Ontario welcomes one third of all immigrants to Canada each year.
Ontario is Canada’s most popular landing destination for immigrants. Through Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which is called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), immigrants can receive a provincial nomination which allows them to apply for permanent residency.
The OINP launched in 2007 to respond to skill shortages in certain areas and offer easier investment routes for the province. The province’s 2022 allocation is 9,750 nominations.
The OINP’s immigration streams consist of base and enhanced streams. Enhanced streams are aligned with the federal Express Entry system, which manages permanent residence applications through Canada’s three main economic class immigration programs.
The Express Entry system gives candidates a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and the highest-ranking candidates are then invited to apply for permanent residence. If a candidate has a nomination from a provincial program that is enhanced, they will receive an extra 600 points, essentially guaranteeing an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
Conversely, base streams are not aligned with Express Entry, therefore candidates apply directly to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Ontario’s Immigration Streams
Candidates have three categories to choose from when immigrating to Ontario:
- Human Capital Category and the Masters or PhD Category
- Employer Job Offer Category
- Business Category
In addition, the Regional Immigration Pilot is a program that is part of the Employer Job Offer Category with a goal of attracting and retaining immigrations to rural and small communities in Ontario to fill labour shortages.
