When Is the Next Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Draw?

The last OINP draw took place on April 30, 2026, shortly before Ontario began a major overhaul of its provincial immigration program.

Ontario has since closed its eight previous OINP streams and replaced them with the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream as part of the first phase of the redesign. The new Expression of Interest (EOI) portal opened on August 4.

But two months later, Ontario has yet to hold its first draw under the new system.

Eligible candidates can enter the new EOI pool, but they cannot actually submit an application for an Ontario nomination until the province holds a draw and invites them to apply.

Meanwhile, Phase 2 of Ontario’s two-phase OINP redesign is still awaited, leaving some prospective candidates without a pathway to enter the new EOI system at all.

Key Takeaways

• Ontario has not held an OINP EOI draw since April 30, 2026, the longest gap since the EOI system launched in 2021.
• The Workforce Priority EOI portal opened August 4, but no invitations have been issued under the new stream yet.
• Ontario continues to process applications submitted before the OINP overhaul, with some candidates still receiving nominations.
• Phase 2 of Ontario’s OINP redesign — which is expected to introduce a pathway for entrepreneurs — has not yet been announced.

When Could the Next OINP Draw Take Place?

While it’s hard to accurately predict when the next OINP draw will be, the Moving2Canada team expects Ontario to restart draw activity in October.

That said, there’s no confirmed date for the next OINP draw. Ontario does not announce its draws in advance, and previous draw patterns don’t offer many clues about exactly when the next draw will be.

Still, draws have taken place fairly regularly since Ontario introduced its EOI system in 2021, with only occasional gaps.

One of the longest previous pauses came in 2025, when Ontario went over four months between EOI draws. As of October 5, the current gap has reached 158 days, the longest since the EOI system launched in 2021. Much of that period, however, coincided with the OINP redesign.

OINP draw activity was particularly high in early 2026, just before the program redesign. Between February and April, Ontario issued 13,663 invitations to apply for provincial nomination across multiple draws.

For context, the province has 14,119 nomination spaces for 2026. However, not every invitation results in an approved nomination, and some nominations issued this year may come from applications submitted in 2025. Accounting for processing time, candidates invited in the final quarter of 2026 would likely receive their nominations in 2027.

Why Has Ontario Gone More Than Five Months Without a Draw?

Ontario’s last OINP draw took place on April 30, when the province issued 1,063 invitations across targeted Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker and International Student draws.

In June, Ontario closed all eight existing OINP streams and introduced the Ontario Workforce Priority stream as part of what the province described as the first phase of a two-phase redesign.

The changes eliminated the three Employer Job Offer streams, the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams, and Ontario’s three Express Entry streams. Existing EOIs that had not resulted in an invitation were withdrawn.

The new Ontario Workforce Priority stream provides pathways for workers across all TEER categories with eligible Ontario job offers, along with eligible self-employed physicians.

The province opened its new EOI portal on August 4.

For part of the five-month gap, Ontario was busy replacing its previous streams and selection system. But since August 4, eligible Workforce Priority candidates have once again been able to enter an EOI pool. However, Ontario has yet to select anyone from it.

How Does the New OINP Application Process Work?

Just because Ontario has not held a draw does not mean the new OINP system is inactive.

Since the Ontario Workforce Priority EOI portal opened on August 4, eligible candidates and their employers have been able to complete the steps needed to enter the selection pool.

Here’s how the process works:

Step 1: Your employer submits your job offer

For most Workforce Priority candidates, your Ontario employer starts the process by submitting information about your job offer through the OINP Employer Portal.

Step 2: You register an Expression of Interest

Once your employer has submitted the job offer, you can register an EOI with Ontario.

Step 3: You enter the OINP selection pool

Ontario assigns you an EOI score based on your profile. You then remain in the pool until you are selected or your EOI expires in 12 months.

