Ontario Workforce Priority Stream 2026: Eligibility and How to Apply

On July 21, 2026, Ontario published the eligibility criteria for the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream. The stream replaces the eight OINP streams that closed in June 2026, following amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, which came into force on June 25, 2026. This guide sets out what is confirmed, what remains unpublished, and what applicants and employers can do now.

What changed in the OINP in 2026

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development eliminated all eight existing OINP streams and replaced them with a single stream. This is the largest structural change in the program history.

No further invitations will be issued under any former pathway. Applications submitted before June 26, 2026 continue to be assessed under the rules in effect at the time of submission. Expression of Interest (EOI) registrations under the former streams that did not result in an invitation are being automatically withdrawn, and those candidates must register a new profile once the new system opens.

The three pathways at a glance

The stream covers all National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER levels from 0 through 5, plus a dedicated pathway for self-employed physicians. Your TEER level determines which pathway applies and which requirements you must meet.

TEER 0-3 pathway: skilled workers

This pathway is for workers with a full-time, permanent job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation: management roles, professional occupations usually requiring a university degree, technical occupations usually requiring a college diploma or apprenticeship, and intermediate occupations.

Language

Applicants who are not recent Ontario graduates must show English or French ability at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 or higher in all four abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. The test must have been completed within two years before the application. Accepted tests are IELTS General Training, CELPIP General, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. Recent Ontario graduates are exempt from this requirement entirely.

For the following occupation groups the requirement drops to CLB 5. Applicants in these groups also face a lower education bar, needing only a Canadian secondary school diploma or a foreign equivalent with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

Education

Most TEER 0-3 applicants need a post-secondary degree or diploma from a recognised institution. Applicants in the CLB 5 occupation groups need only a Canadian secondary school diploma or its foreign equivalent. Any foreign credential requires an ECA from a designated organisation such as WES, completed within the past five years.

Work experience

Applicants qualify through one of three options.

Applicants who already hold a valid licence to practise a regulated profession in Ontario may be exempt from the work experience requirement entirely. This exemption applies only to the TEER 0-3 pathway.

Alternate NOC experience

The regulation permits work experience in a different NOC only for specifically listed combinations. This is not open to every related higher-level occupation, and applicants should confirm their combination is expressly listed in the regulation before relying on it.

TEER 4-5 pathway: essential workers

This pathway covers workers with a full-time, permanent job offer in any TEER 4 or TEER 5 occupation: healthcare support, transport, food service, agriculture, manufacturing and other intermediate and labouring roles. All TEER 4 and 5 occupations are eligible, a significant broadening compared with the former In-Demand Skills stream, which used a limited occupation list.

Applicants must show English or French ability at CLB 4 or higher in all four abilities, using the same accepted tests within the same two-year window. This is a new requirement; the former In-Demand Skills stream had no mandatory benchmark for some TEER 4 and 5 workers. The education requirement is a Canadian secondary school diploma or a foreign equivalent with an ECA.

Work experience is 9 months cumulative in the last two years, in the job offer position, with the job offer employer. The experience must be with the employer making the offer, not simply in the same occupation with a different employer. There is no licensing exemption under this pathway and no reduced requirement for recent graduates.

Self-employed physicians pathway

This is the only pathway that does not require a job offer from an Ontario employer. It addresses a long-standing barrier, since many physicians work under independent practice arrangements rather than employment contracts. All three conditions must be met at the same time.

The EOI scoring system

Candidates register an Expression of Interest profile and receive a score. Ontario then issues invitations to apply to the highest-ranking candidates in periodic draws. Several factors are prepopulated in the EOI when you apply with a job offer or as a self-employed physician.

Employment and labour market factors

For self-employed physicians the hourly wage factor does not apply.

Ontario work experience

Where the applicant has less than 6 months in the job offer position, general Ontario work experience is scored instead.

Self-employed physicians are scored on cumulative medical practice in Ontario: over 24 months earns 18 points, 13 to 24 months earns 15 points, 6 to 12 months earns 12 points, and less than 6 months earns 0 points.

Earnings history and legal status

Earnings are based on a Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency in the last five years.

Education

A Canadian credential or an ECA is required.

Language

Points are awarded on your lowest CLB level across the four abilities. If you have taken both an English and a French test, the higher result is used. Academic and One Skill Retake tests are not accepted.

To receive points for two official languages you must have at least CLB 6 across all four abilities in both tests.

Regionalization

For applicants with a job offer, the region is based on the work location entered by the employer. For self-employed physicians it is based on the Ontario practice address registered with the OHIP billing number.

Employer eligibility requirements

A qualifying job offer under the TEER 0-3 and TEER 4-5 pathways requires an eligible Ontario employer. Employers must meet all of the following.

Under the former OINP structure the minimum gross annual revenue was 1,000,000 dollars for employers in the Greater Toronto Area and 500,000 dollars for employers outside it. The redesigned program introduces reduced revenue requirements for employers in rural communities, defined as census divisions with a population under 150,000. The specific reduced figures have not been published, so employers in rural Ontario should confirm whether their location qualifies under the new regulation.

The wage must generally meet or exceed the regional median wage for the occupation. A job offer to a recent Ontario graduate under the TEER 0-3 pathway may instead meet the applicable regional low-wage level. This lower threshold is created by the new regulation and applies only to qualifying recent Ontario graduates.

Employers already registered in the OINP Employer Portal do not need to register again. Once the portal reopens they must submit a new job offer and a new application for approval of an employment position under the redesigned stream. Job offers and position approvals from the former streams do not carry over.

How to apply

As of July 21, 2026 the OINP e-Filing Portal is under maintenance. EOI registrations and new job offers in the Employer Portal are temporarily unavailable. Ontario has said the system is expected to reopen later in summer 2026, but no date has been announced. Once the portal reopens, the process runs as follows.

What happens to Masters and PhD graduates

The Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams were among the eight pathways permanently closed on June 26, 2026. Under the current Phase 1 structure, international graduates will generally need a qualifying full-time, permanent job offer to access the Workforce Priority stream, though recent Ontario graduates can use the shorter Option C work experience route. Candidates without a qualifying job offer may consider federal options such as the Canadian Experience Class.

Ontario has indicated that Phase 2 of the redesign may introduce additional streams, including a Priority Healthcare Stream, an Exceptional Talent Stream and a redesigned Entrepreneur Stream. No eligibility rules or launch dates have been confirmed for any of them.

Ontario 2026 nomination allocation

Ontario received approximately 14,119 nomination spots for 2026 under the federal Provincial Nominee Program allocation. The 2026 to 2028 Immigration Levels Plan increased the national PNP admissions target to 91,500 for 2026, up from 55,000 in 2025. Provincial nominees receive a significant CRS boost in Express Entry PNP draws, which makes a provincial nomination one of the most effective routes to permanent residence for candidates already in the Express Entry pool.

After the nominations already issued under the former streams before the June 26 closure, the remaining allocation is expected to flow through the Workforce Priority stream for the rest of 2026 and into 2027.