PNP
Ontario Intends to Double its Skilled Immigration Admissions
Canadian province Ontario is planning to invest $25 million in the coming three years, in addition to the $15 million over three years that was announced in Budget 2022, to increase Ontario’s skilled immigrant intake.
Ontario is Canada’s most popular destination among immigrants and the province welcomes one-third of all newcomers every year.
Ontario plans to double-fold the number of economic immigrants the province will shortlist to a historic increase of 18,000 in the coming two years. This move will help fulfill the labor shortages and build the infrastructure needed for the growing population.
The province’s government is dedicated to inviting a higher number of skilled newcomers to Ontario to help build infrastructure such as highways, transit, schools, homes, and hospitals needed by the growing population.
To keep up with the latest target, Ontario announces that the investment in Budget 2023 will pace up processing and make sure that newcomers to Ontario may proceed to work in their respective professions quickly. The funding will augment security and other IT updates to ensure the system can take care of the increased demand now and in the future.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is the leading way to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker. Through OINP, prospective immigrants with the skills and experience targeted by the province may receive a provincial nomination from Ontario, after which they can apply for Canadian permanent residence with IRCC.
There are two types of streams that come under OINP: base streams and enhanced streams. Enhanced streams are those that are aligned with the Express Entry system, which is the system used by the federal government to manage permanent residence applications through Canada’s three main economic class immigration programs.
Express Entry gives candidates a point-based score on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranking candidates are then invited to apply for permanent residence. Those with nominations from a provincial program that is enhanced get an extra 600 points, effectively ensuring an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
Base streams are streams that are not aligned with the Express Entry systems. Candidates who get a provincial nomination are required to apply directly to IRCC.
Ontario Government 2023 Budget
Ontario’s 2023 Budget, called Building a Strong Ontario, aims at to help people and businesses today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations. Alongside the $25 million investment in the OINP, the budget has other key measures that will affect Ontario immigrants.
Ontario also promises to make an investment in improving skills training, transforming the apprenticeship, and assisting newcomers put their skills to use. Particularly, Ontario is planning to invest $75 million into the Skills Development Fund over the upcoming three years, to assist workers and job seekers to get the skills they need to acquire to take up new opportunities and advance in their careers.
This year, the federal government is also looking to make an investment of $224 million, and in 2024 a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund will be released to enhance access to training centers to educate more workers in their careers. Additionally, the latest budget talks about the housing crisis and housing affordability. The government is looking ahead to take action and get 1.5 million homes constructed by 2031. The More Homes Built Faster Act 2022 will highlight changes to assist more homes and will make life more affordable for the people of Ontario. The impact of the updates is estimated to decrease the cost of building a single-family home by $116,900 in the Greater Toronto Area.
