Ontario set to launch new pathways to permanent residence

Foreign nationals seeking Canadian permanent residence through nomination by the Ontario government may soon have new pathways available to them.

As a first step, Ontario’s Immigration Minister David Piccini plans to create a new talent stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which he said would “recognize excellence” by providing a route to provincial nomination for newcomers in areas such as research, culinary arts, and entrepreneurship.

Piccini made the statement on November 25, in the third reading of Ontario's Bill 30, saying he looked forward to “introducing some new [immigration] streams soon.”

The bill received royal assent on November 27.

No further details on these streams have been announced, as of the time of writing.

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Trends that support Ontario’s ability to introduce new immigration streams

Recent changes to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) and the wider provincial immigration space support the OINP’s ability to create new streams for its provincial immigration programs.

Closure of the OINP Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream

Ontario’s decision to suspend the OINP Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream is a key backdrop to the creation of new pathways.

On November 14, 2025, the province halted intake to the stream and began returning all pending applications after a program review “identified systemic compliance and enforcement concerns” and “systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud relating to Skilled Trades Stream eligibility criteria.”

As a result, the director of the program “has suspended receiving Skilled Trades Stream applications” and “will return all outstanding Skilled Trades Stream applications,” with fees refunded.

This closure frees up part of Ontario’s nomination allocation and creates political and operational pressure to redesign how the province selects trades and other workers.

Bill 30’s new authorities—letting the minister create, change, or close OINP streams more quickly and return applications earlier where there are integrity or labour market alignment concerns—give Ontario the tools to replace the suspended stream with more tightly targeted options.

The OINP has also abstained from conducting draws in three of its immigration streams this year (the Master's Graduate stream, the PhD Graduate stream, and the Entrepreneur stream), a further indication that the province may be reallocating nominations in a more directed manner towards its key immigration goals and labour market needs.

Higher nomination allocation for the OINP through federal PNP allocations in the 2026 Immigration Levels Plan

In 2025, the OINP saw its nomination allocation cut to just 10,750, a 50% reduction from the 2024 allocation of 21,500 spots.

This change ran downstream of the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which saw provincial immigration admissions targets in 2025 reduced by 50%—from 110,000 admissions in 2024 to just 55,000 in 2025.

Provincial governments, including Ontario, had to design and run their nominee programs within that relatively tight national cap.

Since then, Ottawa has reversed course—raising the PNP target to 91,500 admissions in the most recent Immigration Levels Plan—an increase of 66% over 2025.

While Ontario’s exact share of these spots in 2026 has not yet been published, a larger national PNP envelope may give the province more room to launch new OINP streams and rebalance nominations across existing categories.

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP streams