Ontario OINP Launches New Regional Immigration Round Through 2027

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has launched a new round of its Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) initiative, directing provincial nomination opportunities toward six communities and districts outside the Greater Toronto Area.

The OINP confirmed the opening of the new round on October 16, 2026, after publishing additional details on October 14.

The initiative will operate until the end of 2027 and is intended to help participating employers recruit and retain foreign workers for jobs that cannot readily be filled through the local labour market.

The province has not announced a separate application for REDI. Interested candidates must qualify through an existing OINP pathway, meet all program requirements and intend to live and work in a participating area.

A nomination is not permanent residence: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada makes the final decision on an applicant’s federal permanent residence application.

New Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program OINP Update

The October 16 announcement follows a year of major changes to provincial immigration. Ontario’s 2026 nomination allocation was announced earlier in the year, while the OINP underwent a substantial program redesign in June and reopened its new expression-of-interest system in August.

REDI operates within that redesigned system rather than creating a 6th or 7th standalone provincial immigration stream.

Ontario identifies priority regional labour needs and allocates nomination spaces to selected communities; candidates and employers still use the applicable OINP process.

6 Communities Included In The New OINP REDI Round

The 2026–2027 REDI initiative covers these six participating communities and districts:

• Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury
• Kenora District
• Nipissing District
• Rainy River District
• Renfrew County
• Thunder Bay

Ontario defines the official boundaries of each participating REDI area by the relevant Statistics Canada census division.

The name of a major city should not be treated as the complete boundary, and applicants should verify the location of the actual workplace.

These boundaries matter in a regionally targeted immigration program.

Earlier Ontario regional invitation rounds covered several Northern and Eastern Ontario census divisions, showing why a worker’s actual job location—not simply the nearest city—can determine whether they qualify for a particular regional selection.

OINP REDI Has Supported Nearly 1,000 Nominations So Far

The latest round builds on earlier regional nomination programs. Ontario began targeted regional immigration with a three-community pilot in 2020 and expanded the approach in 2025 by selecting four additional community partners.

According to the province, the initiative has supported the nomination of nearly 1,000 workers across seven partner communities, including roles in health care and the skilled trades.

The 2025 REDI pilot involved Lanark County, Leeds and Grenville, Sarnia-Lambton and Thunder Bay.

Ontario subsequently conducted targeted REDI invitation rounds in October 2025 and again in 2026, illustrating how provincial selection can be directed toward specific areas and occupations.

For additional context, Ontario’s earlier 2026 REDI rounds included selected health care and other occupations, while other provincial selections focused on specific sectors such as mining.

Those past draw results help explain the initiative’s history, but they do not establish eligibility or quotas for the new REDI round.

Ontario has not published a numerical nomination allocation for each of the six 2026–2027 participants. Previous pilot quotas should therefore not be assumed to carry over automatically to the new round.

How Ontario Selected These 6 REDI Communities

In spring 2026, Ontario invited communities outside the Greater Toronto Area to express interest in joining the initiative.

The province considered specific workforce shortages, geographic and cultural diversity, the strength of local employer and municipal participation, and the availability of newcomer settlement services.

Health care shortages were a particularly relevant consideration. Ontario also assessed whether communities could support immigration uptake and provide the services needed for newcomers to establish themselves over the longer term.

The approach reflects Ontario’s broader shift toward targeted provincial selection rather than relying only on province-wide invitation rounds.

A mid-year review of Canada’s provincial nominee programs shows how prominent occupation-specific and regional invitations had already become in Ontario’s 2026 immigration activity.

REDI Does Not Have A Separate Immigration Application

Foreign workers cannot apply directly to REDI through a standalone form. A prospective applicant must satisfy the eligibility rules of the appropriate OINP stream, and any employer-led application must follow the provincial employer and candidate registration process.

REDI should also not be confused with the separate federal Rural Community Immigration Pilot. That federal pathway has its own designated communities, employer requirements and occupation priorities, whereas Ontario’s REDI initiative uses the OINP.

A successful provincial nomination may support a federal permanent residence application, but it does not guarantee approval. All applicants must continue to meet applicable provincial and federal admissibility and documentation requirements.

