Ontario Receives 700 Extra Spaces After Reaching 2019 Nomination Allocation

Ontario immigration has received an increase of 700 nominations from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada after reaching its 2019 allocation.

Canada’s most populous province had an initial allocation of 6,650 nominations for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, which it reached as of December 9, 2019.

With the further 700 nominations, the province’s total for 2019 is now 7,350.

“The program will continue to process applications and issue nominations until the increased allocation is fulfilled,” an OINP statement said.

Meanwhile, Ontario continues to process applications through its In-Demand Skills Stream for the separate allocation granted under the IRCC’s NOC C initiative.

Candidates who are issued provincial nominations can then apply to the federal government for permanent residence.

Those with profiles in the Express Entry pool receive a further 600 points for their profile, effectively guaranteeing an Invitation to Apply in the next draw.

Meanwhile, Ontario also issues Notifications of Interest to Express Entry candidates through three streams:

Ontario announced it would be starting Tech Draws in July, focused on six specific technology occupations:

Software engineers and designers (NOC 2173)
Computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174)
Computer engineers (NOC 2147)
Web designers and developers (NOC 2175)
Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172)
Computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213)

The draws are designed to address labour shortages in the technology sector in Canada’s largest province.

Candidates must meet existing HCP requirements as well as have work experience in one of the stated occupations.

The OINP also operates a separate Expression of Interest system for its Entrepreneur stream, through which NOIs are also issued.

Summary of Ontario NOIs 2019

Stream	Notifications of interest
Human Capital Priorities Stream (HCP)	6,958
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream (FSSW)	549
Skilled Trades Stream (ST)	1,399
Entrepreneur Stream	66

There are five streams under which candidates can apply directly for Ontario nomination: Employer Job Offer (all three streams) and International Student (Masters and PhD Graduates).

Canada announced that a temporary public policy will be implemented to offer a pathway to permanent residence for eligible, out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area.

The OINP supports employers by facilitating the immigration of managerial, professional and skilled foreign workers and international students required to meet their human resources needs.

The province of Ontario operates the OINP in partnership with the federal immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Interested candidates must follow a two-stage process: apply for a nomination to the provincial government, and then, if nominated, apply for permanent residence to the federal government.

Colin Singer

Colin Singer is an international acclaimed Canadian immigration lawyer and founder of immigration.ca featured on Wikipedia. Colin Singer is also founding director of the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc. He served as an Associate Editor of ‘Immigration Law Reporter’, the pre-eminent immigration law publication in Canada. He previously served as an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association’s Quebec and National Immigration Law Sections and is currently a member of the Canadian Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Colin has twice appeared as an expert witness before Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. He is frequently recognized as a recommended authority at national conferences sponsored by government and non-government organizations on matters affecting Canada’s immigration and human resource industries. Since 2009, Colin has been a Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of the profession, and became a lifetime member in 2018.