OINP 2026 Redesign: Ontario Replaces 8 Streams With the Workforce Priority Stream

Who qualifies under the TEER 0-3 pathway?

Short answer: Skilled workers in TEER 0 to 3 jobs with a permanent Ontario job offer who meet one experience option. This pathway targets internationally trained workers in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupations with a full-time, permanent job offer in Ontario. On work experience, you must show one of three things: six months consecutive in the last 12 months in the job-offer position with the job-offer employer; for recent Ontario graduates, three months consecutive in the last 12 months in that position with that employer; or two years cumulative in the last five years in the same NOC occupation. Applicants in licensed occupations are exempt from the experience requirement. The language requirement is Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6, dropping to CLB 5 for certain occupations, and you need a post-secondary degree or diploma. Some occupations carry alternate criteria, so check the regulation for your role.

What are the TEER 4-5 and self-employed physician pathways?

Short answer: One covers intermediate roles with a job offer, the other covers physicians with no job offer. The TEER 4-5 pathway is open to workers in NOC TEER 4 and 5 occupations with a full-time, permanent Ontario job offer. It asks for nine months of cumulative experience in the last two years in the job-offer position with the job-offer employer, CLB 4 language, and a Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent. Additional criteria, including wage requirements for some roles, are set out in the regulation. The self-employed physician pathway is the one route with no job offer. To qualify, you must be a member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), hold a valid certificate of registration in an eligible class (independent, academic, or provisional), and be eligible to bill the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Across all three pathways, employers in rural communities, defined as a census division with a population under 150,000, get lower gross annual revenue thresholds.

The table sums up the three pathways.

What happens to your existing OINP EOI or application?

Short answer: Pending EOIs under the old streams will be withdrawn, but submitted applications keep the old rules. The EOI system is now closed to new EOIs, and no further invitations will be issued under the former streams. Any EOI or job offer registered under an old stream that has not already led to an invitation to apply will be automatically withdrawn over the coming weeks while Ontario updates its platforms, and affected candidates, employers, and representatives will be notified directly. If you already submitted a full application after receiving an invitation under a former stream, that application will still be assessed against the rules in effect when you submitted it. Once the new EOI system reopens, eligible candidates will need to register a fresh EOI under the Workforce Priority Stream. Employers who already have a portal account do not need to re-register it, but they will have to submit a new job offer and a new application for approval of the employment position.

What should workers and employers do now?

Short answer: Get ready for the new EOI, line up a qualifying job offer, and meet the higher benchmarks. There is a gap between today's closures and the EOI reopening later this summer, and that window is the time to prepare. Workers should confirm their occupation's TEER category, check which experience option they can meet, and book a language test that reaches the benchmark for their pathway, since CLB 6 is higher than several old streams required. Employers should confirm their roles are permanent and full-time and, if they are rural, check whether they fall under the lower revenue thresholds. The province also tightened compliance: the response time for a Notice of Intent to Issue an Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) or Ban order dropped from 60 to 30 days, and notices can now be sent by email, mail, or in person and are treated as delivered. You can follow draw activity through our OINP news and draws tracker, and review the program on Ontario's OINP page.

Frequently Asked Questions About the OINP Redesign

These are the questions Ontario candidates are asking after the June 26 changes. In short: the OINP was redesigned, not cancelled, the eight old streams are closed, and the new Workforce Priority Stream opens for EOIs later this summer.

Is the OINP suspended in 2026? Not suspended, redesigned. The program is open, but the Expression of Interest system is temporarily closed while Ontario switches platforms, and it is expected to reopen later in the summer for the new Workforce Priority Stream.

Will the OINP be removed? No. Ontario removed eight individual streams and replaced them with one consolidated stream. The program itself continues, and the province has said a second phase of the redesign is still to come.

Are there still OINP draws in 2026? No new invitations will be issued under the former streams. New draws will run under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream once the EOI system reopens later in the summer.

Who is eligible for the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream? Skilled workers in TEER 0 to 3 jobs and intermediate workers in TEER 4 to 5 jobs, in both cases with a permanent full-time Ontario job offer plus the required experience, language, and education, and self-employed physicians who meet the CPSO and OHIP conditions without a job offer.

What happens to my existing OINP application? If you only have an EOI or job offer under an old stream with no invitation yet, it will be withdrawn over the coming weeks. If you already submitted an application after an invitation, it stays under the old rules.

How can a licensed RCIC help with the new OINP stream?

Short answer: By matching you to the right pathway and timing the new EOI. Go Far Global is a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) firm in Toronto, regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). We help workers confirm their TEER category and experience option, plan the language score the new benchmarks require, and prepare a clean EOI and application for the Workforce Priority Stream the moment it opens. We also help Ontario employers structure qualifying job offers, including the rural revenue thresholds. Book a consultation to get ready before the EOI reopens.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The OINP redesign is new and the EOI details are still rolling out. Confirm the current rules for your situation with a licensed RCIC and on the official Ontario and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) websites before you act.

Sources

• Government of Ontario, 2026 Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program updates
• Government of Ontario, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
• IRCC, Provincial Nominee Program
• IRCC, Express Entry