Ontario Redesigned Its Immigration Program In 2026

The new REDI round follows the first phase of the OINP redesign, which took effect on June 25, 2026. Ontario removed eight former streams and introduced the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, reorganizing worker selection under a new framework.

The 8 closed streams were:

• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker
• Employer Job Offer: International Student
• Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills
• Master’s Graduate
• PhD Graduate
• Express Entry Human Capital Priorities
• Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker
• Express Entry Skilled Trades

Applications already submitted under the former streams continue to be assessed using the requirements applicable to those applications.

Expressions of interest and job offers that had not resulted in an invitation were withdrawn during the transition to the new system.

The changes followed a busy period of Ontario invitations. For example, earlier OINP draws in March and April 2026 targeted candidates by region and occupation, but those historical draws took place under the previous framework.

The Ontario Workforce Priority stream now provides pathways for eligible workers with full-time, permanent job offers in occupations across the National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER categories 0 through 5.

It also provides a route for qualifying self-employed physicians who do not have a job offer. The province’s official Ontario Workforce Priority stream guidance sets out the current eligibility criteria.

How Employers And Candidates Apply Under REDI

Applicants should begin by confirming that their job location is inside one of the six designated census divisions and that they meet an applicable OINP pathway.

For a job-offer application, the employer initiates the process. Ontario’s official OINP employer guide explains the employer-approval procedure and supporting obligations.

1. The employer registers with the OINP Employer Portal and submits a qualifying full-time, permanent job offer.
2. The candidate receives a job offer ID and registers an expression of interest within 30 calendar days of the employer’s submission.
3. If Ontario issues an invitation, the employer submits the application for approval of the employment position within 14 calendar days.
4. The candidate submits the OINP application and pays the applicable fee within 17 calendar days, after the employer has submitted its position-approval application.
5. The applicant and employer provide documents proving the job offer, skills, qualifications, employer eligibility and any declared expression-of-interest scoring factors.

Ontario can invite applicants according to provincial priorities, and registration alone does not secure a nomination.

The province’s earlier REDI invitation rounds illustrate how applicant selection has historically been targeted to specific occupation and region combinations.

Employers must meet requirements concerning their business operations, Ontario workplace, revenue, staffing and compliance.

Workers must satisfy current rules concerning work experience, licences, language, education, legal status and intention to live and work in Ontario.

Dedicated REDI Support Is Available For Employers

Participating communities receive dedicated OINP support, including information sessions designed to help employers and community partners understand how to use the provincial nominee program to address local shortages.

Eligible employers may also access OINP business services and request consultations.

Employers and community stakeholders in participating areas can email immigration.ontario@ontario.ca for more information or to arrange an employer consultation.

This support helps businesses navigate the program; it does not relax the standard eligibility rules or guarantee provincial nomination.

Ontario’s broader October immigration outlook also highlights the importance of distinguishing announced provincial program changes from pending invitation rounds or new allocations.

REDI Does Not Guarantee A Provincial Nomination For All

The new initiative directs nomination opportunities toward selected communities, but the availability of regional spaces does not mean every foreign worker employed in those areas will receive an invitation or nomination.

Applicants must meet the relevant OINP criteria, receive an invitation when required and provide complete documentation. Provincial nomination also remains distinct from federal permanent residence approval.

For employers, the practical first step is to verify the designated census division and review the current Ontario Workforce Priority requirements.

For candidates, the first step is to identify the qualifying pathway and ensure that any job offer, work history and application documents meet the rules that apply at the time of submission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Fact-Checked: The new REDI round, participating communities, historical nomination results, census-division boundaries, community selection process and employer support were verified against Ontario’s official REDI initiative page. The October 16 announcement and June 2026 OINP redesign were checked against the province’s 2026 OINP updates. Worker eligibility, application timelines and employer requirements were cross-checked against Ontario’s current Ontario Workforce Priority stream and employer guidance.

Disclaimer: This report is for general information only and is not immigration or legal advice. Program requirements, regional nomination spaces, invitation rounds and application instructions may change. Applicants and employers should confirm the rules in effect at the time of application using official Ontario and federal guidance.

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