Yukon sets 2026 nominee slots and January intake dates

The Yukon has confirmed how many people it will nominate for permanent residency in 2026 and has outlined who it plans to prioritize.

The Yukon Nominee Program will receive 282 nomination slots for the year. The program will open its first intake period on January 19, giving employers a short window to submit applications for workers they want to support.

The Government of Yukon shared the details on January 12, 2026. Yukon becomes the third province or territory to announce its nomination numbers for the year.

Focus on workers with strong Yukon ties

Yukon plans to follow many of the same priorities it used last year, while adding a few new areas of focus. The territory wants to support people who already contribute to local communities or who fill jobs that remain hard to staff.

The program will give special attention to regulated health-care professionals, a group that remains in high demand across the territory.

Yukon will also favour candidates who meet at least one of these conditions:

• They have lived and worked in Yukon for a minimum of one year
  
• They graduated from Yukon University
  
• They qualify as French-speaking
  
• They received a Temporary Measure Letter of Support in 2024 or 2025
  

People who received a Temporary Measure Letter of Support in 2024 or 2025 will not need to submit an expression of interest. Yukon officials will contact them directly with instructions to complete the process.

Strong push to support rural communities

Yukon continues to face worker shortages outside Whitehorse. Because of this, the program will give priority to employers based in rural areas. Officials say this approach helps smaller communities grow and keeps essential services running.

Two intake periods for employers

The program remains employer-driven, meaning businesses must submit an online expression of interest on behalf of the worker they want to nominate.

For 2026, Yukon will accept submissions during two short intake periods:

• January 19 to January 30
  
• July 6 to July 17
  

Expressions of interest that clearly match Yukon’s 2026 priorities will receive points. Employers who submitted an application in 2025 but did not receive an invitation will also gain extra points. The highest-scoring submissions will move forward to the application stage.

Nomination numbers still below past highs

Yukon’s 2026 total of 282 nominations matches the level reached late last year, after the federal government increased the territory’s original quota. However, the figure remains far below the 430 nominations Yukon received in 2024, marking a significant drop.

The federal immigration plan for 2026 raised national targets for provincial and territorial programs. That increase often leads to more nomination slots, but Yukon has not yet confirmed whether it will request additional spaces this year.

Last year, Yukon nominated more people than its official allocation, approving 312 permanent residency candidates despite having fewer assigned spots.