Ontario can nominate more immigrants for permanent residence in 2019

Ontario will be able to nominate 6,900 immigration candidates for Canadian permanent residence through its immigrant nominee program in 2019.

Ontario is Canada's most populous province and remains the destination of choice for the majority of immigrants to Canada each year.

Canada's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) grants nine Canadian provinces and two territories the power to select a set number of immigrants for Canadian permanent residence in order to fill specific labour market needs.

Last year, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)'s allocation of 6,600 nominations was the largest granted through the PNP. The OINP received an additional 250 nominations toward the end of 2018 that brought total nominations for the year to 6,850.

Ontario had requested an additional 1,000 nominations for 2019 — for a total of 7,600 nominations — noting the "strong" demand for the OINP.

Ontario's allocation boost for 2019 reflects the fact Canada's annual admissions target for the PNP has been increased for both 2019 and 2020. This year's national target of 61,000 new permanent residents is an increase of 6,000 over 2018's target of 55,000.

Find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration

Ontario's 2019 allocation consists of a principal allocation of 6,650 nominations and an additional 250 spaces for intermediate-skilled temporary foreign workers (TFWs) that are part of a new initiative announced March 12 by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The main allocation of 6,650 nominations will be issued as usual through the OINP's various immigration pathways, including the popular Express Entry-linked Human Capital Priorities Stream.

Ontario has three immigration streams that are linked to the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada's main economic immigration categories — Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class.

Ontario's Express Entry-linked streams allow the OINP to search the federal pool and invite candidates who match their provincial and federal criteria to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence.

Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination receive an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry ranking score and are effectively moved to the front of the line for an invitation from IRCC to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

The Human Capital Priorities Stream was Ontario's most active immigration pathway in 2018, issuing 2,190 of the 6,850 total nominations issued by Ontario last year.

Another 1,035 nominations were issued through the OINP's two other Express Entry-aligned streams — the Skilled Trades Stream and the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream.

The OINP also has a number of streams that operate independently of the Express Entry system, known as "base" nomination streams.

The Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream was the base stream that issued the most nominations in 2018 (1,254).

It was followed by the Masters Graduate Stream, which issued 1,215 nominations to international graduate students with a master's degree from an eligible Ontario university.

Find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool