Summary
It is imperative that the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s (“OINP”) streams support the growth and sustainability of small businesses because of the critical role that they play in the economy especially as businesses contend with broad economic challenges. Small businesses play a crucial role in employing Canadians and shaping the economy. According to Statistics Canada, “[i]n 2022, businesses with 1 to 99 employees comprised 98.0% of all employer businesses in Canada and employed 10.7 million individuals which is almost two-thirds (63.0%) of all employees”. In comparison, businesses with 100 to 500 employees, employed 3.6 million individuals and businesses with more than 500 employees employed 2.7 million individuals. Critically, in Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada’s Key Small Business Statistics 2022 report, it was noted that small businesses accounted for 97.7% of the Goods-Producing sector (which includes critical industries such as Agriculture, Mining, Utilities, and Manufacturing). In the same report, it’s noted that there is a positive correlation between business survival rate and initial business size. Effectively, small businesses’ survival rates increase when they have a larger number of employees. As set out in more detail below, the OBA has several recommendations for changes to the OINP streams that would help support Ontario businesses’ growth and continued success, bolster Ontario businesses’ capacity to create jobs, foster economic development, and enhance overall productivity.
The Ontario Bar Association
The OBA is the largest volunteer lawyer association in Ontario, with approximately 16,000 members, practicing in every area of law in every region of the province. We provide updates and education on
every area of the law to combined audiences of 20,000 lawyers annually. The members of our 40 practice sections include leading experts in their field who provide practical advice to government and other decisionmakers to ensure the economy and the justice sector work effectively and efficiently to support access to high-quality justice for Ontarians.
This submission has been prepared by the OBA Citizenship and Immigration Law Section (“Section”), which has approximately 200 lawyers who are leading experts in citizenship and immigration law and
who represent virtually every stakeholder in the immigration system. These include those applying for skilled worker, permanent residence, refugee, and citizenship status; spouses of Canadian citizens;
corporations and other Canadian employers who participate in skilled and temporary worker programs.
Members of the Section often advocate before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Board including the Immigration Appeal Division, the
Immigration Division and the Refugee Appeal Division as well as all levels of court in the province of Ontario.
Comments
Challenges with the Suspended Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program – Entrepreneur Stream
Entrepreneurs who establish businesses in Ontario, employ Ontarians, create innovation, jobs as well
as help to create a succession pathway for the numerous small business owners who are looking to
retire are the epitome of successful immigrants. To attract these kinds of entrepreneurs, we must
design programs that besides attracting successful foreign entrepreneurs and foreign direct investment
also reward those who have already established businesses in Ontario.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s (“Ministry”) suspended
Entrepreneur Stream had many challenges. As immigration lawyers who work closely with individuals
who are the type of applicants Ontario would benefit attracting to its entrepreneur program, we would
like to provide some insight as to what we feel were the roadblocks with the suspended Entrepreneur
Stream:
1. The suspended Entrepreneur Stream was not competitive with the entrepreneur programs of
most other provinces and the federal government, especially for the higher net-worth requirement,
higher minimum investment amount and longer nomination timeline. The length of time for an applicant
to obtain permanent residence, the hurdles in the selection process, along
with the risk of not obtaining a nomination after investing made many desirable candidates turn
to programs in other jurisdictions in and outside Ontario and Canada. To make Ontario an
attractive destination for immigrant entrepreneurs, the time for nomination may be reduced to
one year, the net-worth requirement may be reduced to $500,000 for inside GTA and $250,000
for outside GTA. The investment amounts are proposed to be reduced to $300,000 for inside
GTA, $150,000 for outside GTA and $100,000 for northern and rural Ontario.
2. The suspended Entrepreneur Stream was not open to those foreign nationals who had
established businesses in Canada on legal temporary resident status if they had operated
beyond a year. Allowing applicants who have a proven track record of successfully operating a
business in Ontario is recommended in future entrepreneur programs. Program integrity will
always be crucial for any immigration program; however, the Ministry should look to the
entrepreneurs who are on work permits in Ontario and have established businesses in the
province. In particular, the Ministry should allow in future programs entrepreneurs who have
created jobs, located themselves in northern or small towns, and created significant benefits for
Ontarians in innovation, housing, construction, healthcare, arts, athleticism, and other priority
areas.
