Ontario has made the biggest change to its Provincial Nominee Program in years. On June 26, 2026, the province closed all 8 of its OINP streams and replaced them with a single new stream: the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. On July 20, 2026, Ontario published the scoring factors that will decide who actually gets invited to apply.
This guide covers both sides: who is eligible under each of the three pathways, and how your profile will be scored out of a maximum of 130 points once the Expression of Interest portal reopens.
What is the Ontario Workforce Priority stream?
The Workforce Priority stream is now the main way Ontario nominates workers for permanent residence. Instead of running separate streams with different requirements, Ontario has moved to one flexible stream that lets the province invite candidates based on current workforce shortages. The goal is direct: connect Ontario employers with qualified workers for positions that are hard to staff.
The 8 closed streams were the three Employer Job Offer streams (Foreign Worker, In-Demand Skills, International Student), the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams, and the three Express Entry streams (Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Skilled Trades). Expressions of interest that were sitting in those old streams without an invitation have been withdrawn. When the new EOI portal opens, everyone starts fresh under the new stream.
One structural change matters before anything else: this stream is employer-initiated. Your employer submits the job offer in the OINP Employer Portal first, you receive a job offer ID, and you then have 30 calendar days to register your expression of interest.
What are the three pathways?
The Workforce Priority stream is divided into three pathways, each with its own eligibility requirements: a pathway for TEER 0 to 3 occupations, a pathway for TEER 4 and 5 occupations, and a pathway for self-employed physicians. Self-employed individuals are otherwise not eligible under this stream; physicians are the only exception.
Who qualifies under the TEER 0 to 3 pathway?
This pathway is for skilled workers with a full-time, permanent job offer from an eligible Ontario employer in an occupation under TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification. Think registered nurses, managers, software engineers, financial advisors, electricians, and mechanics.
For work experience, Ontario gives you four different ways to qualify, and you only need one of them:
- Option 1: at least 6 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work experience in the job offer position within the 12 months before you apply. In plain words, you already do that exact job for that employer.
- Option 2: recent Ontario graduates. If you graduated within the last 3 years from an eligible Ontario institution with a qualifying credential (a degree or diploma that took at least 2 years of full-time study, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate, a Masters, or a PhD), just 3 months of consecutive experience in the job offer position is enough. Recent graduates with these credentials also do not need a language test result to be eligible.
- Option 3: at least 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience in the same occupation as your job offer within the last 5 years. Breaks in employment are allowed, and equivalent part-time experience counts. This is the option that keeps the door open if you are not already working for that employer, including candidates currently outside Canada.
- Option 4: if your job offer is in an occupation that requires a mandatory licence under Ontario or Canadian law and you hold that valid licence, no work experience is required at all.
There is special flexibility for a few occupations. If your job offer is for nurse aides (NOC 33102), pharmacy assistants (NOC 33103), or technical occupations in engineering (sub-major group 223), your 2 years of experience can come from the related higher occupation: nurse experience can support a nurse aide offer, pharmacist experience can support a pharmacy assistant offer.
One exception to remember: transport truck drivers (NOC 73300) and bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators (NOC 73301) must have the 6 months of consecutive, paid, full-time experience even if they are recent Ontario graduates or hold a valid licence.
Language requirement: CLB 6 in all four abilities, or CLB 5 if the job offer is in a listed skilled trades occupation. Education requirement: a post-secondary degree or diploma of at least one year of full-time study, from Canada or verified through an ECA report less than 5 years old. For listed skilled trades, a high school diploma or its equivalent is enough.
Who qualifies under the TEER 4 and 5 pathway?
Many essential occupations do not require university education but are critical to Ontario’s economy. This pathway covers TEER 4 and 5 occupations in sectors such as manufacturing, food processing, hospitality, and agriculture.
To be eligible, you need at least 9 months of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience within the last 2 years, and here is the detail that changes everything: that experience must be in the job offer position itself. Not the same occupation somewhere else. The exact position, with that employer. In practice, this pathway is built for people already working for their Ontario employer.
Language requirement: CLB 4 in all four abilities. Education requirement: a Canadian high school diploma or its equivalent from another country.
Who qualifies as a self-employed physician?
Ontario created a dedicated pathway for eligible self-employed physicians. It does not require a job offer if you meet two requirements: you are eligible to receive payment for publicly funded health services (an OHIP billing number), and you are a member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario holding a certificate of registration for independent practice, academic practice, or a provisional certificate. Physicians holding only a postgraduate education licence are not eligible under this pathway but may qualify through the job offer route.
How will my profile be scored?
Meeting the eligibility requirements gets you into the pool. It does not get you an invitation. Once you register your expression of interest, Ontario scores your profile out of a maximum of 130 points and ranks you against every other candidate. The factors fall into four categories, and the category maximums tell you where the weight sits: employment and labour market factors are worth up to 70 points, language up to 25, education up to 20, and regionalization up to 15.
