The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream has been suspended. No new applications under the Skilled Trades Stream are being received, and all outstanding Skilled Trades Stream applications are being returned to the applicants.
Alexa Gilmour, a Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale—High Park, raised the issue in Parliament. On X, Gilmour writes – Ontario made a promise to these skilled trades workers and that promise was broken. After years of waiting, more than 2,600 people who built their lives, families, and futures here had their applications suddenly returned, without fairness or accountability. I’m calling on the Minister to do what’s right: reinstate these applications, restore transparency, and show the basic respect these workers deserve.
Ontario made a promise to these skilled trades workers and that promise was broken. After years of waiting, more than 2,600 people who built their lives, families, and futures here had their applications suddenly returned, without fairness or accountability. I’m calling on the… pic.twitter.com/KwrJEB0O1z
— Alexa Gilmour (@AlexaNGilmour) November 17, 2025
Ontario’s Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). It gives foreign nationals with Ontario work experience in eligible skilled trades the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.
Earlier, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) conducted a review of the OINP’s Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream and identified systemic compliance and enforcement concerns relating to the stream. In particular, the review identified systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud relating to Skilled Trades Stream eligibility criteria.
The authorities found that, as it presently stands, the Skilled Trades Stream is vulnerable to systemic misrepresentation and fraud. This weakness impairs the Skilled Trades Stream’s capacity to address the province’s immediate labour market demands, particularly given Ontario’s restricted nomination allotment.
As a result, the Director has suspended receiving Skilled Trades Stream applications and will return all outstanding Skilled Trades Stream applications. The applications that are returned will have their application fees refunded.
Applicants who remain interested in the program and meet the eligibility criteria for one of the other OINP’s streams may submit a new Expression of Interest (EOI) to be considered for future draws.
On October 9, 2025, 1,590 targeted invitations to apply to potential candidates were issued in the Expression of Interest system pool who may qualify for the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, International Student or In-Demand Skills stream who work in priority health occupations and who are currently residing in Canada.
Candidates only received an invitation under the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream if they had a score of 38 and above, and under the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream if they had a score of 56 and above, and a job offer in one of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes.
