Canada has accepted its final applications for permanent residence through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.
The popular immigration pilot closed on August 31 after the deadline for communities to recommend candidates closed on July 31.
Candidates who applied before the deadline will have their applications processed, meaning newcomers will still arrive through the pilot.
The five-year pilot was established in 2019 to bring more immigrants to Canada’s smaller communities. It was unique in that it was community-driven, with 11 places across Canada taking part.
RNIP Participating Communities
Participating Communities Under The Pilot
| Community Name | Community Website |
| North Bay, ON | https://northbayrnip.ca/ |
| Sudbury, ON | https://investsudbury.ca/why-sudbury/move-to-sudbury/rnip/ |
| Timmins, ON | www.timminsedc.com |
| Sault Ste. Marie, ON | www.welcometossm.com |
| Thunder Bay, ON | https://gotothunderbay.ca/ |
| Brandon, MB | www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com |
| Altona/Rhineland, MB | www.seedrgpa.com |
| Moose Jaw, SK | https://www.moosejawrnip.ca/ |
| Claresholm, AB | www.claresholm.ca |
| Vernon, BC | https://rnip-vernon-northok.ca/ |
| West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC | https://wk-rnip.ca/ |
To be included in the pilot, communities needed to have a population of 50,000 or less and be located at least 75km from the core of a Census Metropolitan Area, or have a population of up to 200,000 people and is considered remote from other larger cities.
Candidates needed to meet both the federal government eligibility requirements and community-specific requirements. They needed an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities and a recommendation from the community before applying for permanent residence.
Each community could invite up to 125 candidates per year for a pilot total of 2,750 invitations.
Many of those communities expressed a desire for the pilot to be made permanent, but Canada’s federal government has instead opted to let it close and plans new pilots to be open this fall.
Two New Pilots Opening This Fall
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the community application process for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot on May 21.
This comes two months after the immigration department launched these two new pilots – to be implemented in this fall – to attract the skilled workers to grow the economies of rural and francophone minority communities.
Rural Community Immigration Pilot
On March 6, Miller announced that the Rural Community Immigration Pilot will aim to ensure that rural communities continue to have the ability to access programs that address labour shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need.
According to Miller, it will provide pathways to permanent residence for newcomers who can help to overcome critical labour job shortages and want to live long term in these smaller communities.
Francophone Community Immigration Pilot
The Francophone pilot is aimed towards increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec.
It is aimed at helping the economic development of Francophone minority communities while also helping to restore and increase their demographic weight.
“Promoting growth and vitality in rural and Francophone minority communities is crucial to our national identity, and we recognize the unique economic, linguistic and cultural contributions that newcomers bring to these areas,” said Miller.
“That is why we are introducing these new pilots and inviting rural and Francophone minority communities outside Quebec to apply. I look forward to working together to address the diverse needs of these communities across Canada.”
The inclusion of Francophone communities in immigration programs is a “core measure” of IRCC’s Francophone Immigration policy.
The Immigration Department invited interested economic development organizations across Canada to participate in one or both of the pilots, wherein the organizations will apply on behalf of the communities and demonstrate their eligibility and show how immigration will strengthen their local economies.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will select up to 15 communities to participate in the pilot on the basis of economic needs, the availability of services and programs to assist newcomers, and the capacity of their economic development organizations to form IRCC partnerships.
Together, the two pilots will allow IRCC to process up to 5,500 PR applications every year.
The announcement of selected participants will be made in the coming months and the onboarding and training will start in fall.
