OINP Phase 1 Launches With No Entrepreneur Pathway: What Business Immigration Advisors Must Know

• GenesisLink
• June 27, 2026
• Business Immigration

Ontario launched Phase 1 of its redesigned OINP on June 26, 2026 — with three workforce pathways and zero entrepreneur or investor streams. Here is what that means for business immigration file strategy in 2026.

On June 26, 2026, Ontario published the regulatory amendments that launched Phase 1 of its redesigned provincial immigration program — the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. For those tracking business immigration, the detail that matters most is what the announcement does not include: there is no entrepreneur or investor pathway in Phase 1.

This is a meaningful signal for immigration professionals managing business immigration files. Here is what changed, why it matters, and what advisors should be doing now.

What Changed on June 26, 2026

Ontario's OINP redesign officially closed all eight of its previous immigration streams on May 30, 2026. On June 26, the province published Ontario Regulation 422/17 amendments introducing the new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream with three pathways:

• TEER 0–3 Pathway: For workers in higher-skilled occupations holding a full-time, permanent Ontario job offer, a post-secondary credential, and minimum language proficiency at CLB 5 or 6.
• TEER 4–5 Pathway: For workers in lower-skilled occupations with a job offer paying at least the median wage, nine months of cumulative work experience, and CLB 4 language proficiency.
• Self-Employed Physicians Pathway: For licensed Ontario physicians eligible to bill through OHIP.

All three pathways are job-offer-based workforce streams. According to the official OINP announcement at ontario.ca/page/ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-oinp, the Expression of Interest (EOI) system is currently closed to new profiles, and the e-filing portal is expected to reopen "later this summer." No specific date has been provided.

Applications submitted under the former OINP framework — including the previous entrepreneur and investor streams — continue to be assessed under the requirements that were in place at the time of application.

Why This Matters for Business Immigration File Strategy

Ontario was one of the most active provinces for entrepreneur and investor immigration. Its Entrepreneur Stream, Corporate Stream, and Investor Stream each provided structured pathways for foreign nationals with business capital and ownership intent. Phase 1 of the redesign contains none of these.

This creates a practical gap for advisors and their clients in two scenarios:

New files targeting Ontario: Entrepreneurs who intended to use an Ontario PNP pathway for business immigration now have no active provincial pathway to file through. The federal C11 Significant Benefit Work Permit and the ICT Intra-Company Transfer remain the strongest available options for business-profile applicants seeking to operate in Ontario specifically.

Files in progress under old OINP streams: These will be processed under the original requirements. However, advisors should audit the current standing of any pending applications and confirm that the business documentation on file still reflects the economic conditions and business milestones outlined in the original submission. A business plan prepared in 2023 or 2024 may need a credibility update memo to remain defensible if the file is still in queue.

There is also a broader strategic question: whether Ontario intends to introduce a business immigration component in Phase 2. The province has not announced a timeline or scope for future phases. Advisors should monitor the OINP program updates page and avoid making commitments to clients that assume Ontario will restore an entrepreneur pathway in the near term.

What Advisors Should Do Now

Three actions are worth prioritizing immediately:

1. Redirect Ontario-focused entrepreneur clients to active pathways. BC PNP Entrepreneur, Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), Manitoba PNP (MPNP), and SINP Entrepreneur all have active intake periods in 2026. Each has distinct net worth, investment, and business viability requirements. The C11 federal pathway remains a strong option for entrepreneurs operating Canadian entities or demonstrating significant economic benefit.

2. Review and refresh business documentation on in-progress Ontario files. If a client's OINP entrepreneur application is still in queue under the old framework, confirm that financial projections, job creation plans, and market analysis reflect current conditions. Outdated business cases are a common source of delay or refusal at the assessment stage.

3. Avoid treating Phase 1 as the complete picture. Ontario's phased redesign approach signals that the Workforce Priority Stream is the first layer of a larger rebuild. A business immigration component may follow. Advisors who stay close to the OINP updates page will have a first-mover advantage when new pathways are announced.

The Bottom Line

Phase 1 of Ontario's redesigned OINP is live and operational — but only for workforce applicants with employer job offers. Entrepreneurs and business immigrants are not part of this first phase. For advisors with Ontario-focused business files, the immediate priority is identifying the strongest available alternative pathway and ensuring the business documentation behind each file is current, credible, and aligned with today's economic environment.

GenesisLink builds the business case behind the immigration file. If this update affects your current Ontario-focused files or you are evaluating alternative provincial pathways for an entrepreneur client, contact us to book a strategy call.