Is the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream open now?
Short answer: Yes. Ontario opened the Expression of Interest portal for the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream on August 4, 2026, and it is now the only OINP stream accepting registrations. No invitations have been issued under the new stream yet. Ontario's invitations page still lists only pre-redesign Employer Job Offer draws, the most recent on April 30, 2026, so everyone registering today is entering a pool that has not been drawn from.
The order of operations is not the one most applicants expect, and you cannot start it yourself. Your employer goes first: they register their business in the Employer Portal and submit a job offer for your position. That generates a job offer ID, and only then can you register an EOI. Employers who were registered before the redesign do not need to register again, but they must submit a new job offer, because offers made under the closed streams do not carry over.
Three deadlines then run, and the third one contains a trap:
| Step | Who | Deadline |
|---|
| Register the EOI | You | 30 calendar days from your employer submitting the job offer |
| Application for approval of the employment position | Your employer | 14 calendar days from the invitation to apply |
| Submit your application and pay |
The trap is in the last row. Your 17 days run from the invitation, but Ontario will not let you submit until after your employer has filed their application for approval of the employment position. You can build your application during those 17 days; you cannot press submit. An employer who uses their full 14 days leaves you three. Agree a filing date with your employer before you register the EOI, not after the invitation arrives.
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Short answer: Pending EOIs under the old streams will be withdrawn, but submitted applications keep the old rules.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or job offer registered under an old stream that has not already led to an invitation to apply will be automatically withdrawn over the coming weeks while Ontario updates its platforms, and affected candidates, employers, and representatives will be notified directly.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: Register, if your employer will move. The EOI portal opened on August 4, 2026, so the preparation window is over and the pool is live but undrawn. 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.
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