3. Allowing applicants to partner with existing business owners in Ontario would increase the
likelihood of success. International entrepreneurs who have run successful businesses in their
home countries may still require guidance and support in a new country where they have few
connections and an unfamiliar business environment. As such, many successful entrepreneurs
would benefit by partnering with successful business owners in Ontario who can guide them and
pass on their expertise.
Proposal for a Pilot Program – The Ontario Business Experience Class
(“OBEC”)
While the Ministry is implementing the above recommendations to fix the Entrepreneur Stream, it can
immediately implement a pilot program for an untapped group of entrepreneurs; those who have a
proven track record of successfully operating a business in Ontario. The successful track record of
these entrepreneurs is proof that they are ready to apply for a program like the Entrepreneur Stream.
Our goal is for this pilot program to become a subcategory of the broader program once the issues set
out above are remedied by the Ministry. We would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss this
preliminary proposal and more solutions for the program.
Basic Requirements
1. To qualify for permanent residence in Ontario under the OBEC, applicants would be required to
establish:
a. Management of a qualifying business in Ontario for at least two years before the date of
the application.
b. Ownership of at least 50% of the shares in the qualifying business during the relevant
two-year period by those who are applying under the program.
Both British Columbia and Alberta have entrepreneur programs where they allow local Canadian
business partners to partner with the applicants. The federal Start-Up Visa program and the
Entrepreneur work permit (C-11) also allow partnerships with locals where the applicants need to own
50% of the business.
Qualifying Business
A qualifying business would be a business established in Ontario that has:
1. Created at least three full-time equivalent (“FTE”) positions inside the GTA (at 30 hours per
week) per applicant or the equivalent in part-time positions other than for the entrepreneur or an
accompanying family member of the entrepreneur, two FTEs outside the GTA, and one FTE in
rural and northern Ontario.
2. Done so for at least one year.
Employment Created or Maintained
For the FTE positions:
1. The employment positions could either involve employees on the company payroll or
contractors working for the company.
2. If an existing job was maintained (rather than created), this would count as an FTE.
If the program receives more applications than the target, the Ministry could be more selective on a
points system. We recommend that any point system should reflect the following goals:
• Regional representation: e.g. companies that are located in rural or Northern Ontario
receive more points.
• Net-worth and Investment Requirements: competitive net-worth and investment
thresholds should be considered as discussed in the previous section on page 5.
• Innovation: a business solving a problem identified by the province or a priority sector
identified by the province should be rewarded.
• Job creation: companies with more jobs on the payroll.
• Communities: companies that support artistic or athletic organizations and promote the
health and wellbeing of Ontarians or other beneficial sectors such as construction, trades,
and innovation.
• Length of Establishment: Businesses that have been established longer receive more
points.
Language requirements and the amount of investment into a company, though important, do not
necessarily impact the benefits entrepreneurs can bring to Ontario. If the qualifying or selection system
required very high language or amount of investment as part of its criteria, it may eliminate many
individuals who established successful businesses in Ontario but are unable to meet these
requirements. For example, a Ukrainian CUAET work permit holder who established a construction
company, a Japanese artist who established an art studio through the C11 Entrepreneur work permit
category, and so on and so forth.
We remain committed to helping Ontario establish programs that help to attract and retain one of the
most immigrant groups that will provide some of the most significant benefits to our economy and
society. In order to do so, the program must be designed to not leave behind those who have a proven
record of success and are already making contributions in Ontario.
Increasing Support for Ontario Businesses in Trades and Other Critical
Industries through Improved OINP Streams
Insights into Current OINP Performance
The OBA has observed that the OINP’s current streams combine to compete with the Federal
Government’s Express Entry system, resulting in lower conversion rates and missed opportunities to
support Ontario small businesses in critical industries such as trades. A closer look at the OINP’s 2021
and 2022 results
5 Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, “2023 Ontario Immigrant Nominee
Program updates”, online: <https://www.ontario.ca/page/2023-ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-updates>.
Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, “2022 Ontario Immigrant Nominee
Program updates”, online: <https://www.ontario.ca/page/2022-ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-updates>
can give insight into how the streams appear to compete with Express Entry and
result in lower conversion rates. Between 2021 and 2022, most nominations were issued to individuals
who had valid Express Entry profiles. For the non-Express Entry streams, master’s students were
issued 2,682 nominations while Foreign Workers and Students with Job offers were issued 2,590 and
2011 nominations, respectively.
