Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream is aligned with the Express Entry system. This means that they invite qualifying candidates directly from the Express Entry pool. In addition to meeting the requirements to submit an Express Entry profile, candidates must also have at least a Bachelor’s degree to be considered. Candidates must meet both the program requirements and the draw requirements to receive an invitation to apply for nomination.

Ontario holds two types of draws under the Human Capital Priorities Stream: Tech Draws and Priority Occupation draws. Each draw targets a CRS range and a set of NOC codes. OINP may also target additional factors depending on the needs of the province. While the NOC codes for the Tech Draws remain consistent, the Priority Occupation NOC codes change in response to Ontario’s labour market demands.

Once a candidates receives a notification of interest on their Express Entry portal, they have 45 days to submit an application to Ontario through the province’s online portal. When submitting an online application, applicants must pay a non-refundable processing fee of $1,500CAD. Once a candidate receives a nomination from Ontario, an additional 600 points is added toward their CRS score, essentially guaranteeing an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in one of the subsequent Federal Express Entry draws.