Canada invites 2,643 foreigners for PR in Ontario's healthcare, edu sector

Ontario issued a record 2,643 permanent residency invitations on September 2, 2025, targeting healthcare, education and support sector workers

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Canada invited 2,643 foreigners to live and work in Ontario on September 2, 2025, through the province’s immigrant nominee programme. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) said this was the largest number of invitations issued in a single day this year.

 

The invitations were drawn under three streams of the Employer Job Offer category – the foreign worker stream, the international student stream, and the in-demand skills stream. All focused on candidates with job offers in healthcare, education, or support roles.

 

How the draws were split

 

Foreign worker stream: 1,305 invitations for profiles created between 2 July and 2 September 2025, with a score of 41 or higher. Candidates needed job offers in nine healthcare roles or as early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202).

International student stream: 1,105 invitations for profiles created in the same period, with a minimum score of 58. This also targeted the same priority occupations.

In-demand skills stream: 233 invitations for candidates with profiles created from July 2 to September 2, 2025, requiring a score of 33 or above. Invitations were limited to those with offers as home support workers, housekeepers, and related occupations (NOC 44101).

 

Occupations in focus

 

The draws targeted 10 job codes under Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC). These included general practitioners, specialists in surgery and laboratory medicine, nurses, midwives, and physician assistants. Early childhood educators and assistants were also covered, along with home support workers and housekeepers.

 

Ontario officials said the choice of occupations reflects the province’s immediate labour needs in healthcare and education, two areas under pressure from population growth and an ageing demographic.

 

What invited candidates must do

 

Candidates who received an invitation on September 2 must complete several steps within strict timelines:

 

• Candidates and employers are notified by email if their Expression of Interest (EOI) was picked

• Employers must submit an application for approval of the job offer through the Employer Portal within 14 calendar days, by 16 September

• Candidates must submit their application through the OINP e-Filing Portal within 17 days, by 19 September, and pay the required fees

• All applications must include the mandatory documents listed for each stream

 

Failure to meet the deadlines could result in rejection.

 

Recent programme updates

 

The OINP introduced changes in July 2025 requiring employers to use the Employer Portal for job offer approvals. The system ranks candidates based on their job offers, experience, and how closely they match Ontario’s labour market priorities.

 

Ontario’s move to issue 2,643 invitations in a single day signals the province’s reliance on targeted draws to plug gaps in healthcare and childcare services, while offering a route to permanent residency for skilled workers already in Canada.