Ontario’s Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream: A Pathway to Permanent Residency

Important update: The Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream is closed. It was suspended on November 14, 2025, and formally removed from the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) when regulatory amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 came into force on June 25, 2026. Skilled trades workers now access a provincial nomination through the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream, which opened its Expression of Interest (EOI) portal on August 4, 2026.

This guide explains what changed, what happens to existing files, and exactly how a trades worker qualifies under the new rules.

What Happened to the Skilled Trades Stream

For years, the Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream let tradespeople with recent Ontario work experience receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) from Ontario, apply for a provincial nomination, and collect 600 additional CRS points in the federal pool. That route no longer exists.

Three dates matter:

• November 14, 2025 - The Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream was suspended and stopped issuing Notifications of Interest.
• May 30, 2026 - Amendments to Ontario Regulation 421/17 took effect, preparing the ground for the program redesign.
• June 25, 2026 - Amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 came into force, closing eight OINP streams and creating the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. Ontario announced the change on June 26, 2026.

The eight closed streams are: Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker, Employer Job Offer In-Demand Skills, Employer Job Offer International Student, Master's Graduate, PhD Graduate, Express Entry Human Capital Priorities, Express Entry French-speaking Skilled Worker, and Express Entry Skilled Trades.

Ontario has described this as Phase 1 of a two-phase redesign. The stated goals are to streamline permanent residence pathways for people with arranged employment in Ontario, help employers keep proven workers in hard-to-fill roles, raise language and education benchmarks, and give employers in rural and northern communities more flexible business revenue thresholds.

If you are weighing your options right now, our team can review your profile against the new rules before you commit to a plan. Start with a free assessment or read our overview of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream

The Ontario Workforce Priority stream replaces all eight closed streams with a single stream built around three pathways:

The single biggest change for trades workers: every pathway except self-employed physicians requires a full-time, permanent Ontario job offer from an employer who has registered with the OINP and obtained approval for the employment position. The old Skilled Trades Stream did not require a job offer at the time of application. The new stream does.

Most skilled trades occupations fall within TEER 2 and TEER 3, so trades workers will usually apply through the TEER 0-3 pathway. Helper and labourer roles typically sit in TEER 4 or 5.

Lower gross annual revenue requirements apply to employers located in rural communities. For program purposes, a rural community is one located in a census division with a population under 150,000.

Requirements for Trades Workers (TEER 0-3 Pathway)

To qualify under the TEER 0-3 pathway, you need a full-time, permanent job offer in Ontario in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation, plus the following.

1. Work Experience

You must demonstrate one of the following:

• 6 months consecutive experience in the last 12 months in the job offer position with the job offer employer
• For recent Ontario graduates, 3 months consecutive experience in the last 12 months in the job offer position with the job offer employer
• 2 years cumulative experience in the last 5 years in the NOC occupation
• Licensed applicants are exempt from the work experience requirement

Note how this differs from the old stream, which asked for one year of Ontario experience in an eligible trade within the previous two years. The new rules put weight on your relationship with the specific employer making the offer.

2. Licensing and Certification

If your occupation is a compulsory trade in Ontario, you must hold the valid certificate of qualification or licence required to practise it. This has not changed in substance, and licensed applicants gain an advantage: they are exempt from the work experience requirement above.

3. Language

The minimum is Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 across all four abilities. CLB 5 applies to certain occupations, including designated skilled trades. Test results must be valid at the time you apply.

If you are unsure how your test score converts to a CLB level, our language score converter does the conversion for the common English and French tests.

4. Education

The minimum is a post-secondary degree or diploma. This is a meaningful increase from the old Skilled Trades Stream, which did not impose a post-secondary education requirement. Foreign credentials must be supported by an Educational Credential Assessment.

Some occupations may have alternate criteria, so confirm the exact requirement for your NOC code before you build your file.

5. Legal Status and Intention to Settle in Ontario

You must hold valid status in Canada if you are applying from inside the country, and you must demonstrate a genuine intention to live and work in Ontario. Ontario assesses this through your ties to the province: current or past employment, study at an Ontario institution, property you rent or own, family and community connections, and membership in professional or business associations.

6. Employer Requirements

Your employer carries real weight in this stream. The employer must register in the OINP Employer Portal, submit an application for approval of the employment position, and meet the business revenue and employee thresholds that apply to their location. Rural and northern employers face lower revenue thresholds than employers in larger census divisions.

