Alberta sent out Notifications of Interest (NOI) to 134 candidates in an Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) Express Entry draw on Thursday. 

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In the March 9 draw, candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 301. That’s the lowest CRS score under an Alberta Express Entry draw since Oct. 26, 2021, almost a year and a half ago.

Alberta premier is bullish on immigration to the province

Last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) set the limit for nominations for the AAIP at 9,750 for the year. 

So far this year, the Prairie province has issued 1,292 nominations.  

But Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is hoping to greatly increase immigration to her province and wants the number of nominations allowed to Alberta to rise by almost 67 per cent by the end of 2025.

“Alberta is still calling,” the premier wrote on her LinkedIn page. 

“Right now there are over 100,000 job vacancies to fill in Alberta. We need more skilled workers to keep our economy firing on all cylinders!”

Under the stream, foreign nationals must have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to the province, working in an occupation which supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification and have family ties to the province.

Alberta Express Entry 2023 Draws

The province currently has 1,490 applications pending under the Alberta Opportunity Stream and 450 under the Alberta Express Entry Stream.

Applications for 10 occupations may take longer to process due to high volumes

Alberta says a high number of AAIP applications have been received in the following occupations, meaning they may take longer to process:

• 62020 – food service supervisors
• 62010 – retail sales supervisors
• 63200 – cooks
• 13110 – administrative assistants
• 21231 – software engineers and designers
• 42202 – early childhood educators and assistants
• 21222 – information systems specialists
• 60020 – retail and wholesale trade managers
• 73300 – transport truck drivers
• 60030 – restaurant and food service managers

In order to be eligible to receive a notification of interest, candidates must:

• have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool;
• have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to Alberta;
• be working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification, and;
• have a minimum CRS score of 300 points.