Ontario PNP invites foreign workers with job offers in rural communities

Ontario invited 64 skilled workers to apply for a provincial nomination on May 25.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) issued the invitations to immigration candidates who had a profile in the Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Invited candidates were registered for the Regional Immigration Pilot. They may now apply for the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream.

This is the third EOI draw Ontario has held since it launched the new application intake system in April. It is also the first draw of its kind since Ontario launched the Regional Immigration Pilot in 2020.

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What is the Regional Immigration Pilot?

Although Ontario is the most popular destination for new immigrants, like the rest of Canada, the province struggles to attract newcomers to rural communities.

The Regional Immigration Pilot was launched to help address labour shortages in some of these communities. It allows the province to allocate 150 nominations in 2021 to three rural locations: Chatham-Kent, Cornwall, and Quinte West/Belleville. These municipalities demonstrated to the province that they have labour shortages in skilled occupations, and the ability to help newcomers get settled.

If you are eligible for any of the OINP Employer Job Offer streams and your full-time job offer is in one of the participating communities, you may be able to get a provincial nomination through the pilot.

There are three Employer Job Offer streams:

Foreign Worker Stream, for workers with a skilled job offer in Ontario;
International Student Stream, for international students with skilled job offers; and
In-Demand Skills Stream, for workers in occupations that have labour shortages in Ontario.

Any nomination through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is a major asset when applying for Canadian immigration. PNPs demonstrate to the federal government that this applicant supports regional labour market needs. The federal government has the final say in all Canadian immigration applications but the overwhelming majority of provincial nominees get approved for permanent residence.

The pilot is slated to operate for two years before it is reviewed. It may be extended or discontinued depending on its performance.

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