Ontario expands the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) and is planning to create a new stream for IT specialists, as well as an additional pilot initiative that will help to attract highly skilled immigrants to small towns across the province.
These initiatives are among four top-priority immigration-related tasks mentioned in the 2019 Ontario Budget. Additionally, the budget provides for expanding the existing OINP Entrepreneur Stream and adding truck drivers and personal support workers to the list of occupations eligible for Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream.
Immigration Stream for IT Specialists
It is mentioned in the 2019 Ontario Budget that the government will create “a dedicated stream to help Ontario’s technology sector attract highly skilled employees”. However, there are no details provided on that matter.
It is expected that the new immigration stream for IT specialists will attract highly skilled workers to Ontario’s prosperous technological sector in such cities as Toronto, Ottawa, and Waterloo where there has been a significant increase in high-tech jobs in recent years.
Pilot Initiative for Smaller Communities
The budget specifies that the government is planning to launch a pilot initiative “to explore innovative approaches” to attract highly skilled immigrants to small towns across the province.
The government announced that the pilot initiative’s goal is to “spread the benefits of immigration to smaller communities”.
Authorities in small towns in Ontario often complain that their communities are left out because of the competition for highly skilled immigrants.
The province attracts thousands of immigrants each year, with the majority of them moving to Toronto and Ottawa, while smaller communities struggle with decreasing job markets and aging of the population.
The new pilot initiative follows the federal program for supporting remote and rural communities that was launched earlier in 2019.
Expanding the List of High-Demand Occupations
OINP’s Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream is focusing on the candidates with work experience in occupations that are in high demand in Ontario.
Ontario’s new budget specifies that the government intends to include truck drivers and personal support workers in the list of occupations eligible for Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream.
This stream allows the province of Ontario to nominate foreign workers (with a job offer from a provincial employer) who wish to apply for permanent residence and work in Ontario. There are also additional criteria for eligible workers.
Expanding Entrepreneur Stream
According to the government of Ontario, “to expand the prospective base of the OINP’s Entrepreneur Stream, the government will recalibrate investment and net worth thresholds to make Ontario competitive with other provinces”.
OINP’s Entrepreneur Stream is designed for people from outside Canada who wish to start a business or buy an existing business in Ontario.
Currently, the minimum capital required to start a business is C$1.5M in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and C$800K outside of the GTA. The minimum amount of investment is C$1M in the GTA and C$500K in other locations. Candidates must own at least 33% of the business.