Ontario French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream: Closed in 2026

Ontario closed its French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream on June 25, 2026, and the closure is permanent. The stream was removed through amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, alongside seven other Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program streams. No further Notifications of Interest will be issued under it, and no new applications are accepted. French language ability, however, remains one of the strongest advantages you can hold in Canada's immigration system, and several pathways that reward it are still open to you. This page explains what changed, what happens to applications already in the system, and which French pathways you can pursue now.

What Happened to the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream

The French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream was one of Ontario's Express Entry aligned pathways. It allowed the province to search the federal Express Entry pool and send a Notification of Interest to candidates who held strong French and English ability, skilled work experience, and a bachelor's degree or higher. No job offer was required, which made it one of the few routes to a provincial nomination for candidates outside Canada.

That structure no longer exists. On June 26, 2026, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced that all eight remaining OINP streams had been removed, effective June 25, 2026, and replaced by a single new pathway. The change was part of a broader redesign intended to tie provincial nomination more directly to Ontario employers and labour market needs.

The streams that closed were:

• Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker: the stream described on this page
• Express Entry Human Capital Priorities: the general Express Entry aligned stream
• Express Entry Skilled Trades: the trades focused Express Entry stream
• Employer Job Offer, Foreign Worker: for candidates with an Ontario job offer from abroad or in Canada
• Employer Job Offer, International Student: for graduates with an Ontario job offer
• Employer Job Offer, In-Demand Skills: for lower skilled occupations with an Ontario job offer
• Masters Graduate: for graduates of Ontario master's programs
• PhD Graduate: for graduates of Ontario doctoral programs

You can review the current program structure on the Ontario Workforce Priority stream page.

What This Means If You Already Applied

If you submitted a complete application to the OINP under the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream before the streams closed, your file continues to be assessed under the criteria that were in force on the date you submitted it. Ontario did not cancel applications that were already in processing.

What to expect:

• Your file is still active: continue to monitor the OINP e-Filing Portal and your email for correspondence
• Keep your Express Entry profile valid: if you asked to be nominated through Express Entry, your profile must remain active through to nomination
• Report changes promptly: changes to your contact details, immigration status, or family composition still need to be reported to the OINP
• A nomination still carries 600 CRS points: if you are nominated, you accept the nomination in your Express Entry account and proceed to the federal permanent residence stage

If you are unsure whether your file counts as submitted or as a pending expression of interest, that distinction determines everything about your next step, and it is worth confirming before you make any other move.

What This Means If You Were Waiting for an NOI

If you were in the Express Entry pool waiting for Ontario to send you a Notification of Interest, there is no longer anything to wait for. Ontario is not issuing Notifications of Interest under any of the closed streams, and profiles that had not resulted in an invitation were withdrawn by the province, with affected candidates notified directly.

This is the group most affected by the change. Under the old stream, French ability plus education plus skilled experience was enough to reach a provincial nomination without an employer. Under the current Ontario program, that combination on its own does not open a provincial pathway. Your practical options now sit with the federal Express Entry French rounds, the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot, or francophone pathways in other provinces, all covered further down this page.

What Replaced It: The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream

Ontario now operates one stream, the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, with three pathways: one for job offers in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupations, one for job offers in TEER 4 or 5 occupations, and one for self-employed physicians. Every pathway except the physician pathway requires a full-time, permanent job offer from an Ontario employer.

The design is employer anchored, and that is the central change for French speakers. Selection begins with your employer, who must register in the employer portal and submit your position before you can register an expression of interest. You are then scored against a published grid and invited to apply if your score is reached in a draw.

Key features of the new stream:

• An Ontario job offer is required: unless you are a self-employed physician with an OHIP billing number and registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
• Your employer starts the process: you register your expression of interest within 30 calendar days of your employer submitting the job offer
• Deadlines are short: your employer files within 14 calendar days of an invitation to apply, and you file and pay within 17 calendar days, after your employer has filed
• Settlement funds are no longer a stream requirement: the funds test that applied under the former Express Entry streams is not part of the current criteria
• Employer thresholds apply: your employer must meet revenue, headcount, wage and recruitment requirements based on where the job is located

Where French Still Counts in the New Scoring System

French has not disappeared from the Ontario program. It no longer defines a stream, but it does earn points in the expression of interest scoring grid, and those points can be decisive when draws are competitive.

French contributes in two places:

• Official language ability: you are scored on your lowest Canadian Language Benchmark level across all four abilities, worth 15 points at CLB 9 or higher, 12 points at CLB 8, 8 points at CLB 7, and 4 points at CLB 6. If you have taken both an English and a French test, you are scored on the higher result
• Knowledge of both official languages: 10 points if you hold at least CLB 6 across all four abilities in both English and French, compared with 5 points for one official language

TEF Canada and TCF Canada are the accepted French tests, and results must be less than two years old when you submit your application. A bilingual candidate can therefore carry up to 25 points from language alone, which is meaningful next to factors such as regionalization, where a job outside the Greater Toronto Area is worth between 5 and 15 points.

