Results from the 2023 Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (& What They Mean for 2024)

Key Takeaways from the 2023 OINP Results: 

• If you qualify for the OINP, you may increase your chances of immigrating to Canada without a very high CRS or French-language proficiency.
• Nominations for certain streams have been higher in both 2022 and 2023, namely the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, Masters Graduate stream, Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades stream, and Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream.
• Software engineers and designers, welders and related machine operators, and database analysts and data administrators are in high demand. 
• Nominating skills trades workers and technology workers was a priority for Ontario in 2022 and 2023. Healthcare occupations were also targeted in 2023. 
• The top three countries nominees of the OINP were born in are India, China, and Nigeria. 
• The top industries for nominations in 2023 were manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, construction, and health care and social assistance. 

OINP Results in 2023: Nominations Per Stream

Which OINP Stream Gets The Most Invitations?

In 2023, the OINP streams were ranked as follows, in terms of the number of nominations issued: 

1. Masters Graduate stream (5,407 nominations).
2. Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream (4,985 nominations).
3. Ontario’s Express Entry Skilled Trades stream (3,017 nominations).
4. Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker (1,122 nominations). 
5. Employer Job Offer: international Student stream (856 nominations). 
6. Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream (443 nominations). 
7. PhD Graduate stream (422 nominations). 
8. Ontario’s Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream (251 nominations). 
9. Entrepreneur stream (3 nominations). 

2022 OINP Results

In 2022, we saw the following nomination trends in the OINP streams: 

1. Ontario’s Express Entry Skilled Trades stream (3,196 nominations). 
2. Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream (2,370 nominations). 
3. Masters Graduate stream (1,480 nominations).
4. Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker (885 nominations). 
5. Employer Job Offer: International Student stream (771 nominations). 
6. Ontario’s Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream (583 nominations). 
7. PhD Graduate stream (303 nominations). 
8. Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream (159 nominations). 
9. Entrepreneur stream (3 nominations). 

There were a total of 9,750 nominations sent through the OINP in 2022. This is 40% fewer nominations than we saw in 2023. 

To recap, the streams that received the most nominations in 2022 and 2023 were the Masters Graduate stream, Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream, and Ontario’s Express Entry Skilled Trades stream.  

Occupations In Demand in Ontario

2023 OINP Results

Ontario also publishes its twenty most nominated occupations in its annual results. In the 2023 OINP results, the twenty most nominated occupations were: 

• Software engineers and designers
• Software developer and programmers
• Welders and related machine operators
• Data scientists
• Computer and information systems managers
• Pharmacists
• Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers
• Supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators
• General practitioners and family physicians
• Computer systems developers and programmers
• Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
• User support technicians
• Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
• Web developers and programmers 
• Dentists
• Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
• Carpenters
• Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
• Financial and investment analysts 

There were 8,535 nominations that went to other occupations. Approximately 28% of the nominations went to workers with experience or a job offer in a skilled trade occupation. 

2022 OINP Results

In 2022, the top twenty occupations that receive nominations in the OINP were: 

• Software engineers and designers
• Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
• Welders and related machine operators
• Telecommunications installation and repair workers
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers
• Database analysts and data administrators
• Advertising, marketing and public relations managers
• Computer and information system managers
• Bakers
• Professional occupations in business management consulting
• Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
• Corporate sales managers
• Web designers and developers
• Telecommunications line and cable workers
• Human resources professionals
• Carpenters
• Banking, credit and other investment managers
• Information systems analysts and consultants 
• Supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators
• Restaurant and food service managers. 

4,377 nominations went to other occupations in 2022, for a total of 9,750 nominations.

Of this number, 40% of all nominations went to workers with experience or a job offer in a skilled trade occupation.  

Where are Ontario’s PNP Nominees From?

2023 Top Country of Birth For OINP Nominees

The top country of birth for nominees for the OINP for 2023 were: 

1. India
2. China
3. Nigeria
4. Iran
5. Pakistan
6. Philippines
7. Bangladesh
8. Brazil
9. South Korea
10. Portugal

2022 OINP Results

In 2022, the top countries nominees came from were: 

1. India
2. China
3. Nigeria
4. Iran
5. Pakistan
6. Lebanon
7. Brazil
8. South Korea 
9. Vietnam
10. Portugal

While the top five countries remained the same from 2022 to 2023, the Philippines entered the top ten in 2023, as did Bangladesh. Lebanon and Vietnam, which were ranked 6 and 9 in 2022, dropped out of the top ten source countries in 2023. 

Our Take on the Key Results in Ontario’s OINP

Ontario has expressed that it needs more immigrants to fill labour and skills shortages in the province. In 2023, it nominated individuals with job offers from over 1,500 employers. Ontario’s release also notes that it has requested the federal government increase its allocation for 2024 so it can support more employers looking to attract and retain skilled foreign workers. 

Based on the results and what we’ve seen in PNP draws this year, it seems likely that Ontario is continuing to target higher levels of nominations for skilled trades workers, healthcare workers, and tech occupations. 

Ontario’s release also notes that it hopes to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants to the province. The number of nominations issued for high French language proficiency was smaller in 2023 than 2022, but this is likely a direct result of the Category-Based draws being conducted at the federal Express Entry draw level. Ontario noted that it “will continue its efforts to promote the OINP and Ontario as a destination of choice to francophones” and that “many federally-selected francophones will choose Ontario as their intended destination”.

Finally, some good news for general applicants, while the OINP is seeing fewer general draws than targeted draws, the CRS requirement is much lower for Ontario’s Provincial Program than we’re seeing at the federal level. If you’re able to qualify for the OINP, you may increase your chances of immigrating to Canada without a very high CRS or French-language proficiency. 

If you’re interested in moving to Ontario or Canada more broadly, sign up for a free Moving2Canada account and take our immigration quiz. 

And if you want to review the results yourself, find the 2023 OINP Results (published March 15, 2024).