- Ontario launched a new nomination route on August fourth, twenty twenty-six, for semi-skilled TEER four and five workers.
- Applicants must prove nine months of experience with the same employer and occupation before applying for nomination.
- The province increased nomination spaces to fourteen thousand one hundred nineteen, a thirty-one percent jump from previous years.
Ontario opened a new provincial nomination route for TEER 4 and 5 workers on Aug. 4, 2026, and paired it with a lower language floor for applicants who already hold Ontario jobs. The path runs through the Ontario Workforce Priority stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. That floor is lower.
The new route is not broad. It is built around a tight match between the offer on paper and the work on the ground. Ontario tied the file to a permanent job, a specific employer, and a specific occupation. The province also set a language benchmark that sits below the levels many immigration streams demand.
Free toolCanada Express Entry Points Calculator
The experience test is strict as well. Ontario wants workers to show they have already spent months in the same role, with the same employer, before they apply. It also looks for education and funds. Close enough is not enough.
The province said the redesign took effect on June 26, 2026, when it revoked nine existing streams under Ontario Regulation 47/26 and replaced them with a single structure built around three pathways: TEER 0 to 3, TEER 4 to 5, and self-employed physicians. Ontario said the overhaul followed criticism that the old setup was too complex. It also said the change was meant to help fill labour shortages in healthcare, hospitality and construction. The province said it received 14,119 nomination spaces for 2026, a 31% increase from 10,750. More room is now available.
David Piccini, the minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, tied the redesign to the province’s economic needs.
"Targeted skilled immigration is key to building our workforce and securing Ontario’s economic future. By modernizing the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, our government is focusing on people with jobs and experience who can contribute to our ongoing work to protect Ontario’s economy quickly."
He also said the province was tightening enforcement.
"We are strengthening safeguards to protect the integrity of the system and crack down on those who try to abuse it."
Ontario said an audit had found high rates of falsified documents. The ministry has linked the new structure to those concerns.
What the province asks applicants to prove
| Requirement | Ontario’s rule |
|---|---|
| Job offer | A full-time, permanent Ontario job offer in a TEER 4 or 5 position |
| Work history | 9 months of cumulative paid full-time work in the same position with the same employer within the 2 years before applying |
| Education | A Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent foreign credential |
| Language | Speaking, reading, writing and listening at the minimum benchmark of 4 |
| Match rule | The experience must line up with the same occupation, employer and location named in the offer |
| Full-time definition | At least 1,170 hours in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours a week |
| Funds | Enough money to support themselves and their families in Ontario |
The same-match rule does a lot of the work here. Ontario is not rewarding a near miss. The history has to line up with the offer.
Region can move an applicant up or down
The ranking system also rewards where the worker is based. TEER 4 and 5 do not get points for skill level itself, which pushes more weight onto work experience and employer location. The spread is blunt.
| Work region | Points |
|---|---|
| Northern Ontario | 15 |
| Eastern, Southwestern, or Central Ontario outside GTA | 10 |
| GTA outside Toronto | 5 |
| Toronto | 0 |
Ontario has also pushed the program beyond the city core. Under the redesign, the province lowered revenue thresholds for rural employers, allowing businesses in communities with populations under 150,000 to participate if they have gross annual revenue of $250,000. The rules are pulling outward.
Even after a nomination, the worker is not finished. The province issues only the nomination. After that, the applicant still files the federal permanent residence application with IRCC. The provincial step is only one gate.
Ontario reopened the expression of interest portal on Aug. 4, 2026, and previous submissions that did not receive an invitation were automatically withdrawn. Applicants now have to register new profiles under the stream. The queue has changed.
