Canada | Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program extends work permits for temporary workers

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a new public policy extending work permits for certain temporary workers under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).

Key takeaways:

The Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge public policy, effective July 6, 2026, extends work permits for existing temporary workers identified under the previous temporary public policy to facilitate work permits for prospective Provincial Nominee Program candidates.

The new policy extends the nomination deadline to Dec. 31, 2027.

Under the new policy, MPNP may issue open work permits to foreign nationals who:

• Received a support letter from the Government of Manitoba that was issued on or prior to Dec. 31, 2025;
• Hold or held a valid work permit issued by the previous temporary public policy, and it has expired, or will expire within 60 days;
• Are currently employed in Manitoba full-time and have an ongoing offer of employment;
• Are currently eligible to apply to the MPNP and have an active expression of interest, and;
• Have not been nominated by the MPNP.

Manitoba will issue up to 2,700 support letters to eligible workers who already received a support letter in 2024 or 2025. The new public policy does not extend the previous temporary public policy and work permit support letters to new candidates.

Applicants may review full eligibility requirements and additional information on the IRCC public policy webpage and Immigrate Manitoba website.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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