations through its Skilled Worker Stream alone.

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Why some candidates were skipped over

Not everyone who technically met the criteria made the cut. Manitoba flagged two common reasons eligible candidates may have been passed over:

• Their EOI profile listed an approved English or French test, but the test ID number was missing, invalid, or expired.
• They claimed to have been invited through a recruitment initiative, but didn’t include a valid invitation number.

Small paperwork gaps like these are avoidable, and they’re exactly the kind of detail an experienced consultant catches before it costs you an invitation.

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Manitoba’s 2026 numbers so far

Manitoba publishes monthly figures tracking its Skilled Worker Stream from start to finish. Here’s where things stand for January through June 2026.

EOIs drawn (candidates pulled from the pool)

• January: 102
• February: 101
• March: 60
• April: 340
• May: 1,002
• June: 228
• Total: 1,883

Nominations issued (Manitoba has 6,239 nomination spots allotted for 2026)

• January: 484
• February: 425
• March: 389
• April: 445
• May: 422
• June: 505
• Total: 2,670, of which 886 were enhanced nominations (154, 146, 129, 143, 128, and 186 by month respectively)

Applications received

• January: 292
• February: 237
• March: 104
• April: 109
• May: 554
• June: 589
• Total: 1,885

Applications pending or in assessment

• January: 2,605
• February: 2,355
• March: 2,030
• April: 1,575
• May: 1,634
• June: 1,691
• Total: 11,890

Applications refused

• January: 95
• February: 38
• March: 35
• April: 95
• May: 55
• June: 53
• Total: 371

The pending/in-assessment numbers are worth paying attention to. Nearly 12,000 applications are sitting with provincial officers waiting for a decision, which tells you Manitoba’s system is busy, and a clean, accurate application matters more than ever if you want to avoid getting stuck in that queue.

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Ready to Make Your Move to Manitoba?

Manitoba is clearly leaning on its own outreach, recruitment missions, employer connections, and community ties, to fill its nomination spots, and that’s good news if you’re strategic about how you position yourself. Whether you’re hoping to catch the attention of an MPNP recruitment initiative, need help making sure your EOI profile has no gaps that could cost you an invitation, or want guidance through Express Entry, work permits, postgraduate work permits, spousal sponsorship, visitor visas, super visas, citizenship applications, or school admissions, Ese Umoh Immigration is here to help you get it right the first time. Book a consultation with us today and let’s map out the pathway that fits your situation best.