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The COVID-19 pandemic did not deter Ontario, one of the favourite destinations in Canada for new immigrants, from issuing a high number of nominations in 2020. Last year, the province nominated a total of 8054 applicants for permanent residence in Canada. When the family members who will come to Canada along with these principal applicants are considered, the total number would be almost 15303.
Originally, the number of nominations allocated to Canada for the year 2020 was 7350. But Ontario nominated 300 additional applicants through the NOC C Pilot for low-skilled workers. Besides, 450 additional nominations were allocated to Ontario by the federal government.
Ontario nominates high number of tech workers
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program aims to address the labour market needs of the province by providing immigration pathways for skilled workers to settle here. In 2020, around 20 percent of nominations issued by Ontario went to tech workers. High priority was given to jobs such as:
- Software engineers and designers
- Computer programmers
- Interactive media developers
- IT systems analysts
- Technology consultants
Another 20 percent of the total nominations went to skilled trades workers. More than 1100 of Ontario’s nominations were issued to candidates under the Express Entry: Skilled Trades stream.
Only 48 percent of the nominated candidates had a job offer. Around 96 per cent of the candidates had a post-secondary degree and almost 43 percent had intermediate level of language proficiency.
High priority for Express Entry candidates
In 2020, the province nominated a total of 3499 Express Entry candidates through its PNP pathways aligned to Express Entry. They included:
- 1,996 Human Capital Priorities Stream candidates
- 1,106 Skilled Trades Stream candidates
- 397 French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream candidates
As these candidates were entitled for an additional Comprehensive Ranking System(CRS) score of 600 points, it guaranteed them an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence in Canada in the subsequent federal Express Entry draw.
French speakers and regional pilot candidates
Among the total number of immigrants nominated by Ontario in 2020, a total of 437 were French speakers. Ontario’s original target was that 5 percent of all nominations should be French speakers. But last year, 5.4 percent of the total nominations went to French speakers.
Though the province had been allocated 150 nominations for Regional Immigration Pilot, only 67 could be issued owing to the pandemic in 2020. In order to compensate this, 233 spaces have been allotted to regional pilot applicants this year.
Do you wish to settle in the Canadian province of Ontario? Check your eligibility by filling our free online assessment form. Contact us for more details.
