Two streams, one GTA-focused round

Ontario's April 30, 2026 selections were issued simultaneously through the Employer Job Offer Foreign Worker (FW) stream and the Employer Job Offer International Student (IS) stream. To be considered, candidates had to be currently residing in Canada with a valid work or study permit and hold a qualifying job offer in the GTA, defined for the purposes of this draw as the five census divisions of Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto, and York.

The breakdown of invitations and minimum scores was as follows:

The Foreign Worker stream alone accounted for 72.2% of the combined 997 ITAs, consistent with the OINP's broader 2026 pattern of weighting Employer Job Offer rounds toward foreign nationals already working in Canada.

A tightened candidate pool

Only profiles created and attested to by 11:59 p.m. on April 28, 2026 were eligible for consideration, and any profile submitted before July 2, 2025 was excluded outright. The cut-off rule effectively forces stale profiles out of the pool and concentrates invitations on candidates whose information is current.

Healthcare, construction and trades, administration, and tech in focus

The two draws together targeted 52 distinct National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes:

• 17 occupations at TEER 0
• 14 occupations at TEER 1
• 19 occupations at TEER 2
• 2 occupations at TEER 3

Several high-demand NOC codes appeared in both streams, including architects (NOC 21200), web designers (NOC 21233), and managers in healthcare (NOC 30010). Across the targeted codes, the dominant sectors were healthcare, construction and skilled trades, administration, and technology and IT — the same shortage areas Ontario has repeatedly flagged as priorities.

Compared with the March 25 GTA round: more invitations, lower bar

April 30 was only the OINP's second GTA-focused targeted selection of 2026. The previous round, on March 25, looked materially different:

In just over five weeks the OINP added 566 ITAs to its GTA totals while dropping the FW cutoff by four points and the IS cutoff by nine. The same downward pressure on scores is visible elsewhere in April: in the 12 region-targeted draws held on April 23, 2026 — covering Northern, Eastern, Central (excluding the GTA), and Southwestern Ontario for a combined 2,102 ITAs — Foreign Worker cutoffs ranged from 60 to 63 and International Student cutoffs from 84 to 87, both higher than the GTA bar set on April 30.

April 30 was the OINP's sixth round of selections for the month. Together with the 2,102 ITAs from April 23 and the earlier April rounds, the OINP issued well over 8,000 invitations in April alone — a pace that all but confirms a deliberate sprint to clear the 2026 inventory before the legislative changeover.

A 14,119-nomination allocation behind the rush

The intensity of April's draw schedule rests on a structural reset at the federal level. On February 6, 2026, IRCC confirmed Ontario's 2026 PNP allocation at 14,119 nominations, a 31% increase from the 10,750 allocated in 2025 but only about 66% of the 2024 peak of 21,500 — reflecting Ottawa's broader contraction of provincial nomination volumes in 2025 and a partial 2026 rebound. Nationally, total PNP space climbed from 55,000 in 2025 to 91,500 in 2026, with Ontario remaining the largest single recipient at roughly 15% of the country's allocation.

That comparatively generous, but reset-flavoured, allocation gives the OINP both the room and the imperative to push invitations out before legacy streams are decommissioned, lest space be lost in the gap between an expiring framework and a new one that has not yet opened for business.

May 30 overhaul: every current category disappears

April 30 was, by design, one of the last opportunities the OINP will have to operate under its existing architecture. Amendments to the Ontario Immigration Act come into force on May 30, 2026 and will abolish every current nomination category, including Employer Job Offer – Foreign Worker, Employer Job Offer – International Student, Employer Job Offer – In-Demand Skills, Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Skilled Trades, Masters and PhD Graduate, and Entrepreneur.

The replacement framework is taking shape in outline form. Ontario plans to consolidate the three existing Employer Job Offer streams into a single Employer Job Offer pathway, segmented by NOC TEER:

• Pathway A: higher-skilled occupations at TEER 0, 1, 2, and 3
• Pathway B: lower-skilled occupations at TEER 4 and 5

In addition, the province has signalled three further pathways: a dedicated healthcare stream that does not require a job offer, a redesigned entrepreneur stream, and an "Exceptional Talent" stream that would rely on qualitative assessment rather than a points-based score. As of this draw, however, Ontario has not published a launch date for the new streams or formal transition guidance for candidates already in the system.

What invited candidates need to do next

Both halves of the application clock start on the day the invitation is issued, and the windows are short:

• Step 1 — Employer (within 14 days): The employer must review the OINP Employer Guide and submit the position-approval portion of the application within 14 calendar days of the invitation date.
• Step 2 — Candidate (within 17 days): Once the employer has submitted, the candidate must log in to the OINP e-Filing Portal, locate the new file number prefixed "JOXX," and submit the candidate-side application and fees within 17 calendar days of the invitation date.

Successful nominees can then apply to IRCC for permanent residence using the provincial nomination as the basis of their federal application.

Reading the round

First, the April 30 cutoffs of 57 (FW) and 81 (IS) sit at the lower end of GTA-targeted scores seen over the past year, suggesting the OINP is willing to widen the funnel as the May 30 deadline approaches. Candidates already in Canada on a valid work or study permit and holding a GTA job offer — across Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto, or York — should track any further legacy-stream rounds closely, as they are likely to be among the last under the current rules.

Second, May 30 is a hard institutional cutover. Candidates already in the OINP profile system should refresh their information, particularly their attestation status, to maximise the chance of being considered in any remaining selection rounds.

Third, for prospective applicants who do not yet hold a qualifying job offer, the most relevant pathways going forward will be the consolidated Employer Job Offer stream, the new healthcare pathway, and the Exceptional Talent stream. Until Ontario publishes detailed regulations and transition rules, however, claims about "grandfathering" or continued processing of legacy categories should be treated with caution and verified against official provincial announcements.