Ottawa, ON — With more than 300,000 jobs going unfilled in Ontario, the government has announced it is investing an additional $15.1 million over three years to improve and expand the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).
The OINP allows the province to nominate, for permanent residence, individuals who have the skills and experience to contribute to Ontario’s economy and with an Ontario nomination, individuals can then apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for permanent residence.
“Newcomers are crucial to growing our economy and building a stronger future for all of us,” said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, training and skills development.
In 2021, 120,000 economic class immigrants arrived in Canada, but only 9,000 were nominated through the OINP. The new $15.1 million investment will allow the OINP to grow, enhance security and fraud detection and other IT updates to ensure the system can handle increased capacity now and in the future.
Ontario will look to fill targeted labour market gaps across the province with an increased nomination allocation and drive overall economic growth. So far, Ontario’s OINP allocation from the federal government has increased from 6,500 in 2017 to 9,000 in 2021.
“We’re lowering the barriers they face and have called on our partners in the federal government to double the number of newcomers Ontario can select in 2022. By investing in the future success of this program, we’re not resting until everyone in Ontario who wants to earn a paycheque is able to do so,” said McNaughton.
The investment builds on the recently launched entrepreneurship pilot and will allow Ontario to attract the skilled immigrants needed to fill labour gaps when local workers are unavailable. The new entrepreneurship pilot plans on attracting 100 international entrepreneurs to start or grow businesses in regions outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
Applications received through the pilot project will be processed on an expedited basis to help fast-track job creation opportunities.