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

As of August 5, 2026. Updated for the August 4 opening of the Expression of Interest portal, and with Ontario’s published Workforce Priority Stream scoring framework.

Ontario rewrote its main economic immigration program this summer, and as of August 4, 2026 the replacement is live. On June 26, 2026, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) closed all eight of its remaining streams and replaced them with one new stream, the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. The change took effect immediately under amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17, and it is the first of a two-phase redesign. This guide breaks down what closed, what the new stream requires, what happens to applications already in the system, and what to do next. The details come straight from the Government of Ontario. For eligibility, fees and every pathway in one place, see our OINP 2026 guide.

What changed in the OINP on June 26, 2026?

Short answer: Ontario closed eight streams and launched one new stream, the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development amended Ontario Regulation 422/17 under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, effective June 26, 2026. The amendments remove the eight streams the OINP had been running and introduce a single consolidated stream built around arranged employment in Ontario. The province calls this Phase 1 of a two-phase redesign meant to make permanent-residence pathways faster for people with a job offer, raise language and education standards, strengthen program integrity, and give rural and northern employers easier revenue thresholds. The Expression of Interest (EOI) system that feeds the program reopened on August 4, 2026. Ontario sets out the change on its 2026 OINP updates page.

Which OINP streams were closed?

Short answer: All eight remaining streams are gone, across the employer, graduate, and Express Entry categories. The closures cover the three Employer Job Offer streams, both graduate streams, and all three Express Entry-aligned streams, and no further invitations will be issued under any of them. The table lists every closed stream.

If you were building a profile for one of these streams, that route no longer exists. The replacement is the Workforce Priority Stream below. For how the redesign has unfolded since, and whether any invitations have been issued, see our OINP 2026 updates tracker.

What is the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream?

Short answer: It is one stream with three pathways, all built around a permanent Ontario job offer, except for physicians. The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream folds the old structure into a single program with pathways for workers across every National Occupational Classification (NOC) Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category, plus a separate route for self-employed physicians. The province says the stream is meant to help employers keep proven talent in hard-to-fill roles and move workers with arranged employment toward permanent residence. Two of the three pathways require a full-time, permanent job offer in Ontario, while the physician pathway does not. Canada explains how a provincial nomination fits the wider system on the Provincial Nominee Program page, and how nominations interact with Express Entry.

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.

How are candidates scored under the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream?

Short answer: Ontario ranks Expression of Interest (EOI) profiles on a points grid it published in late July 2026. Job-offer candidates can score up to 130 points and self-employed physicians up to 115. The grid rewards Ontario work experience, Canadian income history, higher wages, official-language ability, and settling outside Toronto.

Ontario released the full scoring factors for the Workforce Priority Stream in late July 2026, so candidates can now see how the province will rank them once the EOI system reopens. Points come from employment, education, language, and regional factors. The main factors and their maximum values are below.

Two things stand out. First, regionalization is now a real lever: a job in Northern Ontario earns the full 15 location points while a job in Toronto earns zero, so where the job sits can change your rank. Second, self-employed physicians are scored on a modified grid that removes the wage factor and instead awards points for cumulative medical practice in Ontario. Point values for each sub-level can still change, so confirm every figure on the province's official Workforce Priority Stream page before you rely on it. To estimate your federal ranking alongside this, use our CRS calculator, and to follow Ontario's invitation rounds once they resume, see our Ontario PNP draw guide.

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:

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 before you register your EOI, or start with our free assessment to see which programs fit you.

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