Northwest Territories Nominee Program to Host Press Conference on 2026 Application Period

Yellowknife, NT – The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will hold a press conference on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, to announce the opening dates for the 2026 application period for the Employer and Francophone streams of the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP). The conference will also cover the publication of a report detailing feedback received and subsequent changes made to the Employer component of the program.

Press Conference Details

• Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026
• Time: 11:00 AM (HST)
• Location: Home of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife

Speakers

Minister of Education, Culture and Training Caitlin Cleveland will deliver opening remarks. She will be joined by Erin Evans, Manager of Labor Market Programs at the Department of Education, Culture and Training, to address questions from the media.

RSVP and Media Contact

Members of the media are requested to RSVP to PressSecretary@gov.nt.ca no later than 9:30 AM on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.

Media representatives should direct inquiries to:

Agata Gutkowska
Public Relations and Communications Manager
Ministry of Education, Culture and Training
Government of the Northwest Territories
Agata_Gutkowska@gov.nt.ca

About the Northwest Territories Nominee Program

The NTNP allows employers to nominate qualified foreign nationals to fill labor market gaps in the Northwest Territories. The program has three streams: Employer-Driven, Business, and Francophone. The Francophone Stream, launched in September 2022, specifically targets bilingual applicants who can contribute to the territory’s social, economic, and cultural development.

The Francophone Stream allows qualified foreign nationals who speak both French and English and have a valid job offer from a Northwest Territories employer to apply to the NTNP. Applicants must meet minimum language requirements, including Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 in English and NCLC 5 in French, across all four language abilities.

The 2025 intake for the Francophone Stream is currently closed, having reached its nomination cap of 300. Applicants will be notified by email regarding the status of their applications.