However, the number of nominations issued between 2021 and 2022 only tell one part of the story; to
better appreciate whether the OINP is efficiently carrying out its mandate, we must compare the
number of nominations to the number of initiations and notifications of interest issued to determine the
conversion rate. Approximately 48% of the 21,291 notifications of interest issued between 2021 and
2022 led to a nomination, while only 46% of the invitations issued to master’s students, 49% of the
international students with a job offer and 58% of the foreign workers with a job offer, resulted in a
nomination.
6 “Appendix A: OINP Data Insights,” page 15-16 of the OBA’s submission.
It’s important to note approximately 91% of the 761 invitations to apply issued in 2021 and
2022 under the In-Demand Skills Stream led to a nomination. This signals that there may be significant
demand for nominations in TEER 4 and TEER 5 occupations. However, the In-Demand Skills Stream
accounts for less than 4% of nominations during this time.
The low conversion rates for the OINP streams underscore our concern about the ways the OINP
currently competes with the federal government’s Express Entry system. Comparatively, the British
Columbia reported a 70.6% conversion rate in 2022. Critically, most of British Columbia’s Provincial
Nominee Program (“PNP”) nominations were under their Skilled Worker Stream, compared to their
International Graduate and International Postgraduates Streams in both 2021 and 2022.7
7 British Columbia, “Provincial Nominee Program Statistical Report and Year in Review 2022”
Based on current trends, there are opportunities to increase support for OINP businesses. Statistics
Canada recently reported that there were 563,750 job vacancies across Ontario Q1 and Q2 of 2023.
Critically, 50% of these jobs required high school or less and 45.7% of these jobs required less than
one year of work experience or less.
8 Statistics Canada, “Job vacancies, proportion of job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by occupation
and type of work, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality”, online:
A Statistics Canada report on unemployment between 2016 and 2022 found that the number of vacant positions requiring a high school diploma or less has exceeded the number of unemployed Canadians with equivalent education since the third quarter of 2021. In Q4
2022, there were 497,000 vacant positions across Canada requiring a high school diploma or less,
compared to 296,000 unemployed Canadian-born individuals and 70,000 unemployed immigrants with
matching credentials.
9 Statistics Canada, “Unemployment and job vacancies by education, 2016 to 2022”
Recommended Changes to Employer Requirements in the Job Offer Streams
It is clear then that Ontario businesses are having difficulty filling semi-skilled and lower-skilled
positions, which includes critical jobs such as helpers and labourers in trades, certain agricultural
workers, and retail workers. Currently, requirements for OINP Foreign Worker/International Student/In-
Demand Skills Streams (“Job Offer Streams”) combine to bar certain small businesses from accessing
the program and do not align with recent labour market and economic trends or development in Ontario
human rights law. The OINP can increase its support for Ontario businesses by amending the eligibility
requirements for the OINP Job Offer Streams, and the following recommendations are intended to
achieve that goal.
Amend Active Business Requirement for an Existing and Active Business
Currently, eligible businesses must have existed and have been active for at least three years before
the date of the application for nomination. Given that small businesses’ survival rates increase when
they have a larger number of employees and businesses operating in critical sectors/industries across
Ontario contend with job shortages, many will struggle to scale up so they can survive in the long term.
To address this, we recommend amending this requirement to at least one year before the date
of registration or application, as applicable. Comparatively, the BC PNP requires businesses
employing skilled workers to have been established in British Columbia for at least one year before the
date of an application.
Eliminating the Annual Revenue Requirement
Currently, eligible businesses must have gross annual revenue of $500,000 in the year preceding an
application if operating outside of the Greater Toronto Area and $1,000,000 if operating within the GTA.
These revenue requirements exceed the average revenue reported by small businesses across
Canada. In 2020, rural businesses reported annual revenues of $462,000 and urban businesses
reported $400,000. Continuing to maintain this financial requirement will effectively bar many small
businesses (including those operating in Construction/Trades and Tech) from accessing the OINP and
retaining staff crucial to their operations, and as noted above, their long-term survival. Comparatively,
the BC PNP does not have a revenue requirement for its employers. To address this, we recommend
eliminating the revenue requirement.
