Federal Government Makes Rural Community Immigration Pilot a Permanent Program
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced on Nov. 9 that the Rural Community Immigration Pilot is now a permanent program, targeting 5,500 admission spaces this year across 14 participating communities.
The federal government has made the Rural Community Immigration Pilot a permanent program, providing skilled workers and international graduates in priority sectors with a pathway to permanent residence. The initiative aims to address persistent labour shortages in smaller, rural, and remote communities.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the permanent status of the program during a news conference on Nov. 9 at WearWell Garments in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. The garment manufacturer was established in 1978. The new permanent program targets 5,500 admission spaces for this year.
The program intends to continue with the 14 communities currently taking part in the pilot, with expansion planned for the future. Pictou County was the only community east of Ontario to take part in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot. Other participating locations include North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay in Ontario; Steinbach, Altona/Rhineland, and Brandon in Manitoba; Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan; Claresholm in Alberta; and West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap, and Peace Liard in British Columbia.
Communities can apply if they have a population under 200,000 and are remote, scoring 0.20 or higher on Statistics Canada’s remoteness index. The program supports long-term retention of newcomers through employer-community partnerships and helps local businesses fill jobs that cannot be filled locally.
Sean Fraser, Member of Parliament for Central Nova, stated that the program helps local businesses keep workers and allows families to remain in the community.