The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has halted its Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream, effective immediately, due to systematic misrepresentation. Existing applicants in the Skilled Trades Stream can no longer apply for a provincial nomination through this route.
The province will cease accepting new applications to the Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream and will refund all current applications under the program. All applications returned will receive a refund of their application fees. The OINP did not specify if the stream would start accepting new applications again in the future.
Different options for permanent residency
- Express Entry Trade subclass
Prior applicants to the OINP’s Skilled Trades stream might discover a straightforward alternative route in the Trade occupation category of Express Entry, as these applicants were required to maintain a valid Express Entry profile to be eligible for the now-terminated stream.
Category-focused selections within Express Entry generally have lower CRS scores compared to broader or specific program draws. For instance, the latest draw in the Trade category had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cutoff of 505, whereas the latest draw for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) had a cutoff score of 533.
Along with fulfilling the fundamental eligibility criteria for one of the Express Entry programs (the CEC, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, or the Federal Skilled Trades Program), applicants must also accumulate a minimum of six months of work experience in a qualified occupation within the Trade category, within the past three years.
The following table lists jobs that fall under the Trade category:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
| Bricklayers | 72320 | 2 |
| Cabinetmakers | 72311 | 2 |
| Carpenters | 72310 | 2 |
| Concrete finishers | 73100 | 3 |
| Construction estimators | 22303 | 2 |
| Construction managers | 70010 | 0 |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics | 72400 | 2 |
| Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services | 82021 | 2 |
| Cooks | 63200 | 3 |
| Electrical mechanics | 72422 | 2 |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) | 72200 | 2 |
| Floor covering installers | 73113 | 3 |
| Gas fitters | 72302 | 2 |
| Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics | 72402 | 2 |
| Heavy-duty equipment mechanics | 72401 | 2 |
| Home building and renovation managers | 70011 | 0 |
| Industrial electricians | 72201 | 2 |
| Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors | 72100 | 2 |
| Other technical trades and related occupations | 72999 | 2 |
| Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) | 73112 | 3 |
| Plumbers | 72300 | 2 |
| Roofers and shinglers | 73110 | 3 |
| Sheet metal workers | 72102 | 2 |
| Water well drillers | 72501 | 2 |
| Welders and related machine operators | 72106 | 2 |
Different OINP routes
The OINP stated in their announcement that candidates who applied for the Express Entry Skilled Trades stream can submit new profiles to other OINP streams, as long as they fulfill the necessary eligibility requirements.
This encompasses both Express Entry-aligned (or enhanced) Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams, such as the Skilled Trades stream, and non-Express Entry-aligned (or base) PNP streams.
Be aware that, in contrast to enhanced PNP streams under the OINP, base streams necessitate that candidates submit a profile via the OINP’s Expression of Interest (EOI) system (instead of selecting candidate profiles from the Express Entry system).
Improved OINP streams consist of the following:
- Express Entry Human Capital Priorities category; and
- Express Entry stream for skilled workers who speak French
Base OINP streams include the:
- Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream;
- Employer Job Offer: International Student stream;
- Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream;
- The Master’s Graduate stream; and
- The PhD Graduate stream.
Why was the Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream suspended in Ontario?
The decision to halt the Skilled Trades Stream and revoke all pending applications is based on a combination of program integrity, adherence, and labor market issues.
The internal review of the OINP discovered “extensive misrepresentation and/or fraud” related to the eligibility requirements of the Skilled Trades Stream.
Consequently, the province’s immigration officials have concluded that they were unable to accurately evaluate if applicants for the Skilled Trades Stream fulfilled the eligibility requirements of the stream. Consequently, Ontario has determined that the present structure of the Skilled Trades Stream is susceptible to systemic abuse—a situation that, in turn, affects the OINP’s capacity to nominate newcomers who can address essential labor shortages in Ontario.
These recent changes stem from the fact that the OINP has experienced a notable decrease in its immigrant nomination quota for 2025, which provincial immigration officials referenced when deciding to terminate the Skilled Trades Stream.
Due to a restricted number of allocation spots, several Provincial Nominee Programs (such as the OINP) have become much more careful with their nominations, opting to prioritize newcomers who can fulfill labour market demands. Due to a fundamental confusion in the existing framework of the Skilled Trades stream regarding this issue, the OINP has opted to shut down the stream entirely to more effectively distribute its restricted nomination quota.
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