Amending the Employee Requirements
Currently, eligible businesses must – at the time of the application – have three full-time permanent
resident and/or Canadian citizen employees if operating outside of the GTA and five if operating within
the GTA. Statistics Canada confirms that that part-time work continues to outpace growth in full-time
work in 2023. Increasingly, Ontario businesses must rely on combination of part-time and full-time
employees to operate their businesses. Recognizing this, OINP currently allows applicants to count full-
time or full-time equivalent work experience towards the minimum work experience for many of the
streams. To better support businesses operating in this new reality, OINP should allow
businesses similar flexibility by considering two part-time positions equivalent to one full-time
equivalent position, if the total hours add up to at least an average of 30 hours per week. Also,
include contract workers in this factor as it is normal business practices in many areas to have
contractors rather than full-time employees. The best example is the construction industry where
subcontractors are the norm.
Given Canada’s declining birth rate and aging population and the need for employers to hire global
talent, temporary foreign workers have rapidly and increasingly become a critical source of labour
supply across industries. Specifically, Statistics Canada noted that the share of employed temporary
residents grew 149% from 2010 to 2020.10
10 Statistics Canada, “Foreign workers in Canada: Work permit holders versus employment income records, 2010
to 2022”, online < https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2023010/article/00003-eng.htm>.
Therefore, the requirement that eligible employers have at
least three or five permanent resident employees/Canadian citizen employees is inconsistent with the
labour market conditions in which they operate.
Additionally, recent developments in Ontario employment and human rights law will likely impact how
businesses record and track the status of their employees, if at all. In Imperial Oil Limited v. Haseeb,
2023 ONCA 364, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the employer discriminated against the
candidate by making the job offer conditional on the candidate provided proof of Canadian citizenship
or permanent resident status. As Ontario businesses cannot legally require new employees to be
permanent residents and/or Canadian citizens, the OINP requirement, at best, adds a layer of
requirement inconsistent with Employment and Human Rights standards in Canada, or at worse, may
inadvertently encourage non-compliance with these standards.
Comparatively, the BC PNP program allows businesses to count two part-time employees as one full-
time if the hours total an average of 30 hours per week and does not require the employees to be
Canadian citizens or permanent residents. We recommend that Ontario should do the same.
Recommended Changes to Applicant Requirements for the Job Offer Streams
In addition to the amending the employer requirements for the job offer streams, the OBA recommends
the following revisions to the applicant requirements in the Foreign Worker and the In-Demand
streams, to better support businesses in Construction/Trades and other important industries.
Amending Applicant Work Experience Requirement for Foreign Workers with a Job Offer Stream
Currently, eligible candidates for the Foreign Workers with a Job Offer Stream must have two years
of work experience in the same National Occupation Classification (“NOC”) code as the employment
position being offered to them. Instead, we recommend that skilled workers be eligible for a
provincial nomination if they have at least two years of skilled work experience, meet the NOC
employment requirements for the position being offered, and satisfy the business needs of their
Ontario employer. The current work experience requirement arbitrarily limits Ontario businesses’
ability to nominate foreign workers they deem critical to their business and can reduce their ability to
retain talent in emerging occupations such as Data Scientists and Cybersecurity specialists, etc., as the
labour market continues to evolve. Maintaining the current work experience requirement may
inadvertently bar otherwise qualified candidates from nomination and negatively impact Ontario
businesses. Comparatively, BC PNP requires candidates to have at least two years of employment
experience in any NOC and meet the employment requirements for the position being offered to them.
The 2021 overhaul of the National Occupation Classification system led to changes to several
occupations and the creation of new occupation codes and unit groups. As the labour market and the
classification of occupations continue to evolve, maintaining the requirement to have two years of work
experience in the same NOC code may result in the Foreign Worker with a Job Offer Stream failing
to keep pace with evolving labour market demands. We recommend the same change noted above for
this Stream.
Amending Applicant Education Requirements for In-Demand Stream
Currently, eligible candidates for the In-Demand Stream must have a Canadian secondary school
(high school) diploma or credential, or its equivalent in another country. Instead, we recommend that
candidates should only be required to demonstrate they satisfy employment requirements for
the respective NOC. Proven work experience and evidence of minimum CLB/NCLC 4 in
English/French language tests are good indicators of candidates’ ability to succeed in the Canadian
labour market, and the current requirement operates to bar applicants from this Stream as many foreign
workers who only completed high school outside of Canada will either struggle to obtain an educational
credential assessment or find that their foreign high school credential is not equal to a completed
Canadian secondary school diploma.
