Ontario has now officially released its 2026 immigration selection season and made a big first round of invitations through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).
The province started the new year with the release of 1,825 invitations to apply (combined) on February 2, 2026, in several streams.
The attractions were specific to healthcare workers, educators of early childhood workers, physicians, and candidates working in the Regional Economic Development via Immigration (REDI) pilot program.
The strategy is a further indication of Ontario staying dedicated to resolving serious labor shortages in critical sectors and economic development of small communities throughout the province.
Such an announcement is a significant opportunity to the candidates in the Expression of Interest (EOI) pool to further their permanent residence process in Canada because it is the most populated province.
Key Highlights From the February 2, 2026 OINP Draws
The OINP draws, which occurred on February 2, 2026, were split into three categories, with each of them focusing on particular profiles and occupational requirements of the candidate.
Candidates intending to make the immigration strategy need to know how these invitations break down.
| Draw Category | Invitations | Stream(s) | Min Score |
| Healthcare & Early Childhood Educators | 1,649 | Foreign Worker/International Student | 36 / 56 |
| Physicians | 129 | Foreign Worker | 33 |
| REDI Pilot (Lanark, Leeds & Grenville) | 47 | Foreign Worker, International Student/In-Demand Skills | 34/69 |
Healthcare Occupations and Early Childhood Educators Draw: 1,649 Invitations
The greatest part of the draw of February 2 was dedicated to the healthcare workers and early childhood educators, and it is a sign of the high demand of professionals in the mentioned fields in Ontario.
| Stream | Number of invitations issued | Date profiles created | Score range |
| Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream | 634 | July 2, 2025 – January 28, 2026 | 36 and above |
| Employer Job Offer: International Student stream | 1,015 | July 2, 2025 – January 28, 2026 | 56 and above |
The province made 1,649 specific invitations to applicants in the Expression of Interest system pool who could be eligible to either the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream or the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream.
To be invited in this draw, candidates had to score certain levels depending on the stream.
Applicants who were eligible under the Foreign Worker stream had to score at least 36 points but applicants in the International Student stream had to score at least 56 points.
Also, the invited candidates should be at present living in Canada and have a valid job offer in one of the targeted jobs.
Targeted NOC Codes for Healthcare and Early Childhood Educators Draw
This draw was comprised of the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes:
- NOC 31300 – Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
- NOC 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- NOC 31302 – Nurse practitioners
- NOC 31303 – Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
- NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
- NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
The presence of early childhood educators and healthcare professionals is also an indication that Ontario has come to understand the childcare industry as an important infrastructure.
As the province childcare program of $10 a day program carries on its growth, the number of qualified early childhood educators needed is unprecedented.
Physicians Draw: 129 Invitations Under Foreign Worker Stream
Ontario also used a targeted draw and sent 129 invitations to physicians exclusively through the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream.
- NOC 31300 – Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
- NOC 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- NOC 31302 – Nurse practitioners
- NOC 31303 – Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
- NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
- NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
Medical professionals that worked in specialty clinical positions, surgical specialties, and family medicine were the focus of this draw.
The physicians minimum score requirement was relatively lower at 33 points indicating the acute demand of medical doctors in all specializations in the province.
Ontario is still experiencing severe shortages of physicians, especially in rural and Northern regions hence this draw would be an important element of healthcare human resource plan in Ontario province.
Targeted NOC Codes for Physicians Draw
The following codes of NOC were included in the physician draw:
- NOC 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
- NOC 31101 – Specialists in surgery
- NOC 31102 – General practitioners and family physicians
Those interested who have been invited in this draw need to refer to the January 5 program update to get the full details on the application requirements and documentation.
The cut-off point of 33 points is relatively low, which implies that the number of physician applicants in the EOI system of the Ontario sphere is not as large as other types of occupations.
