Canada: Ontario Advances Overhaul of Provincial Nominee Program

Ontario discontinued several existing streams under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) on May 30, 2026, as part of previously announced program reforms. The OINP is Ontario's economic immigration program, which nominates foreign nationals for permanent residence. The discontinued streams include the Foreign Worker, International Student, In-Demand Skills, Master's Graduate, PhD Graduate, Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Skilled Trades and Entrepreneur streams. Individuals who may have qualified under these pathways will need to assess their eligibility under replacement streams once details are announced. 

The amendments also formally incorporate several existing OINP practices into regulation, including the Director's authority to conduct general and targeted invitation rounds and the requirement for employers to register through an Employer Portal. The OINP Director will continue to target candidates with specific labor market or human capital characteristics and issue invitations to the highest-ranking candidates who meet those criteria. Under the amended regulations, applicants in future job offer-based streams must have an employer registered with the OINP Director. 

The changes follow Ontario's December 2025 proposal to redesign the OINP through a two-phase overhaul. The proposal contemplated consolidating existing Employer Job Offer streams into a single stream with separate tracks for higher-skilled occupations and occupations facing labor shortages, followed by the introduction of a healthcare stream, an entrepreneur stream and an exceptional talent stream. Ontario has not yet confirmed whether it will proceed with this phased approach and has not released details regarding the new streams, eligibility requirements, implementation timelines or transition measures. 

The province has confirmed that applications submitted before May 30, 2026 will continue to be assessed under the eligibility requirements in place at the time of filing. Fragomen will continue to monitor developments and report on further updates, including any guidance on the treatment of existing EOIs under the new program structure. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.