Ontario to welcome twice as many skilled immigrants, with a massive investment of $25 million in the upcoming years. This investment is an additional one besides the $15 million investment for the next three years, announced as a part of the 2022 Budget.
Ontario to welcome twice as many skilled immigrants
These investments will work toward combating labor shortages and promoting provincial economic growth. Ontario continues to be an appealing tourist destination, bringing in approximately one-third of new immigrants annually. Moreover, the provincial and federal governments declared an upcoming increase in the number of skilled immigrants. This implies that the province will soon be welcoming almost double the skilled immigrants, with its aim to meet its target of 18,000 by 2025.
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford stated that the government will soon welcome more skilled newcomers to Ontario. They will assist the province in building more schools, transit, homes, hospitals, and highways. Also, they will help fulfill the growing population’s increasing requirements. The government is taking all measures to address the critical labor shortages and increase Ontario’s workforce by welcoming new immigrants.
Ontario’s website claims that their new investment in Budget 2023 will help expedite the processing and let the newcomers join the workforce as early as possible. The financial support will certainly increase their security and several IT updates. Furthermore, this makes room for the system to tackle more demand in the upcoming times.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program- a few details about it
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program is part of the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program. Skilled workers can choose Canadian immigration using PNP, the most used immigration pathway among newcomers. The OINP helps potential newcomers to receive a provincial nomination through the province of Ontario. Hereafter, they can apply to IRCC for Canadian Permanent Residence.
Ontario’s PNP streams consist of Base and Enhanced streams. Enhanced PNP stream work in alignment with the Express Entry system. The federal government uses Express Entry to manage applications digitally through its three primary economic class immigration programs.
Express Entry candidates receive scores based on several factors under the Comprehensive Ranking System. Further, the high-scoring and top-rank candidates tend to receive ITAs to apply for Canadian PR. Those candidates who obtain a nomination through an Enhanced PNP stream get an additional 600 points. These extra points further imply a sure-shot ITA for Canadian Permanent Residence.
Base streams don’t align with Express Entry, and any candidate who receives a provincial nomination through it will need to apply to the province directly.
Ontario’s Budget 2023
The 2023 budget of Ontario is referred to as “Building a Strong Ontario.” This budget is a plan based on the targeted approach to assist other individuals and businesses currently. Also, it will build a solid fiscal foundation for the generations to come. Besides the $25 million investment within the OINP, the budget consists of several chief measures that might influence Ontario newcomers. The government looks forward to investing broadly in skills training, apprenticeship transformation, and skilled trades system, and assisting new immigrants to utilize their skills effectively.
Specifically, Ontario is likely to invest nearly $75 million in the skills development fund in the next three years. This will eventually help workers and job searchers to gain the required skills for experiencing new work opportunities and career growth.
Additionally, the government is all prepared to invest $224 million in 2023 and 2024 in the skills development fund’s capital stream. This initiative will further assist more workers to acquire training in skills trades and other in-demand jobs.
Furthermore, the Budget 2023 also focuses on housing and affordability challenges. The government is preparing to build as many as 1.5 million homes by 2031. An Act of 2022, the More Homes Build Faster, will enable Ontario families to experience a relatively more affordable lifestyle and more homes. These changes will influence the reduction of the cost of building a single-family home. This implies it will reduce the price by $116,900 in the Greater Toronto Area.
