Ontario has issued a total of 1,243 invitations to apply across six OINP draws on March 18, 2026, marking a significant shift in the province’s immigration landscape. This includes 582 invitations under the Masters Graduate stream and 525 under the PhD Graduate stream, which have been inactive since 2024.
The 2026 OINP nomination allocation stands at 14,119, representing a 31% increase from the 10,750 nominations available in 2025. This increase comes as Ontario continues to address critical labor shortages, particularly in the healthcare sector, where over 2.3 million Ontarians currently lack a family doctor.
Among the draws conducted, the OINP included streams targeting specific needs, such as the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream for physicians and three streams under the Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) pilot. The REDI pilot specifically aims to attract candidates with job offers in rural Ontario regions, where local employers face challenges in filling positions.
Throughout early 2026, the OINP has been active in issuing invitations, with notable numbers including 1,825 invitations on February 2 and 1,404 skilled trades invitations on February 18. In February alone, Canada issued 25,722 permanent residency invitations across all programs, with Ontario contributing over 3,200 OINP invitations.
The numbers
The absence of Masters and PhD Graduate stream draws throughout 2025 created significant uncertainty for thousands of international graduate students in Ontario. Regulatory changes announced on March 16, 2026, have granted the Minister the authority to create or remove OINP selection streams, indicating a potential overhaul of the program.
However, the planned modifications also suggest that the Masters and PhD Graduate streams may be eliminated entirely by May 30, 2026. Significant legal changes to the Ontario Immigration Act are expected to take effect on the same date, which will impact several categories for provincial nomination.
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the specifics of the new streams under the OINP overhaul. Observers are particularly interested in whether the upcoming changes are permanent or if new categories will accommodate similar applicant profiles, as the immigration landscape in Ontario continues to evolve.