Employment and labour market factors:
- NOC TEER category: TEER 0 or 1 earns 9 points, TEER 2 or 3 earns 6, TEER 4 or 5 earns 0
- NOC broad occupational category: health occupations earn 10, trades and transport 8, natural and applied sciences 6, most other categories 4, sales and service and arts 2
- Hourly wage: $40 or more earns 15 points, $35 to $39.99 earns 12, $30 to $34.99 earns 10, $25 to $29.99 earns 8, $20 to $24.99 earns 5, under $20 earns 0
- Ontario work experience: over 24 months in the job offer position earns 18 points, the single biggest factor on the grid. 13 to 24 months earns 15, and 6 to 12 months earns 12. Ontario experience outside the job offer position scores on a lower scale with a maximum of 12. For physicians, the same values apply to cumulative medical practice in Ontario.
- Canadian earnings history: based on CRA Notices of Assessment in the last 5 years, $70,000 or more in a year earns 8 points, $50,000 to $69,999 earns 6, $30,000 to $49,999 earns 4, under $30,000 earns 0
- Legal status in Canada: a valid work permit earns 10 points, a valid study permit earns 5, neither earns 0
Education:
- Highest level of education: a doctorate or a degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry earns 10 points, a Masters earns 8, a Bachelors or university certificate above bachelor level earns 6, and college diplomas, Ontario College Graduate Certificates, and apprenticeship or trades certificates earn 5
- Number of Canadian education credentials: more than one earns 10 points, one earns 5
Language:
- Official language ability: points are based on your lowest CLB level across the four abilities, not your average. CLB 9 or higher earns 15 points, CLB 8 earns 12, CLB 7 earns 8, CLB 6 earns 4, CLB 5 or lower earns 0. Ontario does not accept Academic or One Skill Retake tests.
- Knowledge of official languages: both English and French at CLB 6 or higher in all four abilities earns 10 points instead of 5
Regionalization:
- Northern Ontario earns 15 points, Eastern, Central and Southwestern Ontario earn 10, the GTA outside Toronto earns 5, and Toronto earns 0
Why does job location matter so much now?
The regionalization factor is the clearest signal in the entire grid. Two candidates with identical occupations, wages, education and language results can be separated by 15 points purely on where the job is located. A job in Toronto scores zero location points. A job in London, Woodstock, Windsor, or anywhere else in Southwestern Ontario scores 10. Northern Ontario scores 15.
For workers and employers here in Southwestern Ontario, this is a genuine advantage. Ontario is deliberately steering nominations toward communities outside Toronto, and the grid pays for it.
When will the EOI portal reopen?
The EOI system has been closed since the stream launched on June 26, 2026, and Ontario has indicated it will reopen later in summer 2026. No exact date has been confirmed. Ontario’s 2026 nomination allocation is the largest in OINP history, but no draws have happened under the new stream yet, which means nobody can honestly tell you what a competitive score will be. Anyone predicting cutoffs right now is guessing.
What should I do while waiting?
As I always say: eligibility is not equal to selection. Being eligible gets you into the pool; your score gets you invited. While the portal is closed, the productive move is improving the score you will enter with. That can mean retaking a language test to reach CLB 9 in every ability, confirming your ECA is less than 5 years old, talking to your employer about registration in the Employer Portal, or weighing a role outside Toronto. After an invitation the timelines are tight: your employer has 14 calendar days to apply for approval of the employment position, and you have 17 calendar days to submit your application, so documents should be ready before the portal opens, not after.
Frequently asked questions
The stream launched on June 26, 2026, but the Expression of Interest portal is currently closed. Ontario expects it to reopen later in summer 2026. No exact date has been confirmed, so this waiting period is the time to prepare documents and improve your score.
Yes for the TEER 0 to 3 and TEER 4 and 5 pathways: a full-time, permanent job offer from an eligible Ontario employer. Self-employed physicians with an OHIP billing number and CPSO registration in good standing do not need a job offer.
Possibly, under the TEER 0 to 3 pathway through the 2 years of cumulative experience option. Be aware the scoring grid favours people already in Ontario: a valid work permit, Ontario experience in the position, and Canadian earnings history together represent up to 36 points.
Yes. Toronto earns 0 regionalization points, the GTA outside Toronto earns 5, Eastern, Central and Southwestern Ontario earn 10, and Northern Ontario earns 15.
Not for eligibility, if they hold a qualifying credential from an eligible Ontario institution. But language points are only awarded based on an approved test result, and language is worth up to 25 points, so taking a test is still the smart move.
The 8 old streams closed on June 26, 2026, and expressions of interest that had not received an invitation were withdrawn. You will need to register again under the Workforce Priority stream once the new portal opens.
Every licensed consultant can be verified through the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants public register at register.college-ic.ca. My licence number is R-1041495
About the author
Jas Dhillon is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), CICC Licence No. R-1041495, and the founder of Nivara Immigration Services, serving clients across Southwestern Ontario and beyond. Every client file at Nivara is prepared personally by Jas, with no caseworkers and no outsourcing. You can verify her licence at register.college-ic.ca.
If you want to know your eligibility and your exact score under the new grid before the portal opens, book a consultation at https://nivaraimmigration.ca/book-consultation/
This article is general information only and is not legal or immigration advice. Immigration rules change quickly; confirm current requirements on ontario.ca or get advice on your specific situation before acting. Source: Ontario.ca, Ontario Workforce Priority stream page, published July 20, 2026.
