Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program Reaches Its 2025 Nomination Limit
Ontario has officially reached its Provincial Nominee Program nomination limit for 2025. According to an update issued on December 17, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program has used all of its allocated nomination spaces for the year.
The province confirmed that a total of 10,750 nominations were issued to applicants throughout 2025.
What This Means for OINP Applicants
Even though Ontario has reached its 2025 nomination cap, the province will continue to accept and review applications submitted to the OINP.
This includes:
New applications submitted after the cap was reached
Applications that are already in the system and under assessment
All of these applications will now be considered under Ontario’s 2026 nomination allocation.
Applicants are advised to regularly check the OINP e-Filing portal for the most up-to-date information related to their application status. Some applicants may experience delays in receiving a nomination as Ontario transitions from its 2025 allocation to the 2026 quota.
It is important to note that receiving a provincial invitation is not the same as receiving a nomination. Provinces often issue more invitations than available nomination spaces to account for applications that may be refused or withdrawn.
How OINP Changed in 2025
At the start of 2025, the federal government reduced nomination allocations for most provinces and territories by 50 percent. As a result, provinces, including Ontario, became more selective in choosing candidates for nomination.
In June 2025, Ontario confirmed that it had been allocated only 10,750 nomination spaces for the year, down from 21,500 in 2024.
Ontario also made significant operational changes to its Provincial Nominee Program during the year. The province revised its Employer Job Offer streams by introducing an online Employer Portal and shifting from an applicant-driven system to an employer-led process. In addition, Ontario launched the OINP e-Filing system to streamline application submissions and processing.
Planned Changes to the OINP Program Structure
In December 2025, Ontario announced proposed changes aimed at overhauling its Provincial Nominee Program. These proposals included consolidating the three existing Employer Job Offer streams into a single stream and eliminating all other existing streams.
The province also outlined plans to introduce new immigration streams, including:
A priority healthcare stream
An entrepreneur stream
An exceptional talent stream
These proposed changes signal a major shift in how Ontario plans to manage its provincial nominations in the future.
What to Expect in 2026
Looking ahead, the federal government’s Immigration Levels Plan announced in November 2025 increased the target for Provincial Nominee Program admissions to 91,500 in 2026. This represents a 66 percent increase compared to the 2025 target of 55,000.
