The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) has issued 53 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) for permanent residence in Expression of Interest (EOI) Draw #277, held on August 13, 2026.
This was the 16th MPNP selection round of 2026. Unlike the province’s larger July draws, Draw #277 was confined to a single component of the program: the Skilled Worker Stream, restricted to candidates who had already been directly invited by the MPNP through a strategic recruitment initiative.
Draw Breakdown
All 53 LAAs went to profiles submitted under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway or the Skilled Worker Overseas pathway that declared being directly invited by the MPNP under a strategic recruitment initiative. No occupation-specific or top-scoring selection was held in this round, and no minimum ranking score was published.
The invitations broke down across the strategic recruitment initiatives as follows:
| Strategic recruitment initiative | LAAs issued |
|---|---|
| Employer Services | 15 |
| Francophone Community | 13 |
| Ethnocultural Communities | 12 |
| Regional Communities | 9 |
| Temporary Public Policy (TPP) | 4 |
| Total | 53 |
Of the 53 LAAs issued, 6 went to candidates who declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code.
MPNP Expression of Interest Draw #277 — August 13, 2026
| Draw detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Draw number | #277 |
| Date | August 13, 2026 |
| Stream targeted | Skilled Worker Stream |
| Letters of Advice to Apply issued | 53 |
| Minimum ranking score | Not published |
| Candidates with an Express Entry profile | 6 |
A Sharp Step Down From July
Draw #277 is markedly smaller than Manitoba’s recent rounds. The July 30 draw (#276) issued 766 LAAs, and Draw #275 on July 16 issued 1,976 — the largest MPNP round of the year. Those draws included broad occupation-specific and top-scoring selections alongside the strategic recruitment component.
Draw #277 returns to the narrower pattern Manitoba used through the first half of 2026, when several rounds invited fewer than 130 candidates and drew only on strategic recruitment initiatives. The province alternates between these smaller targeted rounds and periodic large-scale selections, so a modest draw does not by itself signal a change in direction.
Why Some Eligible Candidates Were Not Invited
The MPNP notes that candidates who met the selection criteria but did not receive an LAA may have been passed over for one of two reasons:
- They indicated they had taken an approved third-party language test but did not provide a valid test number in their EOI, or the test result is no longer valid.
- They indicated they had received an Invitation to Apply under a strategic recruitment initiative but did not provide a valid invitation number.
Candidates in either position can update their EOI with the correct information to be considered in a future draw. Help text is available for each EOI question explaining exactly what information is required. Draw results are published on the Government of Manitoba website.
Business Investor Stream Draws Remain Suspended
EOI draws for the Business Investor Stream are not currently being conducted. All EOIs received under that stream are reviewed within four weeks, after which the MPNP issues either a Letter of Advice to Apply, if the EOI meets program requirements, or a feedback letter.
A Manitoba provincial nomination adds 600 points to a candidate’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score under the federal Express Entry system, effectively guaranteeing an invitation to apply in a subsequent federal round. Use our free CRS score calculator to estimate your CRS score and see where a provincial nomination would place you in the Express Entry pool.
