Move to suspend parts of Ontario immigration program leaves London man in limbo
CBC
After six years of working to attain permanent residency in Canada, a London, Ont., man says his hopes have been dashed by a sudden Ontario government decision.
Ankit Patel, 28, came to Canada in 2019 on a student visa after qualifying as an engineer in his native India.
Patel studied engineering and supply chain management at Fanshawe College in London and then secured a three-year work permit.
He worked as a computer numerical control (CNC) operator for manufacturing companies including Gnutti Carlo, Penta Equipment and Element 5 Inc.
In October 2024 and with three months left on his work permit, Patel applied to Ontario's Immigrant Nominee Program (ONIP) for permanent residency status. A partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the program provides a fast-track to permanent residency status for workers and international students with skills in specific areas seen as a benefit to the overall Canadian economy.
Patel applied under the "skilled trades" category, one of the program's nine entry streams.
Although the system has become much more competitive in recent years, Patel is certain the ONIP nomination would be enough for him to become a permanent resident and return to work in Ontario.
His application was listed as "in status" in January 2025, when Patel had to stop working because his work visa had expired.
"Nomination in this program was my last hope," he said.
That last hope was snuffed out on Friday when the provincial government, in an update posted an on the ONIP web page, announced the suspension of the program's skilled trades stream due to fraudulent applications in the system.
"As currently structured, the skilled trades stream is vulnerable to systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud," the post reads. "This vulnerability undermines the skilled trades stream’s ability to meet the immediate labour market needs of the province."
The post said those who've submitted applications will have their fees refunded. CBC News reached out to Ontario's Ministry of Labour for further comment but did not receive a response on Monday.
The province's decision prompted Patel and about 150 others who've been affected to stage a protest outside the ONIP's office in Toronto on Monday.
Patel said that instead of suspending the skilled trades stream, the province should root out and cancel any applications found to be fraudulent.
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