Ontario announces its nomination allocation for 2026 – and it’s higher than the year prior

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has released its nomination allocation for the year, with the number of slots it received having increased compared to last.

For 2026, the federal government has granted the OINP a total of 14,119 nominations to distribute to nominees across its eight provincial immigration streams.

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Ontario released these details on its OINP updates webpage on February 6, 2026.

As of the time of this writing, the OINP has yet to announce any priority sectors and occupations for the year or a per-stream nomination distribution.

How does the OINP’s 2026 nomination compare to previous levels?

The OINP’s 14,119 nominations for 2026 represent a roughly 31% increase compared to the 10,750 nominations it received from the federal government in 2025.

This can be attributed to the boost in the immigration department’s permanent residence (PR) admissions target across Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) this year, seeing levels go from 55,000 the year prior to 91,500 in 2026.

With increased PR admissions spaces, provinces and territories will likely see their number of nomination slots increase compared to initial allocations at the start of 2025.

This is already the case with jurisdictions that have announced their nominations for the year, including Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon.

Unlike other provinces and territories, Ontario did not receive an increase to its provincial nomination allocation in 2025, remaining at its initial 10,750 nominations throughout the year.

While Ontario saw its number of slots increase this year compared to last year, its nomination levels remain significantly lower than in 2024 (21,500).

As such, the OINP has only recovered about 67% of its 2024 nomination levels.

Recent changes to the OINP

Ontario has been in the spotlight throughout 2025 for various changes to its provincial immigration program, including the following:

Eligibility changes for self-employed physicians: In January 2026, the OINP broadened eligibility for the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream to include certain self-employed internationally trained physicians holding provisional certificates from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario with an OHIP billing number, making the path to PR easier for qualifying physicians.

Earlier in February 2025, it changed eligibility requirements for self-employed physicians overall, allowing them to count periods of self-employment, without a job offer, for three streams.

Suspension of its Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream: In November 2025, the OINP called for the immediate suspension of its trades-targeted stream, and returned all pending applications after it identified “systemic compliance and enforcement concerns relating to the stream.”

Expanded authority to return or suspend applications: In July 2025, new regulations were implemented to allow for the return of applications prior to the issuance of a provincial nomination (with refunded application fees).

By October’s end, the program broadened factors that could lead to the suspension or return of applications pre-nomination issuance, adding 13 new factors (and removing one)—such as the province’s ability to provide adequate housing/health services, an applicant’s language proficiency, education, or work status, and anticipated provincial labour market needs.

Introduction of new electronic Employer Portal: In July 2025, the province changed its intake for its Employer: Job Offer streams, moving from an applicant-led process to an employer-led process. As such, individuals could no longer apply directly to the OINP under these streams.

Reduced eligibility requirements for early childhood educators/assistants: Also, as of July 2025, the province changed its education requirements for early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202), making it so that they no longer needed to have a Canadian bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) to qualify under its

Requirement of in-person interviews implemented: Finally, the province also said in its July changes that it may require in-person interviews for both applicants and employers as a means of addressing “concerns related to the credibility and authenticity of certain applications.”

Upcoming stream consolidation

Ontario has also proposed a major consolidation of OINP streams as part of a broader program redesign. Under a planned two-phase overhaul, the province would first merge its three Employer Job Offer streams into a single stream with multiple tracks.

In a later phase, most existing streams would be eliminated and replaced with three new pathways focused on healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, and exceptional talent. The changes were proposed in late 2025 and are expected to roll out in 2026 and beyond, pending final regulatory approval.

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