Ontario immigrant program applicants challenge government in court over fair review
About 2,600 OINP applicants had their applications rejected or returned in late 2025; roughly 300 are now seeking judicial review over procedural fairness.
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About 300 applicants rejected or returning from the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program are mounting a court challenge against the Government of Ontario over procedural fairness, marking the first judicial review hearing in a case that has become closely watched among immigrant communities across the province.
Wednesday's hearing at Ontario's Divisional Court heard arguments from applicants who say they were never provided specific evidence about their individual files after the province cited fraudulent activity and systemic misrepresentation when rejecting roughly 2,600 applications in late 2025.
Shobitjeet Singh, one of the affected applicants, said standing outside Osgoode Hall that "for the first time since our applications were returned, somebody has actually paid attention to our voices." The applicants have pursued their case through the Legislature, the OINP office, freedom-of-information requests, and the Human Rights Tribunal before reaching court.
Lawyers representing the applicants argued Ontario has tools to investigate concerns case-by-case but instead chose to issue blanket decisions affecting thousands of people at once. "In Canada, we have principles of natural justice and procedural fairness," said counsel Andres Pelemur. The province has reshaped its immigration system since November 2025, including launching the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream in June 2026. The case could set precedent for whether governments can make significant policy changes affecting applicants already in the system and what obligations they have to those applicants.
