City Selected for New Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
June 14, 2019
– The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced that eleven rural and northern communities, including Thunder Bay, have been selected as part of the new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot to invite newcomers to make these communities their forever homes.
“Today, we are happy to announce that we are partnering with the Government of Canada to participate in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot,” said Doug Murray, CEO, Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC).
“This is an exciting time for our community. The new federal immigration pilot is an opportunity that will help us welcome immigrants who will contribute to developing our local labour market and economy.”
The participating rural and northern communities will have access to a range of supports to test this new innovative, community-driven model that will help fill labour gaps. The selected communities are: Thunder Bay (ON), Sault Ste. Marie (ON), Sudbury (ON), Timmins (ON), North Bay (ON), Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee (MB), Brandon (MB), Moose Jaw (SK), Claresholm (AB), West Kootenay (BC), and Vernon (BC). The participating communities were selected as a representative sample of the regions across Canada to assist in laying out the blueprint for the rest of the country.
The CEDC will be working closely with the federal government to be trained in the process over the coming months. This will include developing unique eligibility criteria and processes for eligible candidates to apply to the community, when they have a job offer, for permanent residence. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will make all final decisions on permanent residence applications to our community.
“We have been, and will continue to, work with local stakeholders to identify how immigration can best support our economy, to welcome all newcomers coming to Thunder Bay.”
