Despite the recent global pandemic, there were many recipients of Ontario PNP nominations last year. There were a total of 15,303 newcomers through this PNP in 2020.
Almost 8,054 principal immigrants received nominations last year through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. These people came with their spouses and kids for a total of 15,303 nominations.
Receiving a nomination does not mean that the recipient settled in Ontario. However, it does mean that the province supported these newcomers’ immigration applications to the federal government.
This helps to make the ultimate decision about whether these people will receive their permanent residency status or not.
The federal government initially did allow Ontario to nominate 7,350 possible newcomers. However, the province sent 300 additional nominations last year.
These additional nominations were through the NOC C Pilot for low-skilled workers. There were another 450 other nominations in 2020.
The PNP of Ontario works to deal with labour market needs. It provides different pathways to permanent residency to foreign workers who wish to settle in Ontario.
Last year, the province sent a high number of nominations to various workers in skilled trades and technology-related occupations. This was because these sectors had a great demand for an increased number of applicants and talent.
Around 20% of the total nominations went to those with a job offer or work experience in high-tech occupations, like:
- Computer programmers
- IT systems analysts
- Software designers and engineers
- Interactive media developers
- Technology consultants
Besides, more than 20% of the nominees had work experience in a skilled trade. According to OINP, they sent more than 1,100 nominations under the Express Entry: Skilled Trades stream.
On the other hand, 48% of the nominees already had a job offer in the province before receiving the provincial nomination. Around 96% had a post-secondary degree, and a minimum of 43% had good intermediate to fluent language skills. The language skills were in one of the official languages.
Most of the Ontario Nominees Were Express Entry Candidates
There were 3,499 Express Entry (EE) nominations by Ontario through three enhanced PNPs:
- Human Capital Priorities Stream candidates – 1,996
- Skilled Trades Stream candidates – 1,106
- French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream candidates – 397
EE is an application management system of the federal government. Most of the newcomers to Canada enter the country through one of the EE-managed programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
- Canadian Experience Class
EE candidates have a chance of getting a PNP nomination. Once they receive a provincial nomination, they get an additional 600 points to the CRS score.
This award, more or less, ensures that they get an invitation to apply for permanent residence.
Entrepreneurs, Francophones, and Regional Immigration
Last year, OINP issued 437 nominations to people with French-speaking skills. Ontario’s goal for French immigration was 5% of the total immigrations.
However, it went way above this goal. The province ended the year with 5.4% of the total nominations for people with good French language skills.
Ontario came up with the two-year Regional Immigration Pilot in 2019. This program was to let employers in three different communities get global skilled labourers.
Due to the global pandemic, the pilot started seeking newcomers halfway last year. Of the total 150 allotted spaces, just 67 went to newcomers through the pilot last year.
Thus, the OINP did assign a maximum of 233 spaces to regional pilot applicants to compensate for the shortage this year.
Ontario did issue its first nomination under the Entrepreneur Stream. Around 18 applicants were in the last stage of the compliance monitoring process by the end of last year.
OINP did mention on its webpage, “We anticipate that these 18 Entrepreneur stream candidates will invest over 22.4 million dollars and hire 92 Ontarians as a result of establishing their businesses in Ontario.” “We are processing another 64 applications that we received in 2020.”
Expression of Interest System to Start Soon
In 2020, there was a consultation between Ontario and the public to develop an Expression of Interest system. This system will be for its Employer Job Offer and International Graduate student streams. According to the OINP, the new system will start soon in spring.
Get in touch with us on WhatsApp or Call us at 905-671-4442. You may even email us at info@immigrationterminal.ca if you have any queries about your permanent residence application.