What changed
On June 26, 2026, Ontario closed eight Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program streams — including the three Employer Job Offer streams, the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams, and the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades streams — and replaced them with the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. The expression-of-interest (EOI) portal for the new stream opened on August 4, 2026.
How the new stream works
- Employer first. An Ontario employer registers a full-time, permanent job offer and receives a job offer ID. The candidate then has 30 calendar days to register an EOI.
- Language: CLB 6 for TEER 0–3 jobs outside the trades, CLB 5 for TEER 0–3 trades, CLB 4 for TEER 4–5.
- Experience: for TEER 0–3, six consecutive months full-time in the job-offer position within the last 12 months, among other options; for TEER 4–5, nine months within two years.
- Points: the grid favours higher wages, Ontario experience, stronger language and education, and jobs outside Toronto. Northern Ontario jobs score highest.
- Self-employed physicians have their own pathway within the stream.
What it means
Candidates without an Ontario job offer no longer have an OINP route. Former Human Capital Priorities candidates who relied on Express Entry profiles alone now need an employer. As of the invitations page last checked on 2026-10-01, no Workforce Priority invitation round has been published.
Sources: Ontario Workforce Priority stream page; 2026 OINP updates; OINP invitations page.