Step 4: Ontario holds an OINP draw

With each draw, Ontario selects candidates from the pool and issues invitations to apply. The first round of invitations for the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream is still awaited.

Step 5: You apply for an Ontario nomination

If you receive an invitation, you can submit your application for provincial nomination.

So, if you have an eligible Ontario job offer but your employer has not yet submitted it through the Employer Portal, now is the time to speak with your employer. You can only enter the EOI pool once your employer submits a formal job offer.

Existing OINP Applications Are Still Being Processed

The absence of draws doesn’t mean there is no OINP activity.

Applications submitted before the June overhaul are still being processed under the rules in place at the time, and candidates have continued receiving nomination decisions.

If you are a new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream candidate, however, you cannot submit a nomination application yet. You must enter the EOI pool and be issued an invitation to apply before you can move to the application stage.

Phase 2 of Ontario’s OINP Redesign Is Still Awaited

There is another reason some prospective candidates are watching Ontario closely.

When the province introduced the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, it described the changes as the first phase of a two-phase redesign.

Ontario’s proposals for Phase 2 include:

• Priority Healthcare Stream: For regulated healthcare professionals without a job offer.
• Exceptional Talent Stream: For people with significant achievements in areas such as academia, science, technology, innovation and the creative sectors.
• Entrepreneur Stream: For entrepreneurs who have established or purchased a business in Ontario and are actively operating it.

However, Ontario has not confirmed when Phase 2 will be launched or whether the final eligibility requirements will differ from the original proposals.

What Will OINP Draws Look Like Under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream?

Ontario has confirmed that OINP candidates can be selected through either general or targeted draws under the new EOI system. That said, we don’t know exactly how the province will use that flexibility.

Before the overhaul, Ontario regularly targeted candidates based on factors such as occupation and location. Draws focused on health care, skilled trades, early childhood education and other priority occupations, while some draws targeted candidates with job offers in specific regions of Ontario.

The new Workforce Priority stream brings workers across all TEER categories under one stream, replacing the separate Employer Job Offer streams that Ontario previously used for workers with job offers. This means the province now has more flexibility to select different types of workers through the same stream, but it is still unclear how it will use that flexibility.

It remains to be seen whether Ontario will continue targeting specific occupations or regions. We also don’t know how many invitations it will issue in each draw and what EOI scores will be competitive.

Since the OINP was completely overhauled over the last few months, and both the streams and scoring factors have changed, previous OINP draw results may offer limited guidance under the new system. The first few Workforce Priority draws should give us a much clearer idea of who Ontario plans to prioritize and what candidates will need to be competitive.

What You Can Do While Waiting for the Next OINP Draw

If you qualify for the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, you don’t have to wait for Ontario to conduct a draw before starting the process.

In fact, now is the time to make sure you and your employer have completed the steps needed to get you into the pool.

1.      Ask Your Employer to Submit Your Job Offer

The Ontario Workforce Priority stream is employer-led. Your employer must first submit information about the business, position and job offer through the OINP Employer Portal.

Once the employer completes this step, you will receive an email allowing you to register an EOI.

If you have an eligible Ontario job offer but your employer has not yet submitted it, consider speaking with them now. There is no need to wait until the next draw takes place.

2.      Register Your EOI and Check Your Score

Once your employer has completed their part of the process, you can register an EOI and enter the Workforce Priority selection pool.

Ontario will assign you a score based on factors such as your job offer, work experience, education, language ability and where you will work in Ontario.

You can also use this time to improve your OINP score. Review our guides on OINP scoring factors to assess the impact your language ability, job offer, and work experience can have on your score.

3.      Keep an Eye Out for OINP Developments

There are two major OINP developments to watch: the first Workforce Priority draw and the launch of Phase 2 of Ontario’s redesign.

The first draw should give us a better idea of the EOI scores and types of candidates Ontario will prioritize under Workforce Priority. Phase 2, meanwhile, is expected to introduce additional OINP pathways.

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