Expanding List of Eligible Occupations for In-Demand Stream
Eligible candidates for the In-Demand Stream can apply if working in a short list of NOC TEER 4 or 5
occupations inside and outside the GTA. Instead, OINP can better support businesses by
expanding the In-Demand Skills Stream requirements to allow candidates outside of the GTA to
apply if working in any NOC TEER category 4 or 5 occupation (except caregivers) and those
working in agriculture and agri-food occupations. Recent reports indicate that rural and northern
Ontario face significant economic and demographic challenges, owing to a declining population and
lower immigration levels relative to urban areas in the province.11
11 Northern Policy Institute, “Come North – Population Growth in Ontario’s Northern Regions,” online:
<https://www.northernpolicy.ca/upload/documents/come-north/en-come-north-conference-report-20-12-11.pdf>.
Northern Policy Institute, “Just the Tip of the Iceberg: The First Few Months of the Rural and Northern Immigration
Pilot, online: <https://www.northernpolicy.ca/upload/documents/publications/briefing-
notes/hagar_rnip_researchreport_en.pdf>.
The NOC list inside the GTA should
be expanded to reflect labour shortages; it is currently too restrictive.
Recommendation for New Detailed Scoring Factors for Foreign Workers with a Job Offer Stream
In addition to the above, we recommend that the OINP adopt new detailed scoring factors for the
Foreign Workers with a Job Offer Stream that will award points for factors tied to success in the labour
market (e.g., number of years of experience) and allow more program flexibility and a greater ability to
conduct targeted draws for critical industries such as trades, agriculture, agri-food, and
manufacturing.
12 British Columbia, “Provincial Nominee Program Skills Immigration Program Guide (Includes Express Entry BC)”
online: <https://www.welcomebc.ca/Immigrate-to-B-C/documents/BC-PNP-SI-EEBC-Program-Guide.aspx”>.
Scoring factors set out on pg. 51-61 of the Program Guide.
Please see attached BC PNP scoring factors for example. We also recommend that
the OINP require candidates to disclose their Express Entry profiles (which would include providing
their IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and a Job Seeker ID) at the registration phase such that
nominations can be transmitted to Express Entry where possible, thereby reducing processing delays
and the likelihood of candidates subsequently filing separate Express Entry applications.
Chart of Recommended Changes to Ontario Regulation 422/17 for the Job Offer Streams
Below, we have summarized below the sections of Ontario Regulation 422/17 for the current
requirements noted above as well as our recommended changes to the relevant Job Offer Streams.
Summary of Current Requirements
Impeding Ontario Businesses
Summary of Recommended Changes to Better
Support Ontario Businesses
Subsection 4(1)(1) Active Business
Requirement
The employer’s business must have existed
and been active for at least three years before
the date of making the application.
The employer’s business must have existed and
operated in Ontario for at least one year before
the date of registration or making application, as
applicable.
Subsection 4(1)(3) Annual Revenue
Requirement
The employer’s business must have, in its
most recently completed fiscal year before the
date of making the application,
i. if the prospective nominee will work
Repeal regulation respecting this requirement.
at a location in the Greater Toronto
Area, or will work at more than one
location but report to work at a
location in the Greater Toronto
Area, a total gross annual revenue
of at least $1,000,000, or
ii. if the prospective nominee will work
at a location outside the Greater
Toronto Area… a total gross annual
revenue of at least $500,000.
Subsection 4(1) (3.1) Number of Employee
Requirements
The employer’s business must have at the
date of making the application,
i. if the prospective nominee will work
at a location in the Greater Toronto
Area, or will work at more than one
location but report to work at a
location in the Greater Toronto
Area, at least five full-time
employees at that location who are
permanent residents or Canadian
citizens, or
ii. if the prospective nominee will work
at a location outside the Greater
Toronto Area or will work at more
than one location but report to work
at a location outside the Greater
Toronto Area, at least three full-time
employees at that location who are
permanent residents or Canadian
citizens.
