Ontario overhauled its nominee program in June 2026. If your plan still assumes the old eight streams, it's already out of date — here's what replaced them, and whether you currently qualify.
Free Ontario PNP Eligibility Check — find out if you qualify for the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, or which alternative route fits your profile better.
Get AssessmentOn 26 June 2026, Ontario closed the Expression of Interest system that ran its Immigrant Nominee Program and retired all eight of its former streams: Human Capital Priorities, Express Entry Skilled Trades, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, the three Employer Job Offer streams, and the Master's/PhD Graduate streams. No further invitations are going out under any of them.
In their place, Ontario has begun rolling out a redesigned, four-stream program. The first of those, the Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream, is live now. The remaining three are expected later in 2026 — Ontario hasn't published exact dates yet, and neither will we until they confirm it.
The honest note. If you were planning around the old Human Capital Priorities stream because you don't have an Ontario job offer, that door is closed for now. Don't waste months on a strategy built for a program that no longer exists — an assessment tells you in one session whether OWP fits, or whether a different province or federal route is the faster path.
OWP connects workers who already have a full-time, permanent job offer from an Ontario employer, in a skilled occupation, to a Canadian permanent residence nomination. Core features, per the Ontario government's own announcement:
| Stream | Status (as of 2 July 2026) |
| Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) | Live — first stream of the redesign |
| 3 further redesigned streams | Expected later in 2026 — no confirmed date |
| Human Capital Priorities, Skilled Trades, French-Speaking, Employer Job Offer (x3), Master's/PhD Graduate | Closed to new applicants since 26 June 2026 — filed applications still processed under prior rules |
Source: Ontario's official OINP program updates page and the Ontario government's 26 June 2026 news release. Figures and status current as of this page's last review — always confirm directly with Ontario before acting.
Partly. On 26 June 2026, Ontario closed its Expression of Interest system and retired all eight of its former streams to new applicants. The first stream of the redesigned program, the Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream, has since launched, with three more streams expected later in 2026. Applications already submitted under the old streams are still being processed under the rules in place when they were filed.
OWP is the first stream launched under Ontario's redesigned OINP. It connects workers who already have a full-time, permanent job offer from an Ontario employer in a skilled occupation to a permanent residence pathway. It also lowers the revenue threshold for smaller Northern and rural employers to nominate candidates, and allows some flexibility for applicants qualifying via a related occupation while they work toward full credential recognition.
Yes. OWP is built around candidates who already hold a full-time, permanent job offer from an Ontario employer, unlike the former Human Capital Priorities stream, which required no job offer. If you don't yet have an Ontario job offer, Ontario's other Express Entry-aligned federal pathways or a different province's PNP may fit better — that's exactly what an assessment is for.
The Ontario government has stated the remaining three streams under the redesigned program are expected to launch later in 2026, with the province's e-Filing Portal expected to reopen to new Expressions of Interest later in the summer. Exact dates have not been published — this page will be updated once Ontario confirms them.
© Copyright Cosmos Immigration 2026. All Rights Reserved.