Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP)

The Northwest Territories rebuilt how it selects candidates in 2026. Its largest stream now runs on an Expression of Interest system with scheduled draws, ranked profiles, and a published points grid. If you are reading guidance that describes the NTNP as an open, apply-when-you-are-ready pathway, that guidance is out of date.

The NTNP is the territory's economic immigration route and one of the smaller Provincial Nominee Program streams in the country by volume. For 2026, IRCC allocated the territory just 197 nominations. Three streams sit under the program: Employer-Driven, Francophone, and Business. Candidates in the federal pool can use the NWT Express Entry category to add 600 points to their Express Entry score, while investors and business buyers use a separate route delivered by a different territorial department.

This page sets out what each stream requires, how the new Expression of Interest draws actually work, and what the first round of results tells you about your realistic odds.

What Is the Northwest Territories Nominee Program

The NTNP lets the Government of the Northwest Territories nominate foreign nationals for permanent residence in order to fill labour shortages and attract business investment. A nomination is a territorial endorsement, not permanent residence itself. IRCC still makes the final admissibility decision and issues the visa.

Two departments run the program. Education, Culture and Employment delivers the Employer-Driven and Francophone streams. Industry, Tourism and Investment delivers the Business Stream. That split matters in practice, because the streams have different intake rules, different contacts, and different timelines.

NTNP Expression of Interest System and 2026 Draw Results

The Expression of Interest system launched in 2026 and applies to the Employer-Driven Stream only. The Francophone and Business streams remain first come, first served, because neither is oversubscribed.

The mechanics are unusual and catch people out. The employer, not the worker, creates the account in the online system. The worker then completes the Expression of Interest profile using the employer's login. The territory scores the profile, ranks it against everyone else in the pool, and invites the employers of the highest-ranking candidates to submit a full application. Only invited employers can apply, and invited applications are assessed in the order they are received.

The first draw, held on March 25, 2026, gives a clear picture of the competition. Of 295 profiles submitted, 65 were selected: 32 under the NWT Express Entry category, 20 under Skilled Worker, and 13 under Entry Level and Semi-Skilled. Selected scores ranged from 417 to 597. Roughly one profile in four was invited.

How NTNP Expression of Interest Profiles Are Scored

Profiles are scored against three groups of factors:

• Skills and experience, covering language ability, age, work experience, and education
• Connections to the Northwest Territories, including your current job or employment status, a job offer in the trades, and past work experience in the territory
• Likelihood of settling in the Northwest Territories, such as having studied there or having family living there

The published Employer-Driven Stream draw announcement links to the full points grid. Because settlement likelihood carries real weight, two candidates with identical qualifications can score very differently based on their existing ties to the territory.

NTNP Draw Dates and Cut-Off Deadlines

The territory publishes its draw schedule in advance and invites up to 65 applicants per round. Following the March round, selection rounds were set for June 25, 2026 and September 25, 2026, with profile cut-offs of June 22 and September 22 respectively.

Profiles that are not selected stay in the pool for up to 12 months from first submission and are reconsidered in later rounds. If you need to correct a profile, you cannot edit it in place. You email the program to withdraw the existing profile and then submit a new one, which resets your submission date.

Draw dates and cut-offs change year to year. Confirm the current schedule before you plan around it.

Northwest Territories Nominee Program Streams

NTNP Employer-Driven Stream Requirements

This is the main worker route and the only one using Expression of Interest draws. Across all three of its categories, you need a valid, full-time, permanent job offer from a Northwest Territories employer. The role must be permanent, non-seasonal, and full-time, and the employer must show the position could not be filled by a local resident, permanent resident, or Canadian citizen.

The employer side of this is substantial. Employers must document their local recruitment, provide a detailed job description matching the NOC code, and meet territorial employment standards. If your employer has not run and documented a genuine recruitment effort, the application is exposed regardless of how strong your own profile is. Where a Labour Market Impact Assessment is also in play, the information across both files has to be consistent.

NWT Express Entry Category

For candidates already accepted into the federal Express Entry pool with a job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation. This category produced the largest share of invitations in the March 2026 draw. A nomination here adds 600 CRS points once accepted in your profile, which effectively secures an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence in a following federal round.

Skilled Worker Category

For workers with a job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation who are not going through Express Entry. The occupational scope is the same as the NWT Express Entry category, but nomination leads to a direct permanent residence application to IRCC rather than a federal draw.

Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Occupations Category

For workers in TEER 4 and 5 occupations, aimed at employers who cannot fill entry-level roles locally or nationally. This category received the fewest invitations in the first draw, which reflects both smaller volume and the scoring weight given to language, education, and experience.

NTNP Francophone Stream Requirements

The Francophone Stream is for foreign nationals who speak both French and English and hold a valid, full-time, permanent job offer from a Northwest Territories employer. It covers all TEER categories, from 0 through 5, making it broader in occupational scope than the skilled categories of the Employer-Driven Stream.

