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Ontario has rebuilt the way it picks skilled workers for permanent residence. An amendment to Ontario Regulation 422/17 came into force on 25 June 2026 and repealed eight of the province's immigration programmes at once. In their place Ontario opened a single new programme, the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, whose expression of interest portal opened on 4 August 2026.
Some background if this is new to you. Ontario selects candidates through the Provincial Nominee Program: the province nominates people whose skills it wants, and that nomination then supports a permanent residence application to Canada's federal immigration department. Ontario decides who gets nominated; the federal government decides who becomes a permanent resident.
Eight programmes were repealed on 25 June 2026:
Expressions of interest that were sitting in the pool under those streams were withdrawn, and no further invitations will be issued under any of them. If you were waiting on one of these, there is nothing left to wait for, and the new programme is where to look next.
The replacement has three routes, and two of them are described using Canada's occupation coding system, so it helps to know that system first.
Canada gives every job a code in the National Occupational Classification, and each code sits in a band called a TEER (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities). The bands run from TEER 0, which is management work, through TEER 1 for professional jobs that usually need a university degree, TEER 2 and TEER 3 for jobs that need a college diploma, apprenticeship training or a few years of experience, down to TEER 4 and TEER 5 for jobs learned mostly on the job. Our post on the NOC and TEER system walks through how to find the code for your own occupation.
The three routes are:
You cannot simply apply. You register an expression of interest, which is a short profile telling Ontario who you are and what you do, and you can submit an application only if Ontario then invites you.
Language. Canada measures language ability on the Canadian Language Benchmark scale, or CLB, and your English or French test result converts to a CLB level. The Ontario Workforce Priority stream asks for CLB 6 for most TEER 0 to 3 jobs, CLB 5 if your job is one of the listed skilled trades, and CLB 4 for TEER 4 to 5 jobs. Our post on language tests and CLB levels explains how a test score becomes a benchmark level.
Education. A one-year post-secondary credential for most TEER 0 to 3 jobs, and a high school diploma for the listed skilled trades and for TEER 4 to 5 jobs.
Settlement funds. There is no settlement funds requirement, so you do not have to show savings in a bank account to be considered.
Our assessments now cover the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, and the eight repealed programmes no longer appear in anyone's report. That matters more than it sounds: a report that still ranked you against a closed programme would be pointing you at a door that no longer opens, which is worse than saying nothing at all.
Ontario's own Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program pages are the authoritative source for the new stream, and they are the place to check before you act on anything here.
To see how your own profile lines up against Ontario's new programme and the rest of Canada's routes, start a free assessment. You answer the questions once and get a personalized view of where you stand.
Answer our free questionnaire and see your eligibility summary instantly. You only pay to unlock your full personalized immigration report.