OINP Suspends all Expressions of Interest and Announces a single Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) Stream.

Effective June 26, 2026, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has undergone a significant architectural shift. Ontario has eliminated its previous eight nomination streams, consolidating them into a singular, streamlined framework: the Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream.

This guide details the regulatory framework established under O. Reg. 422/17 [Ontario Regulation, Canada] to assist your firm in advising both employers and applicants.

Program Overview

The OWP stream is designed as the primary vehicle for employer-sponsored permanent residence nominations in Ontario. It is divided into three distinct pathways:

• TEER 0-3 Pathway: For higher-skilled occupations.
• TEER 4-5 Pathway: For lower-skilled occupations.
• Self-Employed Physicians: A specialized pathway for Ontario-licensed physicians.

Note: As of June 26, 2026, the Expression of Interest (EOI) system is closed while the Ministry transitions. A new EOI system is expected to open in late summer 2026.

Employer Eligibility and Requirements

The regulatory requirements for employers remain rigorous and depend on the business location.

Core Criteria

• Business Maturity: The business must have been active in Ontario for at least three years.
• Staffing Thresholds: At the date of application, the employer must employ:
  • In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA): At least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the job location.
  • Outside the GTA: At least three full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the job location.
• Revenue Requirements: In the most recent fiscal year, the business must have generated:
  • GTA: Minimum $1,000,000 gross annual revenue.
  • Major Census Metropolitan Area (CMA): Minimum $500,000 gross annual revenue.
  • Rural/Other: Lower thresholds (minimum $250,000) may apply for communities with populations under 150,000.
• Compliance: No outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 [Ontario Statute, Canada] or the Occupational Health and Safety Act [Ontario Statute, Canada].

Wage and Position Rules

• The position must be full-time (indeterminate duration) and urgently necessary to the business.
• The wage must meet or exceed the median wage for the occupation and region (via the federal Job Bank). Recent Ontario graduates may be subject to lower wage thresholds.
• Transportation Exemption: For NOC 73300 (Transport truck drivers) and NOC 73301 (Bus/transit drivers), the employer must hold a valid Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration (CVOR) certificate and maintain a safety rating of “Satisfactory” or “Excellent.”

Applicant Eligibility and NOC Considerations

Applicants must align their work experience with the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. The OWP stream evaluates candidates based on the TEER (Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities) category of their job offer.

Pathways & NOC Requirements

• TEER 0-3: Targets skilled workers.
• TEER 4-5: Targets workers in lower-skilled occupations.
• NOC Verification: Applicants must demonstrate relevant experience in the same NOC code as the job offer.

Work Experience Requirements

Candidates must generally meet one of these thresholds:

1. Direct Experience: 6 months of consecutive work in the last 12 months with the job-offer employer (3 months for recent Ontario graduates).
2. Cumulative Experience: 2 years of cumulative experience in the same NOC occupation within the last 5 years.
3. Licensure Exception: Applicants in professions requiring mandatory Ontario licensure (e.g., medical, skilled trades) are exempt from the work experience requirement if they possess the valid license.

Language and Education

• Education: Minimum post-secondary degree or diploma is required.
• Language: Minimum Canadian Language Benchmark CLB 5 or 6, depending on the specific occupation.

Special Provision: Self-Employed Physicians

This pathway allows physicians to bypass the employer-sponsored job offer requirement. To qualify, candidates must:

• Be in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
• Hold a valid certificate of registration (independent, academic, or provisional).
• Be eligible to bill through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

Summary

Key Differences in Eligibility

The new framework tightens requirements to prioritize “job-ready” candidates and reduces administrative duplication.

• Removal of Graduate-Specific Pathways: The former Masters and PhD Graduate streams, which allowed for nomination based primarily on academic attainment, are gone. Recent graduates must now secure a qualifying job offer to utilize the OWP stream.
• Standardization of Work Experience: Under the old In-Demand Skills stream, requirements were specific to certain NOC occupations and sometimes required as little as 9 months of experience. The OWP standardizes this into broader pathways (TEER 0-3 vs. TEER 4-5), creating more uniform (and often more stringent) thresholds across the board.
• Employer-Centric Validation: The redesign emphasizes the role of the Employer Portal. Employers must now re-register job offers to align with the new OWP structure. This shifts the burden of compliance heavily toward the employer, who must prove their business viability (revenue and staffing thresholds) more explicitly than in some of the prior legacy streams.

The most critical shift is the elimination of the “Human Capital” streams. Clients who previously qualified for nomination simply by virtue of high CRS scores, advanced degrees, or French-language proficiency without an existing job offer no longer have a pathway through the OINP. All prospective applicants must now ensure they have a legitimate, full-time job offer that meets the revised employer revenue and staffing thresholds to participate in the OWP.

Transition Provisions & EOI Status

The implementation of the OWP stream affects how pending and future files are handled:

Employer Portal: While employer accounts remain valid, employers must submit new job offers through the portal to align with the OWP stream requirements once the system is fully operational.

Existing Applications: Any applications submitted under the former framework prior to June 26, 2026 will continue to be processed based on the eligibility requirements in effect at the time of submission.

Expressions of Interest (EOI): The EOI system is currently closed to new registrations. All existing EOIs that had not received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) prior to the June 26 cutoff have been withdrawn.

Future Action: Once the EOI system reopens (anticipated for late summer 2026), candidates must register a new EOI under the OWP framework.