Ontario to overhaul immigration

Ontario amended Ontario Regulation 421/17 under the Ontario Immigration Act on March 16, 2026, expressly giving the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development the power to create or remove OINP selection streams. (ontario.ca) The province set May 30, 2026 as the implementation date when existing applicant categories will be revoked, specifically naming the foreign worker, international student with a job offer, in‑demand skills, master’s graduate, PhD graduate, human capital priorities, French‑speaking skilled worker, skilled trades, and entrepreneur categories. (cicnews.com) The updated regulation expands the OINP Director’s selection tools by permitting both general and targeted draws and by allowing ranking limited to candidates who meet one or more specified labour‑market or human‑capital attributes, with invitations issued to the highest‑ranking applicants who satisfy those targets. (cicnews.com) The March 16 changes also add program‑integrity measures: the OINP Director can deliver refusal or cancellation notices by email, mail, or in person and deem them delivered without proof of receipt, and sections 14.1 (Standards and Requirements) and 15.1 (Misrepresentation) were added as triggers for administrative monetary penalties. (ontario.ca) Ontario’s 2026 federal nomination allocation is 14,119 nominations, and the OINP has remained active during the redesign — for example, on February 18, 2026 the program issued 1,404 invitations to candidates in skilled‑trades occupations under Employer Job Offer streams. (ontario.ca) The regulatory overhaul moved from proposal to implementation after a public consultation period that closed January 1, 2026, and stakeholder submissions such as the Ontario Bar Association’s response were filed in December 2025–January 2026. (immigrationnewscanada.ca) ( )