Core requirements include:

• Minimum language proficiency in both French and English, proven by testing at the time of application
• At least one year of full-time experience in the occupation being nominated, or six months of full-time experience in that occupation in the Northwest Territories
• Any territorial certification, licensing, or accreditation the occupation requires
• Sufficient settlement funds for yourself and any accompanying dependants

Two features make this stream worth a close look. It does not use the Expression of Interest draws, so a complete application can move without waiting for a selection round. It also does not require an existing work permit, meaning candidates abroad with a qualifying job offer can apply. Intake status does change through the year, and the territory's stream pages have at times carried outdated intake notices, so confirm the stream is currently open before building a plan around it.

NTNP Business Stream Requirements

The Business Stream is for people starting a business in the territory, buying an existing one, or investing in and operating one. Requirements differ depending on whether the business sits inside or outside the corporate boundaries of Yellowknife.

Investment commitment:

• At least $200,000 CAD in equity for a business within Yellowknife's corporate boundaries
• At least $100,000 CAD in equity for a business outside those boundaries

Personal net worth:

• At least $500,000 CAD for a business within Yellowknife's corporate boundaries
• At least $250,000 CAD for a business outside those boundaries

You must own at least 33.3 per cent of the business, unless your personal equity investment reaches $1,000,000 CAD, in which case a smaller share is permitted. You also need CLB 4 in English or NCLC 4 in French, proven by IELTS, CELPIP, or TEF results no more than two years old at the time of application. Beyond the numbers, the territory assesses whether you understand the Northwest Territories economy, can communicate well enough to run a business and integrate locally, and have the experience and education to deliver your business plan. Full criteria are published on the territory's Business Stream page.

The process is more hands-on than most business immigration routes. It includes an exploratory visit to the territory with a face-to-face interview, a pre-screening of your business concept, and, if approved, a two-year Business Performance Agreement with the government setting out obligations you must meet before a nomination certificate is issued. One point deserves emphasis: decisions under this stream are final and there is no appeal process.

Those thresholds are lower than most comparable entrepreneur immigration programs in southern provinces, which is a real advantage for applicants prepared to live in the North.

How to Apply to the Northwest Territories Nominee Program

Step 1: Identify Which NTNP Stream Fits Your Situation

The streams do not overlap much. A bilingual candidate with an NWT job offer should compare the Francophone Stream against the Employer-Driven Stream carefully, because the Francophone route avoids the draw queue entirely. You also cannot hold an active application with another provincial or territorial nominee program, or with another NTNP stream, at the same time.

Step 2: Secure a Qualifying Job Offer or Prepare Your Business Case

For the worker streams, everything starts with an eligible employer and a compliant job offer. For the Business Stream, this stage covers the self-assessment, initial investigations, the exploratory visit, and the interview, all before you are formally invited to apply.

Step 3: Submit an Expression of Interest or a Direct Application

Employer-Driven candidates need their employer to register in the online system first, then complete the profile before the round's cut-off date. Francophone and Business applicants apply directly, without waiting for a draw.

Step 4: Respond to Your Invitation and Submit the Full Application

If your Employer-Driven profile is selected, your employer submits the complete application. Documents matter here more than most applicants expect. Language test results and other supporting documents will not be accepted if they expire during processing, so validity has to run past your expected assessment date, not just past your submission date.

Step 5: Apply for Permanent Residence After Nomination

NWT Express Entry nominees accept the nomination in their federal profile and take the 600-point increase. Everyone else applies to IRCC directly using the nomination certificate. If you are in Canada on a work permit, maintaining valid status throughout the process is your responsibility, not your employer's and not the territory's.

Who Is Not Eligible for the NTNP

• Refugee claimants, as determined by IRCC, are not eligible for any NTNP stream
• Applicants with an active application under another provincial or territorial nominee program
• Applicants with an active application under a different NTNP stream
• Business Stream applicants who cannot demonstrate the required net worth, investment capacity, or genuine intent to settle full-time in the territory

The program is also explicit that it is not designed to support a fully foreign-based workforce. Employers relying entirely on nominee hiring rather than local recruitment will encounter difficulty.

NTNP Nomination Allocation and Competition Levels

Scale is the thing to understand about this program. The 2026 allocation is 197 nominations for the entire territory across all three streams. Ontario and British Columbia work with allocations many times larger. In 2025, the territory's intake closed once applications filled its cap, and applications that could not be finalised before the year-end deadline were withdrawn, with those applicants invited to reapply the following year.

That scarcity cuts both ways. Competition for the Employer-Driven Stream is genuine, and the territory has said interest continues to exceed available spaces. At the same time, the Francophone and Business streams are not oversubscribed, and the Business Stream carries some of the lowest investment thresholds in the country. For the right profile, the North is less crowded than the South.

If you have a Northwest Territories job offer, a bilingual profile, or capital you are prepared to invest in a northern business, SEP Immigration can assess which stream gives you the strongest position and what your Expression of Interest profile would realistically score before you commit to a round. Our team is led by Sepehr Falahati, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (R533959).

Disclaimer: This page is general information about the Northwest Territories Nominee Program and is not legal advice. NTNP streams, eligibility criteria, investment thresholds, draw schedules, and nomination allocations change. Information here reflects Government of the Northwest Territories sources current as of August 2026. Verify current requirements and intake status at immigratenwt.ca, or with a licensed immigration representative, before acting on anything you read here.