BC issued 602 Innovate invitations on August 20, 2026 — 337 on wage/job offer, 265 on registration score 132+ — its largest round of the year after a fresh allocation top-up to 6,254 nominations.
On August 20, 2026, British Columbia issued 602 invitations to apply for provincial nomination through its Innovate: High Economic Impact stream — the largest single BC PNP round of the year. It landed two days after the province confirmed a fresh top-up of 1,000 nomination spaces, pushing its 2026 allocation to 6,254 — more than it had for all of 2025.
British Columbia's Skills Immigration draw invited candidates under two separate criteria, both tied to the "innovate" objective (high-earning and/or high-scoring workers, open to any occupation):
| Selection criteria | Requirement | Invitations issued |
|---|
| Job offer + wage | TEER 0–3 job offer paying at least $55/hour (about $110,000/year) | 337 |
| Registration score | Minimum score of 132 | 265 |
| Total | | 602 |
This was BC's 20th selection round of 2026 across all BCPNP categories, and its 12th Skills Immigration round specifically. As of August 20, the province has issued 4,926 invitations to skilled workers and entrepreneurs so far this year, and 3,260 of those came through the wage/job-offer or registration-score routes that produced this draw.
Two things changed right before this round. First, BC's federal nomination allocation grew by 1,000 spaces — confirmed on the province's BCPNP News page on August 18 — bringing the 2026 total to 6,254, following two increases from Ottawa. British Columbia is only the third jurisdiction to get a mid-year top-up in 2026, after Alberta and the Northwest Territories. The province has said it intends to use the full allocation by year-end, with at least 35% of nominations going to candidates outside Metro Vancouver.
Second, the bar for this round moved slightly compared to the last confirmed Innovate round. On July 16, BC's High Economic Impact draw required a wage of $58/hour (about $115,000/year) or a registration score of 132. On August 20, the wage threshold dropped to $55/hour while the score threshold held at 132 — a small easing on the wage side that lines up with a bigger round needing to reach further into the pool to fill more seats.
| Date | Wage/job offer threshold | Registration score threshold |
|---|
| July 16, 2026 | $58/hour (≈$115,000/year) | 132 |
| August 20, 2026 | $55/hour (≈$110,000/year) | 132 |
BC has issued 2,658 High Economic Impact invitations through the innovate objective so far in 2026, a figure that will have grown further with this round once the province updates its public totals.
BC's Skills Immigration registration pool held 8,306 candidates as of August 4, 2026:
| Score range | Registrations |
|---|
| 150+ | 10 |
| 140–149 | 38 |
| 130–139 | 241 |
| 120–129 | 1,023 |
| 110–119 | 1,332 |
| 100–109 | 1,651 |
| 90–99 | 1,468 |
| 80–89 | 1,219 |
| 70–79 | 739 |
| 60–69 | 373 |
| 0–59 | 212 |
| Total | 8,306 |
Only 289 candidates sit at 132 or above — a little over 3% of the pool. That's why the registration-score route in this draw pulled just 265 invitations even at a relatively demanding cutoff: there simply aren't many more candidates left to invite at that level without lowering the bar further, which is likely part of why BC leaned on the wage-based route (337 invitations) to fill the rest of this larger round.
If you were invited: you have 30 days from August 20 to submit a complete application for provincial nomination through the BCPNP Online Portal. A BC nomination is worth 600 points in the federal Express Entry CRS calculation, which in most cases guarantees an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence in the next federal PNP draw.
If your registration score is in the 100s and your occupation qualifies for BC's Care or Build initiatives: the innovate stream isn't your fastest lane. Those two occupation-specific initiatives — covering 36 healthcare, childcare, and education occupations and 9 construction trades — run on their own cadence and often clear at lower thresholds than the open-to-everyone innovate stream. Check whether your NOC code is on either priority list before optimizing for a score you may not need.
If you're earning close to $55/hour but not quite there: the wage threshold has now eased twice in two months (from $58 to $55/hour). With BC committed to spending its full 6,254-nomination allocation by December, expect more rounds like this one before year-end — and each one needs to reach slightly further to hit its numbers.
Tip
BC doesn't publish a draw calendar, but the pattern this year is consistent: when the province receives a mid-year allocation increase, a larger-than-usual draw tends to follow within days. The federal government has now topped up three provinces in 2026 (Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and BC). If you're registered in BC's pool, treat an allocation announcement as your cue to double-check that your profile, wage documentation, and job offer letter are current — the next round can move fast once the province has more room to invite.
BC PNP Guide | Previous BC Draw (July 9) | PNP Guide | CRS Calculator | All Express Entry Draws | NOC Finder
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify information with official IRCC sources and consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or licensed immigration lawyer for advice specific to your situation.