TORONTO — A growing number of immigrant nominees in Ontario say they feel abandoned by the province’s immigration system, as year-long delays in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) have left many jobless, out of legal status, and questioning their future in Canada.
Applicants like Yuvraj Sandha and Abhijeet Gujral applied through the skilled trades stream, investing time, money, and hope into a process that was supposed to take a maximum of five months. Instead, both men have waited over a year with expired work permits, no updates, and mounting frustration. “It’s like they took our $1,500 and told us to just like, kind of go to hell,” Gujral said.
The processing delays follow Ottawa’s decision to cut Ontario’s 2025 immigration nomination allocation by 50%, from 21,500 to 10,750. Immigration lawyer Elizabeth Long said the province continued to issue invitations based on the earlier numbers, creating a severe bottleneck. “They’ve been working in Ontario for many years, they are needed employees, and they have done everything right… yet, they are out of jobs,” she said.
The lack of communication and transparency has taken a heavy emotional toll. NDP MPP Alexa Gilmour described speaking to one applicant who was contemplating suicide due to uncertainty over whether to stay or leave. The province issues support letters for some streams to extend work permits, but not for express entry skilled trades applicants, leaving many unable to legally work once their permits expire.
Some, like “Josh” — a nominee under the human capital priorities stream — have left the country entirely rather than remain in legal limbo. “Immigration has been this weird dangling carrot in my life,” he said. After waiting a year with no decision and an expired work permit, he relocated to London, U.K., to pursue his master’s degree, though he hopes to return to Canada one day.
Despite the backlog, Ontario continues to issue invitations, with more than 2,600 sent out in September alone. Critics say this deepens the backlog and erodes trust in the system. “If people don’t trust applying through the program, then the province in the future is going to have major issues being able to attract people,” Long warned.
The NDP is urging the Ford government to negotiate temporary work permit extensions for those caught in the delays, as Manitoba has done. For now, thousands of nominees remain stuck in bureaucratic limbo, unsure whether their Canadian dream will ever materialize.