Manitoba issued a new round of invitations on July 31, 2026. Expression of Interest Draw #276 sent out 766 LAAs across three core selections and five targeted recruitment paths. If you hold an active Expression of Interest profile in the MPNP pool, this breakdown covers exactly what happened, who the draw reached, and what to check next.
Manitoba runs its provincial nominee program on a continuous Expression of Interest pool rather than fixed application windows. You submit a profile, the province ranks it against every other active profile, and periodic draws pull the highest-ranked profiles out of the pool. Draw #276 is one of those periodic pulls. It is the clearest signal yet of where Manitoba’s demand sits this summer: manufacturing and utilities occupations, a defined slice of aviation and healthcare roles, and candidates connected to the province through an employer, a community group, or a federal work permit policy.
What changed in MPNP Draw #276
Draw #276 issued a combined total of 766 Letters of Advice to Apply on July 31, 2026, according to the official draw record. An LAA is not a nomination. It invites you to submit a complete application to the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program within the deadline printed on the letter.
The largest block of invitations, 605 LAAs, went to top-scoring profiles who declared current employment in Manitoba under broad occupational category 9, which covers occupations in manufacturing and utilities. The lowest ranking score invited under this selection was 632 points. If your Expression of Interest score sits below that line and your occupation falls in category 9, this particular draw did not reach you.
A second group of 74 LAAs went out under the occupation-specific selection. This path targets profiles that declare current Manitoba employment in a defined list of NOC 2021 unit groups. Draw #276 considered seven unit groups:
- 21390, Aerospace Engineers
- 22313, Aircraft Instrument, Electrical and Avionics Mechanics, Technicians and Inspectors
- 31102, General practitioners and family physicians
- 70012, Facility operation and maintenance managers
- 72404, Aircraft Mechanics and Aircraft Inspectors
- 72600, Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors
- 93200, Aircraft Assemblers and Aircraft Assembly Inspectors
If your Manitoba job title maps to one of those seven codes, this is the selection that would have carried your profile forward, separate from the broader category 9 cutoff above.
Why the ranking score matters
Every profile in the MPNP Expression of Interest pool gets a numeric ranking score based on factors like your Manitoba work experience, education, language ability, and connections to the province. A draw does not invite a fixed number of people. It invites everyone above a cutoff score for a given selection, then stops. That is why the 632 cutoff for category 9 matters more than the raw count of 605 LAAs. The count tells you how many people were above the line this time. The cutoff tells you where the line sat. Both numbers move independently from one draw to the next depending on how many strong profiles are sitting in the pool at the time.
A third and smaller group, 17 LAAs, went to candidates under the Francophone selection. This stream is limited to profiles that declared French as their language of communication with the MPNP and hold a valid French language test result. If you are applying to Manitoba as a French speaker, this selection runs on its own track and does not compete against the much larger category 9 pool. For a province-by-province look at how Manitoba’s language rules compare to other provincial programs, see our language requirement map.
Who is affected by this draw
Beyond the three core selections above, Draw #276 issued 70 Letters of Advice to Apply under the Skilled Worker Stream. This stream works differently. The MPNP only considers a Skilled Worker Stream Expression of Interest under two conditions. Either the province directly invited the candidate under a strategic recruitment initiative, or the candidate qualifies through the federal Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Program Candidates. Holding a Skilled Worker Stream profile in the pool does not, by itself, put you in line for one of these letters. You need a specific, documented invitation first.
That 70-letter total breaks down across five distinct recruitment paths:
- Francophone Community strategic recruitment initiative: 25 LAAs
- Employer Services strategic recruitment initiative: 20 LAAs
- Ethnocultural Communities strategic recruitment initiative: 12 LAAs
- Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective PNP Candidates: 7 LAAs
- Regional Communities strategic recruitment initiative: 6 LAAs
Each path targets a group the province is actively recruiting through a prior connection, not a cold application. Employer Services covers candidates an employer already identified and referred. Francophone Community and Ethnocultural Communities cover candidates connected through community organizations Manitoba works with directly. Regional Communities covers candidates connected to a specific community outside Winnipeg. The Temporary Public Policy path covers candidates who already hold a qualifying federal work permit under that specific policy.
If you received an invitation through one of these channels earlier this year, this draw is what turned that invitation into a formal LAA. If you hold a Skilled Worker Stream profile without one of these five connections, this draw did not reach you, regardless of how strong your ranking score is. That distinction matters. The category 9 and occupation-specific selections above run purely on score. The Skilled Worker Stream runs on a prior relationship with the province.
Building a connection before the next draw
If none of the five strategic recruitment paths apply to you today, the Skilled Worker Stream is not closed to you permanently. You need to build one of those connections before your next Expression of Interest submission. An employer referral through Employer Services usually starts with a genuine job offer from a Manitoba business willing to work with the MPNP process. A francophone or ethnocultural community connection usually comes through an organization the province already partners with in your city or region, not a random online contact. A regional community connection typically means you already live, work, or have close family ties outside Winnipeg. None of these paths reward a cold Expression of Interest submission on its own. They reward a documented relationship that existed before you applied.
What to do next
Of the 766 total Letters of Advice to Apply issued in Draw #276, only 94 recipients declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code. That means the large majority of this draw, well over 80 percent, went to candidates applying through Manitoba’s own process rather than the federal Express Entry pool.
Do you hold an Express Entry profile with IRCC? A provincial nomination adds 600 points to your CRS score. Check that your MPNP profile has the correct Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code entered before your next Expression of Interest submission. An LAA tied to a valid Express Entry profile lets you convert a Manitoba nomination directly into those extra Comprehensive Ranking System points. You skip the MPNP’s separate paper-based track and its own timeline.
If you received an LAA in this draw, you now have a fixed deadline printed on the letter to submit a complete application with supporting documents. Missing that window closes the invitation and returns your profile to the pool with no guarantee of another letter. Do not wait until the final days to start gathering documents. A typical MPNP application package draws from the same core set of records regardless of which selection invited you:
- Proof of your current Manitoba employment, such as a letter from your employer and recent pay records
- Your language test results if your selection or stream required them
- Proof of settlement funds if your selection requires them
- Education credentials, including an educational credential assessment if your degree was earned outside Canada
- Identity documents and, where applicable, your Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code
Start pulling these together the day your LAA arrives, not the week before the deadline. Document requests, such as an updated employer letter or a rush credential assessment, routinely take longer than applicants expect.
If you did not receive an LAA this round, your Expression of Interest profile stays active in the pool for future draws. Review which of the paths above matches your situation. If your occupation falls under category 9, track your ranking score against the 632 cutoff from this draw, since cutoffs move with each round. If you speak French, confirm your language test result is current and correctly entered under the Francophone selection. If none of the five Skilled Worker Stream paths apply to you yet, building one of those connections, such as securing an employer referral or a community organization endorsement, is what moves a Skilled Worker Stream profile from waiting to invited. For a broader comparison of how Manitoba’s program stacks up against other provinces before your work permit or study permit window closes, see our Provincial Nominee Program guide for international graduates.
Keep your Expression of Interest profile current even while you wait. An outdated employment record, an expired language test, or a stale contact email are the most common reasons a strong profile gets passed over even after it clears a draw’s cutoff score. Log back into your profile whenever your job, income, or language test results change, and update it immediately rather than waiting for the next draw announcement.
This article reports the figures published in the official MPNP draw record. Consult a licensed immigration professional for advice specific to your application.