As of October 17, 2026. Ontario has launched a new round of its Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) initiative, running until the end of 2027. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) announced the round on October 16, 2026 and named six partner communities: Greater Sudbury, Kenora District, Nipissing District, Rainy River District, Renfrew County and Thunder Bay. Each gets a share of Ontario's provincial nomination spaces for skilled foreign workers who want to live and work there. There is no separate REDI application. Candidates apply through the regular OINP and must meet its eligibility rules.
For workers already in or headed to Northern Ontario or the Ottawa Valley, this can mean a less crowded route to permanent residence (PR) than competing province-wide.
What did Ontario announce on October 16, 2026?
Ontario's 2026 OINP updates page says a new REDI round launched on October 14, 2026 and runs to the end of 2027. REDI sets aside nomination spaces for selected communities that, in the province's words, have a critical need for newcomer talent and strong potential for immigrant uptake. The REDI initiative page, published October 13, 2026, says the program began as a pilot in 2020 with 3 communities, added 4 more in 2025, and has supported the nomination of nearly 1,000 workers across those 7 communities, in sectors including health care and the skilled trades. Ontario invited communities outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to apply in spring 2026 and chose the six below.
Which communities are in the 2026 to 2027 REDI round?
Six communities are in this round, all of them in Northern Ontario or the Ottawa Valley. The province defines each community by its Statistics Canada census division, so the boundary is the whole district or county, not just the main city.
| Community (census division) | Region | Main centres |
|---|
| Greater Sudbury | Northern Ontario | Sudbury |
| Kenora District | Northwestern Ontario | Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout |
| Nipissing District | Northern Ontario | North Bay |
| Rainy River District | Northwestern Ontario | Fort Frances |
| Renfrew County | Eastern Ontario (Ottawa Valley) | Pembroke, Renfrew, Arnprior |
| Thunder Bay | Northwestern Ontario | Thunder Bay |
Ontario has not published how many nomination spaces each community receives.
How do you apply through REDI?
You do not apply to REDI directly. Ontario's October 16 update states that "there is no separate application process for the initiative." You register an expression of interest (EOI) in the OINP like any other candidate, with a job offer from an employer in one of the six communities, and the province uses its REDI spaces to invite candidates tied to those communities. In the last OINP draws before the program was redesigned, REDI candidates were invited in their own targeted round: on April 8, 2026, 32 REDI candidates were invited at lower cut-offs than many province-wide rounds.
Since August 4, 2026, the main OINP route for workers is the Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream, which replaced the old Employer Job Offer, graduate and Express Entry streams. Read our guide to the Ontario Workforce Priority stream for the full requirements.
Who qualifies under the OINP right now?
To be invited, you need to meet the requirements of the OWP stream. The 2026 OINP updates page sets out three pathways:
| OWP pathway | Main requirements |
|---|
| TEER 0 to 3 job offer | Full-time, permanent offer; Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6, or 5 for some jobs; post-secondary credential; recent experience with the employer or in the occupation (licensed applicants exempt) |
| TEER 4 to 5 job offer | Full-time, permanent offer; 9 months of experience in the past 2 years with the employer; CLB 4; Canadian high school diploma or equivalent |
| Self-employed physicians | No job offer; good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and able to bill OHIP |
Two details help candidates in REDI communities. Employers in census divisions with fewer than 150,000 people face lower gross annual revenue requirements, which covers several of the six. And since October 5, 2026, candidates who earned $80,000 or more in a single year in the past five years get 10 extra EOI points.
What should employers and workers in these communities do?
Workers should get a qualifying job offer from an employer located in one of the six census divisions, then register an OWP EOI. Employers should contact the OINP for an employer consultation at immigration.ontario@ontario.ca, the address listed on the REDI page, and work with their local partner, such as the city's economic development office, which helps employers use the program.
- Check the location. The job must be inside the participating census division. A job in Ottawa does not count for Renfrew County, and a job in Dryden counts for Kenora District while one across the border in Manitoba does not.
- Watch for REDI draws. Ontario has not yet held an OWP draw or announced REDI allocations. Follow our Ontario PNP draw tracker.
- Compare federal options. Several Northern Ontario communities also take part in the federal Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which has its own job offer rules.
- Plan to stay. Provincial nominees are expected to live and work in Ontario, and REDI exists to keep workers in the region.
If you have a job offer in one of these communities and are not sure which route fits, our licensed consultant can compare the OINP, REDI and federal options with you. Book a consultation, or check your options first with our free assessment.
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Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration or legal advice. Immigration laws and policies change frequently. Each case is unique and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) before making immigration decisions.
