Ontario has abruptly suspended its Skilled Trades immigration program and cancelled all 2,680 pending applications, citing “systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud.”
The decision left many workers without legal status or the ability to continue working in the province.
The affected workers had applied through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)’s Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream, a fast-track pathway long promoted by the province as essential to meeting labour shortages in construction, telecommunications, and other in-demand sectors. Many of the impacted applicants already work for major employers including Bell and Telus.