New Ontario PR Pathway Opens to Workers and Physicians

Ontario has begun accepting expressions of interest under its new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, allowing eligible foreign nationals to seek a provincial nomination for permanent residence.

The online intake opened on August 4, 2026. Ontario introduced the stream on June 26, but candidates could not enter the selection pool until the province activated its e-Filing system. The province published the stream’s points-based scoring factors on July 20.

Three Pathways Available

The stream covers workers with job offers across National Occupational Classification skill levels and eligible self-employed physicians. It includes pathways for higher-skilled workers, lower-skilled workers and physicians registered to practise in Ontario and eligible to bill the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

For most job-offer candidates, an eligible Ontario employer must first submit a qualifying job offer through the OINP Employer Portal. The candidate then uses the job offer identification number to register an Expression of Interest in Ontario’s e-Filing Portal.

Eligible self-employed physicians do not need a job offer. They must contact the program through its webform to begin registering an Expression of Interest. They must hold an accepted registration certificate, remain in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and qualify to receive OHIP payments.

Candidates Ranked Through Points System

Registering an Expression of Interest does not guarantee an invitation. Ontario will periodically select candidates from the pool based on labour needs and the scores assigned to their profiles.

An Expression of Interest remains active for up to 12 months. Candidates who do not receive an invitation during that period must register again if they want Ontario to continue considering them.

Those invited to apply have 17 calendar days to submit a nomination application and pay the required fee. For candidates applying with job offers, the employer must apply for approval of the employment position within 14 calendar days of the invitation. The worker cannot submit the final application until the employer has completed that step.

Nomination Can Support Federal Applications

A successful job-offer candidate may receive a provincial support letter that can be used when applying to the federal government for a work permit.

Candidates in higher-skilled occupations, generally classified as TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, and eligible self-employed physicians may choose nomination through the Express Entry-linked Provincial Nominee Program. This option may provide faster federal permanent residence processing than a base provincial nomination, although Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada makes the final decision.

More Ontario Streams Planned

Ontario closed its eight previous OINP streams on May 30 as part of a broader redesign. Applications submitted before those pathways closed will continue to be assessed under the rules in effect when they were filed.

The Workforce Priority Stream is the first phase of the overhaul. Ontario has also announced plans for priority healthcare worker, entrepreneur and exceptional talent streams. The exceptional talent pathway is expected to target people with major achievements in academia, innovation, science, technology and the arts.

Ontario has not released eligibility rules or launch dates for the three streams.