How to Immigrate to Alberta, Canada

Alberta is one of Canada’s 3 prairie provinces. This beautiful province is located in Western Canada and has an abundance of oil and gas. Interestingly, more than half of its over 4 million population lives in two cities – Edmonton and Calgary. Another interesting thing about Alberta is that it’s one of only two  Canadian provinces that are landlocked.

It is bordered to the east by Saskatchewan, to the west by British Columbia, to the north by the Northwestern Territory, and to the south by Montana, USA.

Why should you immigrate to Alberta?

One of the greatest reasons to move to Alberta is because it’s consistently growing and bubbling with opportunities for immigrants. For one, the high energy prices in the area have boosted oil production and drilling activities, creating job opportunities for people working in these sectors.

Secondly, real estate continues to be robust in the region, leading to an increase in the number of construction jobs available in the region. Beyond that, Alberta has seen several investment projects announced recently. These include a $4.3 billion cloud computing hub by Amazon Web Services and a $2.5 billion petrochemical facility by Northern Petrochemical Corp.

Even exports are expected to grow, especially to the USA. Ultimately, all this growth is expected to significantly boost the province’s economy and make it more attractive to immigrants.

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Immigration trends in Alberta

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, Alberta was receiving 42,000 to 44,000 immigrants a year. But once the pandemic hit, borders were closed, and travel was restricted, immigration was at an all-time low. In fact, the year 2020 saw the number of immigrants reduce by almost 47.5% from 2019.

But in 2021, things got better. While the number of permanent residents in Alberta was still a little less than in 2019, it was significantly higher than in 2020.

How to Immigrate to Alberta

If you’re interested in immigrating to Alberta and helping them build their economy, we’ve got some good news for you – it isn’t that hard. In fact, there are several ways to do this. These include:

• International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream

Launched in October 2020, this immigration stream caters to international graduates of post-secondary institutions in Alberta who want to start or run a business in the province. To be eligible for this immigration stream, you have to have already been running a business in Alberta for 12 months on a work permit before you’re nominated for permanent residence.

There’s one thing you should keep in mind though – you can only get nominated for permanent residence when the terms of a Business Performance Agreement are met. Applications for this stream are done through Expressions of Interest.

• Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream

This immigration stream was designed for exceptional international graduates from leading American universities/colleges who want to start businesses and live in Alberta. This is a great way for the province to welcome immigrants with the skills required to fill Alberta’s labor gaps.

• Alberta Opportunity Stream

This immigration stream was created to simplify the application process for the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP). Launched in 2018, it requires eligible candidates to have a work permit, work in an eligible occupation, and meet set language, education, and work experience requirements. 

• Alberta Express Entry Stream

Using the Express Entry system, Alberta can nominate a few qualified candidates through periodic draws. In fact, in January 2021, after a 6-month hiatus, Alberta held a draw and nominated 50 candidates. Some candidates had Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of as low as 406. 

• Self Employed Farmer Stream

This immigration stream is managed by the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program together with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. It aims to attract candidates with farm management skills and can finance a farm in Alberta. Considering that the price of farmland in the province is competitive, this is a great way to boost Alberta’s economy.

While the price of an acre of Alberta land isn’t as low as in Manitoba or Saskatchewan, it is still significantly cheaper than in British Columbia. In some cases, it is even half as much.

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The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) tries to be different

While many other provinces have a list of eligible occupations for their nominee programs, Alberta has a list of ineligible occupations instead. Beyond that, Alberta immigration periodically invites candidates to apply for nomination through the AINP Express Entry stream. And to sweeten the pot, the details of every draw are usually published around a month after.