Ontario closed the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities, French-speaking Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades streams effective June 25, 2026. This page is kept as a historical record of how those streams worked. It is not a current eligibility route and you cannot apply to any stream described below. For current Ontario options see our OINP overview.
Ontario – Human Capital Category (Express Entry)
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Former Ontario Express Entry human-capital streams
Between 2015 and 2026 Ontario operated three provincial streams that selected candidates from the federal Express Entry pool. Ontario grouped them as the Human Capital category:
- Human Capital Priorities
- French-Speaking Skilled Worker
- Skilled Trades
All three were closed effective June 25, 2026 as part of the 2026 OINP redesign. Ontario no longer searches the Express Entry pool under these streams and no further invitations are issued under them. Everything below is a historical record of how they worked. It is not current eligibility information.
Former Human Capital Priorities stream
This stream allowed Ontario to search the federal Express Entry pool and issue a notification of interest to candidates who were already in the pool under the Federal Skilled Worker Class or the Canadian Experience Class. A candidate could not apply to Ontario directly under this stream. Ontario had to issue the notification of interest first.
A job offer and an existing connection to Ontario were not required. Language ability, education and work experience were assessed against the federal Express Entry requirements in force at the time, and Ontario applied its own score threshold in each round. The stream closed on June 25, 2026 and Ontario no longer issues notifications of interest under it.
Former French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream
This stream targeted French-speaking candidates already in the Express Entry pool who had strong French ability together with a working level of English. Ontario searched the pool and issued a notification of interest to selected candidates.
Correction to earlier information published on this page: a job offer was not required for the former French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream. An earlier version of this page stated that a job offer was required. That statement was wrong and it is corrected here.
The stream closed on June 25, 2026. Ontario no longer searches the Express Entry pool under it and no further notifications of interest are issued.
Former Skilled Trades stream
This stream was for candidates already in the Express Entry pool under the Federal Skilled Trades Class or the Canadian Experience Class who had recent, paid, full-time work experience in an eligible skilled trade carried out in Ontario. Ontario searched the pool and issued notifications of interest to selected candidates.
Applicants had to hold any certificate of qualification that Ontario required for the trade, and the qualifying work had to have been performed in Ontario. The stream closed on June 25, 2026 and no further notifications of interest are issued under it.
Historical Ontario tech draws
Between 2019 and 2023 Ontario ran targeted draws under the Human Capital Priorities stream aimed at candidates with information technology work experience. These were commonly called tech draws. They used four-digit occupation codes from the 2016 version of the National Occupational Classification, which Canada replaced with the NOC 2021 and TEER structure in November 2022.
Ontario no longer runs tech draws. The occupation lists used in those draws are historical and do not describe any current Ontario selection route. Ontario publishes its historical invitation rounds on the OINP invitations to apply page linked below.
What happens to applications submitted under the former framework?
Ontario stated that applications submitted following an invitation under a former stream continue to be assessed against the eligibility requirements that were in effect when the application was submitted. Closure of a stream does not by itself end an application that was validly submitted.
Ontario also stated that expressions of interest and job offers registered under the former streams that had not resulted in an invitation to apply would be withdrawn automatically. If you were registered but never invited, assume that registration is gone. Check your OINP account and confirm your status directly with the program.
Current Ontario immigration options
Ontario now operates one provincial stream, the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. It is a job offer based stream with a separate route for self-employed physicians. It is a different stream, not a continuation of the closed Express Entry streams, and it has its own eligibility rules.
If you are in the federal Express Entry pool you can still be considered under the federal programs and under other provincial nominee programs. Ontario is simply no longer selecting from the pool under the streams described on this page.
Read our current page on Ontario job-offer pathways after the 2026 redesign and our OINP overview, then confirm the current position on ontario.ca before you act.
Official Ontario sources
The dates shown are the last updated dates displayed by ontario.ca when this page was reviewed on August 1, 2026.
- Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), updated July 14, 2026
- 2026 OINP program updates, updated July 20, 2026
- Ontario Workforce Priority stream, updated July 10, 2026
- OINP invitations to apply, historical rounds, updated May 29, 2026
Historical information disclaimer
This page describes streams that Ontario has closed. It is published as a historical record so that people who applied or registered under the former framework can understand what applied to them. It is not advice, it is not an eligibility assessment, and it does not describe a route that you can apply to now.
Immigration rules change. Verify the current position on ontario.ca and with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada before relying on anything here. IRCC makes the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.
