Ontario has stunned employers and foreign workers by revoking almost all of its immigration nomination streams with immediate effect as of 30 May 2026. The change, first reported in a 2 June article by CIC News, means the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is no longer accepting applications for the popular Human Capital Priorities, Employer Job Offer, Masters Graduate, PhD Graduate, and Entrepreneur categories. Provincial officials say the closures are temporary while Queen’s Park finalises an overhaul designed to consolidate more than a dozen sub-streams into four broader pathways: a two-track Employer Job Offer stream (TEER 0-3 and TEER 4-5), a Priority Healthcare stream, a redesigned Entrepreneur stream, and a new Exceptional Talent stream for researchers and creative professionals. Draft criteria circulated during stakeholder consultations last December suggest that job-offer wage thresholds will align with median regional wages and that the healthcare track will waive job-offer requirements for regulated professionals. For employers, the sudden pause creates uncertainty. Candidates who had already submitted applications will continue to be assessed under the old rules, but new applicants must now wait until replacement regulations are filed. Immigration lawyers warn that processing backlogs may lengthen once the new streams open, given the pent-up demand. Companies relying on the OINP to convert temporary foreign workers to permanent residence should audit current work-permit expiry dates and build contingency plans, such as federal Express Entry or other provincial programs. The move also signals a shift toward “agile” regulation. Amendments passed in May give Ontario’s immigration minister authority to launch future streams by ministerial order, without full regulatory amendment, allowing faster pivots but less advance notice for businesses. Multinationals with expansion projects in Ontario should track the release of final eligibility rules — expected later this summer — and be prepared for targeted invitation rounds that may favour healthcare and construction occupations. In the interim, HR teams should explore federal programs or neighbouring provinces’ nominee options to keep critical talent in Canada.
Source: CIC News
