The provincial government is updating the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) to make it more flexible and focused.
This program lets the provincial government nominate immigrants in Ontario for permanent residence (PR), but final approvals come from the federal government.
While the program used to accept immigrants from various streams, it’s now shifting its focus: replacing the old setup, a new stream called Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) has been introduced, with three additional streams anticipated later this year.
Similar to Thunder Bay’s Rural Community Immigration Pilot, the OWP stream will be linked to employers. It will select workers for PR nominations based partly on job offers in key sectors facing labor shortages, like healthcare and skilled trades.
Those applying through the OWP stream must meet language proficiency and education standards and may also need work experience within the province.
The new OWP stream is broadening its eligibility criteria for employers, making it easier for smaller businesses in rural and northern Ontario to participate in the program.
Starting June 25, 2026, applicants won’t be able to use the OINP’s Expression of Interest (EOI) system while it undergoes updates, so this system will be temporarily closed.
The province’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development states that they expect the EOI system to reopen later this summer.
According to the Ministry, any applications already submitted under OINP will still be evaluated based on criteria from previous streams chosen by applicants and won’t be impacted by these new changes.
Sam Goldstein is a 2025 graduate of the Seneca Polytechnic journalism program. Sam’s great passions are for history, politics, and food. Born and raised in Toronto, he works as a multimedia journalist in Thunder Bay. You can reach him at goldsteins@radioabl. ca.
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