The Ontario Workforce Priority stream: the new OINP, explained

What changed on 25 June 2026

Phase one of the OINP redesign amended Ontario Regulation 422/17 to remove the existing streams and create the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. Ontario's stated aims were to streamline the route for people with arranged employment, help employers keep proven staff in hard-to-fill roles, and raise language and education benchmarks. The practical effects for applicants are three. First, the job offer is now the gate for every worker route: there is no Ontario nomination for a skilled worker in the Express Entry pool without an Ontario employer, which is what Human Capital Priorities used to provide. Second, the province, not an occupation list, decides who is invited, through a scoring grid published for the first time. Third, TEER 4 and 5 jobs are eligible everywhere in Ontario, not only in the in-demand occupations the old In-Demand Skills stream allowed. Applications filed under the old streams before 25 June 2026 are assessed under the old rules.

Who qualifies: applicant requirements by TEER

Listed skilled trades, which get the lower language and education bars, are NOC major groups 72 (technical trades and transportation officers, excluding sub-major group 726), 73 (general trades), 82 and 83 (natural resources and agriculture supervisors and workers), 93 (central control and process operators, excluding aircraft assembly), minor group 6320 (cooks, butchers, bakers) and unit group 62200 (chefs). Use the NOC code finder to check your code and TEER.

Employer and job offer requirements

The employer must have been in active business for at least three years, have premises in Ontario where you will work, have no outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act or the Occupational Health and Safety Act, meet revenue and minimum-staff thresholds that depend on the job's location (higher inside the GTA), and, if you are outside Canada or working outside Ontario, show it tried to recruit a Canadian or permanent resident first. The job must be full time and permanent, urgently needed by the business, not affect a labour dispute, and pay at least the required wage level for its location. The Ontario Public Service does not participate as an employer. Self-employed contractors are not eligible, with the single exception of physicians.

The points grid

How to apply, step by step

1. 01

   The employer submits the job offer

   In the OINP Employer Portal, the employer registers the business and the position. This generates the job offer ID you need.

2. 02

   Register an expression of interest within 30 days

   Enter the job offer ID and attest to each scoring factor. You must meet every stream requirement at registration, not only at application.

3. 03

   Wait for an invitation

   Ontario invites by score, with the Director able to target occupations, regions and sectors. Through early 2026 the old employer streams were drawn for physicians, health and early childhood education, skilled trades, mining, agriculture, Francophones, REDI pilot regions and by Ontario region; expect the new stream to continue targeting those priorities.

4. 04

   Employer applies within 14 days; you apply within 17

   The employer applies for approval of the employment position; you then submit your application with the document checklist and pay the fee. You cannot submit before the employer does.

5. 05

   Nomination, then IRCC

   A nominee receives the approval letter, certificate and, where applicable, a work permit support letter, and has six months to apply to IRCC. TEER 0 to 3 nominees who opted for Express Entry accept the nomination within 30 days (600 points) and submit the e-APR within 60; see after your ITA. Keep the job and your status throughout; a lost position cancels the nomination.

Self-employed physicians

A physician with an OHIP billing number and a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario certificate (independent, academic or provisional practice) can register without a job offer and is scored on cumulative Ontario medical practice (18 points at two years or more) and practice location instead of wage. Physicians on a postgraduate education licence are not eligible as self-employed but can apply with a job offer.

Is Ontario still the right province for you?

For a worker with an Ontario job, yes: the stream is open to every TEER, the deadlines are short, and a TEER 0 to 3 nomination lands in Express Entry with 600 points. For a graduate or a French speaker without an employer, the Ontario door that used to exist is closed, and other provinces now compare better. Alberta's AAIP nominates most occupations with an Alberta job through the Opportunity Stream and runs Express Entry draws for in-demand occupations and French speakers without a job offer; British Columbia still nominates international graduates. Score yourself on the CRS calculator and the AAIP calculator before deciding.

Compliance note. Wild Mountain Immigration is a licensed RCIC practice (CICC R706497). Stream criteria, the points grid and thresholds are as published on ontario.ca in August 2026 and change; the regulation governs. Registration or eligibility does not guarantee an invitation or a nomination.