Federal government commits to permanent rural, northern immigration program

The federal government has unveiled two new immigration pilot programs to help tackle labour shortages in rural areas and among Francophone minority communities.

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot is essentially an extension of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), the existing program that will expire this summer. When the new pilot launches this fall, it will be joined by an additional offering, the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot. 

The changes were announced Wednesday by the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Marc Miller, during a press conference in Sudbury. Both of the new pilots will eventually transition into permanent programs.

"Today's announcement is a step toward establishing more permanent support for economic migration to rural and remote communities across Canada, which is critical to your long-term economic prosperity," Miller said. 

"At its core, this is about ensuring that rural and remote communities have the talented, skilled workers that they need to help grow their economies," he added. 

The immigration pilots aim to help rural and northern communities address skilled-labour shortages and assist local businesses in finding the workers they need.

Additionally, they allow for a streamlined pathway to permanent residency for newcomers who want to settle long-term in these smaller communities.

Miller said his ministry wants to continue the successes it's had with the original RNIP.  

"There's some elements of this program that will take a few more months to make permanent," he said.  

Building on the success of the RNIP, the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot will focus on increasing settlement of French-speaking newcomers in Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec. 

"This will broaden the scope for employers to build stronger workforces and contribute to our local economy serving residents in both official languages." said Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré. 

RNIP success

"It is definitely an exciting moment for Sudbury, and I know that there is a lot of people waiting for this program to become permanent," Rijin Raju, an IT administrator with Spectrum Telecom, told CBC News.  

Raju arrived in Canada in 2018 on a work permit, and joined the RNIP program in 2020, successfully obtaining permanent residency a year later. 

In reflecting on his experience, Raju said when he initially enrolled for RNIP, online information was scarce. However, he praised city co-ordinators for their assistance. 

"They were responding to the emails very, very frequently."

"Now there is a streamlined process, so I'm happy to see that." he said. 

RNIP began in 2019 as a way to draw more skilled workers to make their homes in smaller and northern communities. Its legislation only allowed it to last for five years.

The program partnered with 11 communities across northern Ontario and Western Canada. 

Miller said as of January, 2024, 5,158 newcomers obtained permanent residency through RNIP, according to federal government statistics.

"Roughly 87% of those who were surveyed and responded were still in these communities as of October of 2022, which is really big," said Miller.  

Initially, the deadline for workers to apply for the program in their communities was set to expire last month. 

However, IRCC recently extended the deadline for current RNIP communities to recommend candidates for permanent residence until July 31, 2024. 

With the new pilots, the ministry said it will increase the number of candidates that communities can recommend. It also plans to grow to service 15 communities.

Miller said he hopes the permanent program will be available before the new, five-year pilots expire.