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TL;DR

Manitoba's Provincial Nominee Program closed the Career Employment Pathway under its International Education Stream on June 11, ending a student-to-permanent-residence route that international graduates had used to stay in the province.

The closure took effect immediately, and no further expression-of-interest (EOI) draws will be held for CEP candidates. Instead, the province is directing eligible graduates into the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway, where they will compete in regular draws alongside other skilled workers already in the province.

The province said active CEP candidates with at least six months of work experience in Manitoba can review their eligibility for the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway and update their profiles if they qualify.

Manitoba's official notice said candidates updating their profiles should declare all Manitoba connections, including post-secondary education completed in the province. The Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway uses an EOI scoring system where local ties can influence ranking.

The province has held 11 Skilled Worker Stream draws so far in 2026, and said draws will continue on a regular basis.

The MPNP said the closure is meant to establish "clear, consistent criteria for all Manitoba graduates" and place greater emphasis on Manitoba work experience. The province also said the change would better align education, work experience, and labour-market needs.

By folding eligible graduates into the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway, the province is consolidating two streams that had overlapping candidate pools. The Skilled Worker Stream selects internationally trained workers who have skills needed in Manitoba's labour market and nominates them for Canadian permanent residence.

The Skilled Worker Stream itself has two pathways: Skilled Worker in Manitoba, for candidates already living and working in the province, and Skilled Worker Overseas, for candidates outside Manitoba. CEP graduates are being pointed to the first of those two.

The closure does not affect the Graduate Internship Pathway (GIP), the other route under the International Education Stream. The GIP remains available for eligible master's and doctoral graduates who complete a Mitacs internship in Manitoba.

Mitacs is a national not-for-profit organization that funds research internships at Canadian universities and connects graduate students with industry partners. The GIP is a smaller pathway by volume, aimed at advanced-degree holders whose research has a direct connection to Manitoba employers or institutions.

Manitoba's move comes as provinces across Canada continue to adjust their nominee programs to prioritize candidates with established local ties and labour-market alignment.

Ottawa cut the national PNP admissions target to 55,000 for 2025, down from 110,000 in 2024, before raising it to 91,500 for 2026, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Several provinces tightened eligibility or restructured streams over the past year to focus on in-province work experience.

Manitoba has long operated one of Canada's more active PNP systems. The province's emphasis on local employment as a selection factor predates this change, but the CEP closure formalizes a shift away from education-based pathways toward work-experience-based ones.

British Columbia made a similar call earlier, closing its International Graduate pathway in November 2024 and its International Post-Graduate stream in January 2025, and has since said it will not launch new student streams to replace them.

If you have an active CEP profile and at least six months of work experience in Manitoba, your next step is to check whether you meet the eligibility criteria for the Skilled Worker in Manitoba pathway and update your EOI profile. Make sure to declare your Manitoba post-secondary education when you do.

If you're a current international student in Manitoba who had planned around the CEP, you will need to factor in Manitoba work experience after graduation. At least six months is now the clearest route to provincial nomination through the MPNP.