The employer’s business must have at the date of
making the application,
i. If the prospective nominee will work at a
location in the Greater Toronto Area or will work
at more than one location but report to work at
a location in the Greater Toronto Area, at least
five full-time or full-time equivalent
employees at that location.
ii. The prospective nominee will work at a location
outside the Greater Toronto Area or will work at
more than one location but report to work at a
location outside the Greater Toronto Area, at
least three full-time or full-time equivalent
employees at that location.
iii. Employers may consider two part-time
employees as one full-time equivalent position,
as long the total hours at up to at least an
average of 30 hours per week.
Subsection 5(2)(i)(A) Work Experience
Requirement for Foreign Workers with a
Job Offer Stream
Applicants must have two years of work
experience in the same occupation listed in the
National Occupational Classification as the
employment position to which the application
relates.
Applicant must have a minimum of two years of full-
time (or full-time equivalent) work experience in any
skilled occupation.
Subsection 7 (1.1) Eligible Occupations for
In-Demand Stream
Despite paragraph 1, if the applicant will work
at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area,
or will work at more than one location but
report to work at a location outside the Greater
Toronto Area, the applicant must have
obtained a job offer for an employment position
that has been approved by the director in
accordance with the Act in one of the
occupations listed in paragraph 1 or in one of
the following occupations listed in the National
Occupational Classification under Training,
Education, Experience and Responsibilities
(TEER) Category 4 or 5:
i. 94100 – Machine operators,
mineral and metal processing
ii. 94105 – Metalworking and forging
machine operators
iii. 94106 – Machining tool operators
iv. 94107 – Machine operators of other
metal products
v. 94110 – Chemical plant machine
operators
vi. 94111 – Plastics processing
machine operators
vii. 94124 – Woodworking machine
operators
viii. 94132 – Industrial sewing machine
operators
ix. 94140 – Process control and
machine operators, food, and
beverage processing
x. 94201 – Electronics assemblers,
fabricators, inspectors, and testers
xi. 94204 – Mechanical assemblers
and inspectors
xii. 94213 – Industrial painters, coaters,
and metal finishing process
operators
xiii. 94219 – Other products
assemblers, finishers, and
inspectors
xiv. xiv. 95102 – Labourers in chemical
products processing and utilities
Despite paragraph 1, if the applicant will work at a
location outside the Greater Toronto Area, or will
work at more than one location but report to work at
a location outside the Greater Toronto Area, the
applicant must have obtained a job offer for an
employment position that has been approved by
the director in accordance with the Act in any
occupation listed in the National Occupational
Classification under Training, Education,
Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) Category
4 or 5 (except Caregivers) and listed below listed
Agri-Food occupations and Trades Occupations:13
13 Appendix B: Expanded List of Tradespersons (Teer 0-3) and Agriculture / Agri-Food (Teer 2 & 3).
See Appendix B for list of suggested occupations.
Subsection 7(3) Education Requirement for
In-Demand Stream
The applicant must have obtained a Canadian
secondary school diploma or credential, or
equivalent credential from another jurisdiction
that is supported by an educational credential
assessment report that is less than five years
old on the date the application is made and
that was produced by a designated educational
credential assessment organization indicating
that the applicant has authentic foreign
educational credentials that are equivalent to
completed Canadian educational credentials.
Repeal regulation respecting this requirement.
The OBA would be pleased to meet and discuss this further and answer any questions that you may
have.
Chart image
Appendix A: OINP Data Insights
Data Insights
• The overwhelming majority of candidates invited to apply under the In-Demand Skills Stream
Number of ITA/NOI received a nomination from 2021 to 2022. This is unique among the current
streams and signals that there may be significant demand for nominations in TEER 4 and TEER
5 occupations. Yet, the In-Demand Skills Stream accounts for less than 4% of nominations
issued in 2021 and 2022.
• The Entrepreneur Stream accounted for less than 1% of nominations issued in 2021 and 2021
despite the significant role small business play in Ontario’s economy.
• Although 21,291 Notifications of Interests were issued under the EE Human Capital, French-
Speaking Worker, and Skilled Trades Streams, less than 48% were issued nominations.