The practical reading is this: if you have an Ontario job offer, French strengthens your position considerably. If you do not have one, French does not open an Ontario provincial pathway on its own.

French Pathways to Permanent Residence That Are Still Open

Losing the Ontario stream narrows your options, but it does not close them. Three routes continue to reward French language ability, and two of them can lead to permanent residence in Ontario.

Federal Express Entry French Language Proficiency Draws

This is now the most direct route for most French speakers, and it does not involve any province. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada holds category-based rounds of invitations for candidates with French language proficiency, drawing from the same Express Entry pool the Ontario stream used to search.

To be considered, you need:

• An active Express Entry profile: you must be eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, or the Canadian Experience Class
• French test results at NCLC 7 or higher: in all four abilities, on TEF Canada or TCF Canada
• A CRS score at or above the cut-off for the round: and a profile submitted before the tie-breaking date and time

What makes this category worth building a strategy around is the gap between its cut-offs and every other round type. Through 2026, French language rounds have consistently invited candidates at scores well below program-based rounds, while Canadian Experience Class rounds in the same period have sat in the low 500s. Invitation volumes in this category have also been among the largest of any round type.

French also raises your score directly, before any draw. Strong French can add points as your first official language, English can add points as your second, and a bilingual profile earns additional CRS points on top. For candidates whose score has stalled, a French test is often the single highest return investment available. You can estimate the effect with our CRS score calculator and review how the pool works on our Express Entry page.

Which federal program you qualify under matters as well. Candidates with Canadian work experience should review the Canadian Experience Class criteria, while candidates applying from outside Canada should look at the Federal Skilled Worker Program and its selection factors.

Francophone Community Immigration Pilot in Northern Ontario

The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot is a federal program that offers permanent residence to French-speaking workers who want to settle in a Francophone minority community outside Quebec. It launched on January 30, 2025, and runs in six communities. Three of them are in Ontario: Sudbury, Timmins, and the Superior East Region.

This is the only remaining pathway that is specific to French speakers and leads to permanent residence in Ontario.

How it works:

• A designated employer is required: you need a full-time, non-seasonal job offer from an employer that the community has approved, and you find that employer yourself
• No LMIA is involved: the employer is designated by the community rather than assessed through a Labour Market Impact Assessment
• French at NCLC 5 in all four abilities: on TEF Canada or TCF Canada, with results less than two years old when you apply
• The community recommends you: each community runs its own priority sector list, scoring grid and intake schedule, then recommends candidates to IRCC
• A work permit is available while you wait: eligible applicants can apply for an employer-specific work permit and begin working before their permanent residence application is finalised

The language threshold here is lower than the NCLC 7 required for federal French rounds, which makes the pilot realistic for candidates whose French is solid but not advanced. The trade-off is geography and the employer requirement. Priority occupations, scoring minimums and intake windows differ by community and change during the year, so confirm the current lists before committing to a plan. Details are published on the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration pilots page.

Francophone Pathways in Other Provinces

Ontario is not the only province that treats French ability as a selection advantage. Several Provincial Nominee Programs run francophone focused or bilingual friendly selections, and provinces including New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia and Alberta have each used French proficiency as a selection factor in recent rounds.

Provincial criteria change frequently and each program sets its own requirements, so treat this as a direction to investigate rather than a checklist. If you are open to settling outside Ontario, our Provincial Nominee Program page is a reasonable starting point, and current requirements should be confirmed against the relevant provincial program before you act.

How the Old Stream Compares to Your Options Today

Choosing the Right French Pathway for Your Profile

The right route depends less on your French level than on where you are, what you have, and what you are willing to move for.

• You are outside Canada with strong French and no job offer: the federal Express Entry French rounds are your primary route. Build the highest CRS score you can, test at NCLC 7 or above, and keep your profile active
• You are in Canada on a work permit with an Ontario job offer: the Ontario Workforce Priority stream is worth assessing, and your French adds points in the scoring grid. Your employer has to initiate the process
• Your French is around NCLC 5 and you are open to Northern Ontario: the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot may be more realistic than a federal round, provided you can secure a designated employer
• Your application was already submitted under the closed stream: your file continues under the old criteria. Do not withdraw it or let your Express Entry profile lapse without understanding the consequences
• Your CRS score has plateaued and you have never tested in French: a French test is often the fastest available change to your score, whichever route you eventually take

These pathways are not mutually exclusive. A candidate with a valid Express Entry profile can remain in the pool for federal French rounds while pursuing a designated employer in a pilot community. What they do share is a dependence on timing, because cut-offs move, community allocations run down through the year, and provincial rules change.

Sepehr Falahati is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC #R533959), licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), and SEP Immigration has worked with candidates through the full arc of Ontario's program changes. If you built a plan around the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream and are not sure what remains available to you, a review of your profile against the current rules is the sensible next step.