The federal government has approved 50 additional nominations for the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) in 2026, allowing the territory to nominate more foreign workers for Canadian permanent residence.
With this increase, the NTNP’s annual allocation has reached 350 spaces, its highest level ever.
Following the increase, the NTNP will hold an additional Expression of Interest (EOI) draw under its Employer-Driven Stream (EDS) on November 18, 2026.
Foreign nationals who want to be considered in this draw must submit their EOI profiles by 11:59 p.m. Northwest Territories time on November 17.
The Government of the Northwest Territories announced the additional allocation on November 10 through a notice on the NTNP’s official website.
The Francophone Stream and Business Stream will continue to accept applications under their existing first-come, first-served intake system.
With the upcoming November 18 draw, the NTNP is expected to hold five EDS draws in 2026.
The territory has advised candidates selected in the upcoming round to be ready to submit a complete application within one week of receiving an invitation. This will help the program manage applications efficiently.
The latest increase is the second time the federal government has expanded the territory’s nomination allocation this year. The NTNP initially received 197 spaces for 2026. The allocation increased by 103 spaces in August before the latest addition of 50.
The territory now has 50 more nomination spaces than it received for the whole of 2025, when its allocation stood at 300.
How To Qualify For The NTNP Employer-Driven Stream?
In February 2026, the NTNP introduced an EOI selection system for the Employer-Driven Stream because of high application demand.
The system ranks candidates through a points-based assessment covering three main factors:
- Skills and experience (maximum 375 points): Age, education, language proficiency, and work experience.
- Connections to the NWT (maximum 340 points): Employment status, trades-related job offers, and prior work experience in the territory.
- Ability to settle in the NWT (maximum 130 points): Family ties and previous post-secondary education in the territory.
Candidates can find more information about the points awarded for each factor in the NTNP’s official scoring grid.
To enter the EDS EOI pool, candidates and their employers must complete the following process:
- The candidate obtains a qualifying job offer.
- The employer and candidate verify that they satisfy the stream’s eligibility criteria.
- The employer registers an account for the candidate in the NTNP online portal, selecting ‘Employer-Driven Stream.’
- The candidate completes and submits the EOI profile using the employer’s login credentials, receiving a score upon submission.
The NTNP reviews the profiles in the EOI pool and selects the highest-ranking candidates through regular draws.
Employers of selected candidates receive invitations to submit complete applications for territorial nomination. They must submit these applications within 30 days.
Results Of Previous NTNP Draws In 2026
The NTNP has held four selection draws in 2026, inviting a total of 353 workers to apply for territorial nomination through the Employer-Driven Stream.
| Date Of Draw | Invitations Issued | Breakdown Of Selections By Pathway | Location Of Selections | Range Of Candidate Scores |
| March 25 | 65 | NWT Express Entry: 32 Skilled Workers: 20 Entry Level/Semi-Skilled Occupations: 13 | Yellowknife: 37 Outside Yellowknife: 28 | 417-597 |
| June 25 | 79 | NWT Express Entry: 40 Skilled Workers: 20 Entry Level/Semi-Skilled Occupations: 19 | Yellowknife: 52 Outside Yellowknife: 27 | 336-590 |
| August 26 | 104 | NWT Express Entry: 47 Skilled Workers: 21 Entry Level/Semi-Skilled Occupations: 36 | Yellowknife: 83 Outside Yellowknife: 21 | 346-555 |
| September 25 | 105 | NWT Express Entry: 26 Skilled Workers: 21 Entry Level/Semi-Skilled Occupations: 58 | Yellowknife: 96 Outside Yellowknife: 8 | 317-492 |
The territory has not shared the number of nominations it has issued so far in 2026.
In its November 10 announcement, the NTNP also confirmed that it will share details of its 2027 selection rounds after receiving its federal nomination allocation for the year.
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