A Snapshot of Ontario’s Labour Market Needs
• 563,750 job vacancies were reported in Q1/Q2 202314
14 Statistics Canada, “Job vacancies, proportion of job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by occupation
and type of work, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality”, online
<https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410032802&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.7&pickMembers%5B1%5D=4.1&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=10&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2023&referencePeriods=20230101%2C20231001>.
Statistics Canada, “Job vacancies, proportion of job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by selected
characteristics, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality”, online:
<https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410032801&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.7&pickMembers%5B1%5D=2.1&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=07&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2023&referencePeriods=20230101%2C20230701>.
Statistics Canada, “Job vacancies, payroll employees, job vacancy rate, and average offered hourly wage by
industry sector, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality”, online:
<https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410032601&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.7&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=07&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=
2023&referencePeriods=20230101%2C20230701>.
o Approximately 80% of these jobs require a non-university certificate or diploma or lower
(in fact, 50% require high school or less).
o 45.7 % of these jobs require less than one year of work experience or less.
. The average wage offered for these positions ranged from 19.20 (no minimum
level of education required) to 27.50 (non-university certificate or diploma)
o The following five industries had the most vacancies:
. Healthcare and Social assistance
. Accommodation and food services
o The employment rate in October (61.4%) was down 0.3 percentage points.
. Retail trade
. Manufacturing
. Administrative and support waste management and remediation services
• Employment was little changed in Ontario in October for the fourth consecutive month15
15 Statistics Canada, “Labour Force Survey, October 2023”, online: <https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-
quotidien/231103/dq231103a-eng.htm>.
Appendix B: Expanded List of Tradespersons (Teer 0-3) and
Agriculture / Agri-Food (Teer 2 & 3)
TRADES (TEER 0-3)
NOC 22212 - Drafting technologists and technicians
NOC 22301 - Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
NOC 22302 - Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
NOC 22311 - Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)
NOC 22312 - Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
NOC 70010 - Construction managers
NOC 70011 - Home building and renovation managers
NOC 70012 - Facility operation and maintenance managers
NOC 72010 - Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and
related occupations
NOC 72011 - Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations
NOC 72012 - Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades
NOC 72013 - Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades
NOC 72014 - Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
NOC 72020 - Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades
NOC 72021 - Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
NOC 72022 - Supervisors, printing and related occupations
NOC 72024 - Supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators
NOC 72100 - Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
NOC 72101 - Tool and die makers
NOC 72102 - Sheet metal workers
NOC 72103 - Boilermakers
NOC 72104 - Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters
NOC 72105 - Ironworkers
NOC 72106 - Welders and related machine operators
NOC 72200 - Electricians (except industrial and power system)
NOC 72201 - Industrial electricians
NOC 72203 - Electrical power line and cable workers
NOC 72204 - Telecommunications line and cable installers and repairers
NOC 72205 - Telecommunications equipment installation and cable television service technicians
NOC 72300 - Plumbers
NOC 72301 - Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
NOC 72302 - Gas fitters
NOC 72310 – Carpenters
NOC 72311 - Cabinetmakers
NOC 72320 - Bricklayers
NOC 72321 - Insulators
NOC 72400 - Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
NOC 72401 - Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
NOC 72402 - Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
NOC 72403 - Railway carmen/women
NOC 72404 - Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
NOC 72406 - Elevator constructors and mechanics
NOC 72410 - Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers
NOC 72422 - Electrical mechanics
NOC 72423 - Motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle and other related mechanics
NOC 72500 - Crane operators
NOC 73100 - Concrete finishers
NOC 73101 - Tilesetters
NOC 73102 - Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers
NOC 73110 - Roofers and shinglers
NOC 73111 - Glaziers
NOC 73112 - Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)
NOC 73113 - Floor covering installers
NOC 73200 - Residential and commercial installers and servicers
NOC 73201 - General building maintenance workers and building superintendents
NOC 73202 - Pest controllers and fumigators
NOC 73209 - Other repairers and servicers
NOC 73300 Transport truck drivers
NOC 73301 Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators
NOC 73400 - Heavy equipment operators
NOC 73402 - Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction
NOC 82031 - Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture
services
NOC 92100 - Power engineers and power systems operators
AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD (TEER 2 & 3)
NOC 63201 - Butchers - retail and wholesale
NOC 80020 - Managers in agriculture
NOC 82030 - Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
NOC 84120 - Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators