## Key takeaways
– New Brunswick selected 203 applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) across three October 2026 rounds — October 2, 9 and 29.
– The selected occupations span eight categories: construction, education and social and community services, health care, manufacturing, other trades, professional and IT, sales and services, and transportation.
– The three rounds bring New Brunswick’s 2026 AIP selections to 898 applications.
– The AIP is employer-driven: candidates need a job offer from a designated New Brunswick employer and a provincial endorsement before applying for permanent residence.
– Employer designation applications under the AIP have been paused since September 14, 2026, for the remainder of the year, so new candidates must work with employers that are already designated.
## What happened
Immigration New Brunswick has published the results of its latest Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) selection rounds, conducted on October 2, 9 and 29, 2026. Across the three rounds, the province selected 203 complete applications from the AIP candidate pool for processing. The rounds used cut-off dates of October 1, 9 and 28, 2026, at 11:59 pm Atlantic Time, meaning applications submitted by those dates were in scope for selection. The selected occupations cover eight categories: construction; education, social and community services; health care; manufacturing; other trades; professional and IT; sales and services; and transportation. These are the sectors where the province’s labour market needs are most acute, and the breadth of the list shows the AIP reaching well beyond a single industry.
## How the AIP works
The Atlantic Immigration Program is a federal program for the four Atlantic provinces, and New Brunswick runs its share through an employer-driven model. A candidate and their designated employer submit a complete endorsement application through the Immigration New Brunswick portal, and the application enters the AIP candidate pool. Immigration New Brunswick reviews the pool and selects applications for processing based on provincial labour market needs, the remaining allocation, and other priorities set by the Government of New Brunswick. Selection is not a guarantee of provincial endorsement, and endorsement is not a guarantee of permanent residence — the federal government makes the final decision — but selection is the step that moves a file from the pool into active processing. Applications that are not selected expire after 365 days, after which the employer and candidate can submit a new endorsement application.
## How the October rounds fit into 2026
The 203 selections in October bring New Brunswick’s AIP total for 2026 to 898 applications. The year has run at a steady pace: 125 applications were selected in early March, 118 at the start of April, 50 on May 1, 97 on June 3, 114 on July 22, 68 across two August rounds, 60 on September 10, and 63 across the September 25 and October 2 rounds. October’s three rounds are the largest single-month AIP selection of the year, and the 203 figure is more than triple the September total. The province has also issued 3,538 invitations under the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) in 2026, so the AIP remains the smaller of the two provincial intake channels — but for candidates with a designated employer’s job offer, it is often the more direct one, because it does not use a points system.
## What changed around the program this fall
The October rounds landed in the middle of two important program changes. On October 14, 2026, Immigration New Brunswick removed additional occupation restrictions under the AIP, so designated employers may now submit endorsement applications for all occupations except a small number of excluded ones, with TEER category 5 occupations remaining ineligible. That widening helps explain the broad eight-sector spread in the October selections. On the other side, the province has kept the intake of new employer designation applications paused since September 14, 2026, for the remainder of 2026, while it reassesses existing designated employers. The practical effect is that candidates need a job offer from an employer that is already designated — new employers cannot join the program until the pause lifts. The province has also been clear that endorsement applications for positions offered to foreign nationals living outside Canada remain limited to recruitment initiatives led by the Government of New Brunswick, in health care, education and construction.
## What it means for candidates
For candidates already in the AIP pool with a designated employer, the October rounds are a strong signal: the province is selecting at its fastest pace of the year, and the widened occupation list means more files are eligible. Candidates who were selected should watch for their endorsement processing to move forward and keep their documents current. Candidates who were not selected should check that their application is still within its 365-day validity and confirm their occupation is not among the small number still excluded. For candidates without a designated employer yet, the key constraint is the designation pause — the fastest route is an employer that is already designated, and the most active hiring sectors are health care, construction and education, where the province also runs its own recruitment initiatives for candidates abroad. Anyone relying on the AIP should also keep their work authorization valid throughout the process: the province cannot guarantee an application will be evaluated before a work permit expires.
## Frequently asked questions
Q: How many candidates did New Brunswick select under the AIP in October 2026?
A: The province selected 203 applications across three rounds held on October 2, 9 and 29, 2026.
Q: Which occupations were selected in the October AIP rounds?
A: Eight categories: construction; education, social and community services; health care; manufacturing; other trades; professional and IT; sales and services; and transportation.
Q: How many AIP applications has New Brunswick selected in 2026?
A: The October rounds bring the 2026 total to 898 applications selected under the Atlantic Immigration Program.
Q: What do I need to qualify for the AIP in New Brunswick?
A: You need a job offer from a designated New Brunswick employer, and you and the employer submit a complete endorsement application. The province selects applications from its candidate pool for processing.
Q: Can a new employer become designated under the AIP right now?
A: No. The acceptance of employer designation applications has been paused since September 14, 2026, for the remainder of 2026. Candidates must work with employers that are already designated.
For help checking your eligibility or preparing your application, contact ImmiQuest Immigration at +1 778-855-4155, info@immiquest.ca, or https://immiquest.ca. Vikas Tulashyam, RCIC #R709710