Ontario gets additional 2019 nominations and invites Express Entry candidates

With the year drawing close, the Canadian provinces are gearing up to boost immigration next year. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program has managed to get an additional 700 nominations for the year 2019, allowing it to issue more invitations. The program has hence distributed 667 invitations amongst Express Entry candidates via the Skilled Trades Stream. The extra nominations that were announced during this week raise the annual allocation of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) under Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to 7,350. The PNP gives permission to the participating territories and provinces to place their nominations for a fixed number of Economic Class immigration candidates every year so they can try to attain Canadian permanent residence. With the insertion of the new nominations, the OINP will be able to continue the processing of applications and issue nominations in addition to the original 2019 allocation of 6,650. The OINP has announced that it has reached its original target already.

The OINP has given its official report about the issuance of the new 667 Notifications of Interest (NOIs) and their distribution amongst Express Entry candidates via the Skilled Trades Stream. This stream is just one of the three OINP immigration pathways that can be associated with the federal Express Entry system. The Human Capital Priorities Stream has proven to be the most popular this year and has led to the issuing of almost 7,000 NOIs to candidates through five draws.

Express Entry candidates who are able to secure a provincial nomination get an edge because their CRS score is boosted by 600 points. This almost guarantees them an invitation to apply for the permanent residency program in Canada. The Skilled Trades Stream lets the OINP look for candidates who have Ontario work experience in the eligible skilled trades.