In a surprise regulatory move, Ontario revoked all nine of its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) streams on 30 May 2026. The province says the decision is temporary while it finalises four redesigned pathways that were floated in a December 2025 consultation paper. Details of the replacement streams—including a new Employer Job Offer route covering TEER 0-3 occupations—are expected later this summer but no launch date has been set.
![Ontario shuts existing OINP streams as provinces receive bigger 2026 nomination quotas]()
For employers and applicants needing up-to-date guidance on Canadian provincial and federal visa procedures, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) provides step-by-step tools, document checklists, and live support to streamline both temporary and permanent residence filings. The platform’s monitoring alerts can flag when the redesigned OINP pathways reopen, helping HR teams and individual candidates stay compliant and avoid missed windows.
The development headlines Maple Intelligence’s 18 June Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) briefing, which shows nomination allocations for 2026 up by roughly 31 % across most provinces compared with early-2025 levels. IRCC figures quoted in the note list Ontario at 14,119 nominations, Alberta at 6,403, and British Columbia at 5,254. British Columbia, for its part, issued 357 invitations on 2 June under its updated Skills Immigration priorities, focusing on construction trades and health-care occupations. Why it matters: federal immigration targets for 2026-28 emphasise “in-Canada” candidates and employer-led regional selection. As a result, provinces are being encouraged to use a bigger slice of the total 380,000 permanent-residence admissions to meet local labour gaps. Ontario’s reset, although disruptive in the short term, is designed to align its program with the national occupation-based Express Entry categories. Employers relying on the now-closed streams must wait for replacement regulations, but applications already submitted will be assessed under the prior rules. Business impacts and next steps:• Employers with pending OINP applications should seek written confirmation from the program that grandfathering provisions apply. • Candidates in construction, health care, or early childhood education should monitor the B.C. PNP, which is running draws every two weeks with scores in the low 90s. • Global-mobility teams should verify whether employees in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Prince Edward Island have received 2026 allocation updates—several Atlantic provinces have not yet published their final nomination numbers. With PNP-targeted Express Entry draws posting cut-offs above 700 CRS points this year, securing a provincial nomination remains the most reliable fast-track to permanent residence for foreign workers already in Canada. Maple expects more provinces to tweak their criteria before the autumn intake season.
For employers and applicants needing up-to-date guidance on Canadian provincial and federal visa procedures, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) provides step-by-step tools, document checklists, and live support to streamline both temporary and permanent residence filings. The platform’s monitoring alerts can flag when the redesigned OINP pathways reopen, helping HR teams and individual candidates stay compliant and avoid missed windows.
The development headlines Maple Intelligence’s 18 June Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) briefing, which shows nomination allocations for 2026 up by roughly 31 % across most provinces compared with early-2025 levels. IRCC figures quoted in the note list Ontario at 14,119 nominations, Alberta at 6,403, and British Columbia at 5,254. British Columbia, for its part, issued 357 invitations on 2 June under its updated Skills Immigration priorities, focusing on construction trades and health-care occupations. Why it matters: federal immigration targets for 2026-28 emphasise “in-Canada” candidates and employer-led regional selection. As a result, provinces are being encouraged to use a bigger slice of the total 380,000 permanent-residence admissions to meet local labour gaps. Ontario’s reset, although disruptive in the short term, is designed to align its program with the national occupation-based Express Entry categories. Employers relying on the now-closed streams must wait for replacement regulations, but applications already submitted will be assessed under the prior rules. Business impacts and next steps:• Employers with pending OINP applications should seek written confirmation from the program that grandfathering provisions apply. • Candidates in construction, health care, or early childhood education should monitor the B.C. PNP, which is running draws every two weeks with scores in the low 90s. • Global-mobility teams should verify whether employees in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Prince Edward Island have received 2026 allocation updates—several Atlantic provinces have not yet published their final nomination numbers. With PNP-targeted Express Entry draws posting cut-offs above 700 CRS points this year, securing a provincial nomination remains the most reliable fast-track to permanent residence for foreign workers already in Canada. Maple expects more provinces to tweak their criteria before the autumn intake season.