The TEER 4-5 Pathway

This pathway is open to workers in all TEER 4 and 5 occupations with a full-time, permanent job offer in Ontario. Minimum requirements are:

• Work experience: 9 months cumulative experience in the last 2 years in the job offer position with the job offer employer
• Language: CLB 4
• Education: Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent

This pathway is a base nomination route. It is not aligned with Express Entry, so a nomination here does not add CRS points to a federal profile.

Before You Apply: Steps to Qualify

1. Confirm Your NOC Code and TEER Category

Your NOC code determines which pathway applies to you, what language level you need, and what education you must show. Get this right first, because everything else follows from it.

2. Secure a Qualifying Job Offer

The offer must be full-time and permanent, and it must come from an employer prepared to register with the OINP and seek approval of the position. If you are already working in Ontario, your current employer is usually the natural starting point.

3. Take an Approved Language Test

Accepted tests are the same ones IRCC recognises: IELTS General Training, CELPIP General and PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French. Aim above the minimum, because language scores also earn points in the ranking grid.

4. Get an Educational Credential Assessment

If your degree or diploma was earned outside Canada, you need an ECA. Order it early, since turnaround times can stretch to several weeks.

5. Decide Whether to Pursue Express Entry Alignment

Candidates on the TEER 0-3 pathway, including self-employed physicians, can request a nomination through the federal Express Entry system if they meet federal eligibility and keep an active Express Entry profile throughout the process. An Express Entry nomination adds 600 CRS points and you have 30 calendar days to accept it. If Express Entry is part of your plan, review our guides to Express Entry, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and check where you stand with our CRS Score Calculator.

How to Apply: EOI, Employer Portal and Nomination

The process now runs through an Expression of Interest system rather than the old Notification of Interest model.

Step 1 - Employer registers. Your employer registers in the OINP Employer Portal and submits an application for approval of the employment position. Employers who registered under the former streams do not need to register again, but they must submit a new job offer and a new application for approval of the position.

Step 2 - You register an EOI. Once the position is approved, you register an Expression of Interest under the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. Registration is free and the portal has been open since August 4, 2026.

Step 3 - Invitation round. The OINP ranks EOI profiles by score and issues invitations to apply. Ontario can also run targeted rounds that invite candidates meeting specific labour market or regional criteria, regardless of overall score. Early signals point to health sector roles, skilled trades and in-demand TEER 2 and 3 occupations being prioritised.

Step 4 - Application. If invited, you submit a complete application with supporting documents within the deadline stated in your invitation. Every factor you claimed in your EOI must be documented at this stage, so an over-scored EOI costs you the file.

Step 5 - Nomination. If approved, you receive a nomination. TEER 0-3 candidates who opted into Express Entry alignment have 30 calendar days to accept the nomination in the Express Entry system, which adds 600 CRS points and effectively secures an Invitation to Apply from IRCC. After an ITA, you have 60 calendar days to submit your permanent residence application. TEER 4-5 candidates receive a base nomination and apply to IRCC through the paper-based provincial nominee process.

A nomination is not permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision, and you must still meet federal admissibility requirements including medical and security checks.

If You Already Had an EOI or an Application

This is the part that catches people out.

• EOIs and job offers registered under the former streams that had not resulted in an invitation to apply were automatically withdrawn while the platforms were updated. Affected registrants, employers and representatives received direct notice. If this is you, you need to start again under the new stream.
• Applications submitted after an invitation under a former stream continue to be assessed against the eligibility requirements that were in effect when the application was submitted. Your file is still alive and is judged by the old rules.
• Nominations already issued remain valid. Continue with your federal permanent residence application as planned, and watch your nomination expiry date.

If you are in the second or third group and something has gone wrong with your file, an immigration appeal or a review of your options may be worth exploring before deadlines pass.

Alternatives If You Do Not Have a Job Offer

The new stream is employer-anchored, which leaves candidates without an Ontario job offer looking elsewhere. Realistic options include:

• Federal Express Entry. The Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Canadian Experience Class both remain open and require no provincial nomination. Track cut-offs through our Express Entry Draws page.
• Another province's nominee program. Several provinces still run trades-focused streams with different criteria. Our Provincial Nominee Program page sets out the landscape.
• A work permit first. Building Canadian experience on an employer-supported work permit, including through a Labour Market Impact Assessment, buys time to qualify under a permanent residence pathway later.

Program criteria continue to change as Ontario moves into Phase 2 of the redesign. Always confirm current requirements on the official Ontario Workforce Priority stream page before you act.