- Manitoba extends work permit support for two thousand seven hundred provincial nominee candidates until December thirty-first, twenty twenty-seven.
- Eligible applicants must hold previous support letters issued on or before December thirty-first, twenty twenty-five.
- The policy targets full-time workers who are already in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Expression of Interest pool.
Manitoba has signed a temporary policy giving eligible provincial nominee candidates another year to secure nominations and keep working in the province. The Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge moves the nomination deadline from December 31, 2026 to December 31, 2027.
The measure targets as many as 2,700 temporary workers already in Manitoba’s immigration system. It does not create a new pathway for people seeking a letter now.
Only foreign nationals who received a Manitoba Support Letter under the province’s 2024 or 2025 temporary public policies can qualify. The letter must have been issued on or before December 31, 2025, and applicants must also hold a letter of employment from their current Manitoba employer.
The policy requires the earlier letter to confirm that Manitoba screened the worker and placed them in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Expression of Interest pool by December 31, 2025.
The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Canada’s minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, signed the measure on July 6, 2026. It took effect the same day and will expire on December 31, 2027.
Diab said the policy would give people already contributing to Canada a way to keep working while they wait for provincial processing.
"This public policy. will provide eligible foreign nationals who have a support letter. access to open work permits. [to] responsibly extend work permits to those already contributing to their community and local economy."
Malaya Marcelino, Manitoba’s minister of Labour and Immigration, announced the launch on August 5, 2026. She said the province wants to retain workers who have already established ties in Manitoba.
"It's in our interest to absorb them and make sure that they can actually be Canadian citizens, because they're already here, they're already contributing."
Terry Duguid, the federal member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, said on July 7, 2026, that the extensions would run “till the end of 2027,” allowing workers “to continue working while their provincial applications are being processed.”
The bridge covers workers whose permits are ending
The policy follows Manitoba’s 2024 and 2025 temporary public policies. Those earlier measures supported workers who had entered the provincial nomination process but risked losing work authorization before the Manitoba program could complete a nomination.
Applicants must currently work full-time in Manitoba, defined in the policy material as at least 30 hours per week. They also need an ongoing job offer from their current employer.
Their previous work permit must have been issued under the earlier temporary policy. It must either have expired or be set to expire within 60 days.
An applicant also needs an active MPNP Expression of Interest profile and cannot already have received a nomination. The policy therefore connects the new work permit process to people still waiting inside Manitoba’s existing system.
The measure is designed to prevent eligible workers from being forced to leave Canada or move to visitor status. A visitor cannot legally work, so losing the permit could interrupt employment while the provincial application remains pending.
The Manitoba government’s policy notice describes the measure as a bridge for temporary workers already in the province. The federal public policy sets out the related work-permit framework.
Applicants must pass several existing-system checks
| Requirement | What the policy material requires |
|---|---|
| Earlier provincial document | A letter issued under Manitoba’s 2024 or 2025 temporary public policies |
| Issuance date | The letter must have been issued on or before December 31, 2025 |
| MPNP screening | The letter must confirm screening by Manitoba and placement in the EOI pool by December 31, 2025 |
| Employment | Full-time Manitoba work of at least 30 hours per week and an ongoing offer from the current employer |
| Work permit | A permit based on the earlier policy that has expired or will expire within 60 days |
| Provincial status | An active MPNP EOI profile and no nomination yet |
The earlier provincial document must come from Manitoba’s 2024 or 2025 temporary policies. A worker who did not receive one cannot use the bridge simply by obtaining a new job or creating an EOI profile.
The policy also ties eligibility to the current employer. That means the employment evidence must reflect an ongoing offer from the employer where the applicant is working in Manitoba.
The province opened requests in August
Manitoba opened a webform for eligible workers to request new work permit support letters on August 5, 2026. The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program is reviewing and verifying eligibility for the 2,700 targeted spots.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its program delivery instructions on August 6, 2026. The update allows immigration officers to process Manitoba-specific open work permits under the new bridge policy.
By August 10, 2026, the policy had become fully operational, with provincial officials reviewing requests and checking applicants against the requirements. The work-permit process depends on those provincial checks.
The arrangement gives qualifying workers additional time to remain employed while Manitoba considers nominations. It does not guarantee a nomination or permanent residence.
Lower allocations created pressure on the existing pool
Manitoba received an allocation of 6,239 provincial nominations for 2026, down from 9,500 in 2024. The reduction has added pressure to a system that includes roughly 80,000 temporary residents in the province.
The bridge addresses the timing problem created when work authorization expires before a nomination becomes available. Its reach remains limited to people who already hold the required provincial documentation and continue to meet the employment and status conditions.
The temporary measure does not replace the MPNP’s nomination process. Workers must still remain eligible under Manitoba’s rules, keep an active EOI profile, and avoid receiving a nomination before the new permit request is assessed.
The policy remains in force through December 31, 2027, when its stated expiry date arrives. The extended period gives the identified workers a further year beyond the previous cutoff to remain in the process.
