Launched in 2019, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is an initiative that aims to boost economic growth in those areas by inviting skilled and experienced workers. This pilot program includes towns in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon.
Though Canada accepts high numbers of immigrants annually, the majority of them choose to live in major cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver under the current immigration system. To change this, the pilot program aims to help smaller towns to attract learners and support their settlement. This pilot program accepts applications from rural and northern communities who want to participate and the accepted communities get support from the Federal Government to help them identify and select new candidates for the Canadian permanent residency.
Communities Selected for the Rural Immigration Pilot
Eleven communities have been selected for the pilot program as of June 2019. These communities will get a range of supports and programs to test the pilot. The eleven communities are:
Ontario:
- Thunder Bay
- Sault-Ste-Marie
- Sudbury
- Timmins
- North Bay
Manitoba:
Saskatchewan
- Moose Jaw
Alberta:
British Columbia:
- West Kootenay
- Vernon
Program Requirements for the Communities
To apply in the pilot program, a community must be located at least 75km from the core of a census metropolitan area with a population of 50,000 or less. Also, if the community has a population of 200,000 or less, it must be considered removed from the other larger cities. They must be located in one of the following provinces or territories:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Northwest Territories
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
Further, the communities must submit a local economic development organization-backed economic development plan to manage the pilot. They must also prove that they have employment opportunities and settlement facilities available for the newcomers.