REDI Pilot Draw: 47 Invitations for Lanark and Leeds-Grenville Regions
In the February 2 draws, 47 targeted invitations were received in the Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) pilot program.
| Stream | Number of invitations issued | Date profiles created | Score range |
| Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream | 14 | July 2, 2025 – January 28, 2026 | 44 and above |
| Employer Job Offer: International Student stream | 26 | July 2, 2025 – January 28, 2026 | 69 and above |
| Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream | 7 | July 2, 2025 – January 28, 2026 | 34 and above |
This program particularly helps the economic development of the smaller communities in Ontario by channelling skilled immigrants to areas not in major cities.
February 2 REDI draw was centred on two Census Divisions Lanark, and Leeds and Grenville.
The communities in Eastern Ontario have also been actively involved in REDI pilot to fulfill the local labor market needs and help in community development with the support of immigration.
In contrast to the healthcare-oriented draws, the REDI pilot provided opportunities to the candidates in three streams, i.e., Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, Employer Job Offer: International Student, and Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills.
The streams had varying score prerequisites and also focused on various types of occupation.
Targeted Occupations For REDI Foreign Worker Stream (Minimum Score: 44)
Targeted NOC codes under the Foreign Worker stream:
- NOC 12111 – Health information management occupations
- NOC 12200 – Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
- NOC 13111 – Legal administrative assistants
- NOC 22232 – Occupational health and safety specialists
- NOC 22310 – Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
- NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
- NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- NOC 33103 – Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- NOC 42201 – Social and community service workers
- NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
- NOC 52120 – Graphic designers and illustrators
Targeted Occupations For REDI International Student Stream (Minimum Score: 69)
Targeted NOC codes under the International Student stream:
- NOC 12111 – Health information management occupations
- NOC 12200 – Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
- NOC 13111 – Legal administrative assistants
- NOC 22232 – Occupational health and safety specialists
- NOC 22310 – Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
- NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
- NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- NOC 33103 – Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- NOC 42201 – Social and community service workers
- NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
- NOC 52120 – Graphic designers and illustrators
Targeted Occupations For REDI In-Demand Skills Stream (Minimum Score: 34)
Targeted NOC codes under the In-Demand Skills stream:
- NOC 44101 – Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
- NOC 75101 – Material handlers
- NOC 94100 – Machine operators, mineral and metal processing
- NOC 94111 – Plastics processing machine operators
- NOC 94140 – Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
How to Apply: Step-by-Step Guide for Invited Candidates
Applicants who have been invited to make an application should take urgent action because the deadline to apply is short, which was on February 2, 2026.
The process of application is as follows:
- Review stream requirements: Visit the Employer Job Offer stream page corresponding to the stream for which you were invited to confirm you meet all eligibility requirements.
- Prepare documents: Review the official document checklist to ensure you have all mandatory documents ready for submission.
- Log in to the OINP e-Filing Portal: Access your account and click the newly created file number with the prefix JOXX.
- Submit within 17 days: You must submit your complete application and payment within 17 calendar days from the date the invitation was issued.
Notice: The application file number that you will receive is different than your EOI file number (EOI-JOXX-XXXXXX).
The number of the EOI file will be grey in the portal: this is not a mistake but it means that your profile has been chosen and a new application file is created.
According to the trends of the February 2 draws, and OINP, it is possible to anticipate that the healthcare occupations will be prioritized until 2026.
The staffing problem in the province healthcare system remains a challenge and hence nursing, physician and allied health professions would be an ideal draw in future.
It is projected that the REDI pilot will be extended to other communities of Ontario as it attempts to resolve the issue of labor shortages in smaller cities and towns.
Prospective candidates whose offers are located within a participating REDI region could be offered favourable selection opportunities with reduced score requirements than that of province-wide draws.
The allocation of Ontario through the Provincial Nominee Program remains to be among the largest in Canada and this indicates that large volumes of invitations will be made throughout the year.
Nevertheless, the candidates are supposed to be ready to be drawn further on special grounds instead of all-program rounds.