By admin
Yukon Immigration Program Announces 2026 Nomination Allocation and Intake Schedule
The Government of Yukon has confirmed that the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP) will receive 282 nomination slots for 2026, with the first intake period scheduled to open on January 19.
According to details released on Yukon’s official territorial news page on January 12, 2026, most of the program’s priorities for 2026 remain similar to those used in 2025, though several new focus areas have been added.
Yukon is now the third Canadian jurisdiction to announce its nomination allocation for the year, following British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Priority groups under the YNP in 2026
For 2026, the YNP will prioritize candidates who help address critical labour shortages or who already have strong connections to the territory.
Special emphasis will be placed on regulated health care professionals. In addition, priority will be given to foreign nationals who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Have lived and worked in Yukon for at least one year
- Are graduates of Yukon University
- Are French-speaking (Francophone)
- Received a Temporary Measure Letter of Support in 2024 or 2025
The territory is also aiming to address labour shortages in rural communities, meaning employers located outside urban centres will receive priority consideration.
Candidates who received a Temporary Measure Letter of Support in 2024 or 2025 will not be required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). Instead, Yukon officials will directly contact these individuals with instructions on how to proceed with their application.
YNP intake periods for 2026
The YNP operates as an employer-driven program, where employers submit an online Expression of Interest containing basic details about the foreign worker they wish to nominate.
For 2026, Yukon will conduct two intake periods:
- Intake Period 1: January 19 to January 30
- Intake Period 2: July 6 to July 17
EOI submissions that clearly align with Yukon’s 2026 priority categories will be awarded points. Employers who submitted EOIs in 2025 but did not receive an invitation will also receive additional points.
At the end of each intake period, the highest-scoring employers will be invited to submit full nomination applications.
How the 2026 allocation compares to previous years
Yukon’s 2026 nomination allocation of 282 spots matches the increased quota it received in August 2025, when the federal government raised the territory’s original allocation from 215 by an additional 67 nominations.
Despite this increase, the 2026 allocation remains significantly lower than the 430 nominations granted in 2024, marking a 34% decrease compared to that year.
Under Canada’s latest Immigration Levels Plan, released in November 2025, the federal government increased the target for permanent resident admissions through provincial nominee programs from 55,000 in 2025 to 91,500 in 2026. Higher national targets typically result in larger nomination allocations for provinces and territories.
At this time, it remains unclear whether Yukon will request additional nomination slots later in 2026, as it did in the previous year.
Notably, despite being allocated 282 nominations in 2025, Yukon went on to nominate 312 individuals for permanent residence during the year.