Rural and Northern Immigration 2020

The pilot project on immigration in rural and northern areas was launched in 2019 as an initiative to promote economic growth in these areas by recruiting skilled workers. This program includes communities in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon.

Canada is a country known for hosting a large number of immigrants. However, under the current immigration system, the vast majority of new immigrants choose to live in major cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

These Immigration Pilot is trying to change this by helping smaller communities to attract newcomers and help them settle there. The pilot program accepts applications from rural and northern communities wishing to participate.

Supported communities receive support from the Federal Government to help them identify and select new permanent residents. The newcomers are expected to have a positive impact on economic development.

This program builds on the successes of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program (AIP), which started in 2017.

AIP aims to increase immigration to Canada’s Atlantic Region by bringing potential newcomers together with local employers. Candidates interested in applying must ensure that they meet the federal requirements for the program and the requirements set by each community.

This includes a suitable job offer from an employer in one of the participating communities

Participating Communities

Ontario:

• Thunder Bay
• Sault-Ste-Marie
• Sudbury
• Timmins (coming soon)
• North Bay (coming soon)

Manitoba:

• Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee
• Brandon

Saskatchewan

• Moose Jaw (coming soon)

Alberta:

• Claresholm

British Columbia:

• West Kootenay (coming soon)
• Vernon

What you can expect from a community?

This pilot is community-driven, which means that the communities will assess whether you whether you;

best meet the economic needs of this community

Have real employment opportunities that meet their community.

Intend to remain in the community

recommend permanent residence candidate to the IRCC for a final decision

connect newcomers to established members of the community through settlement services and mentoring opportunities with

How can you apply for the pilot Rural and Northern Immigration?

To apply for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot project, candidates must meet two sets of criteria.

First, all candidates must meet the requirements set by the Canadian federal immigration authorities.

Second, candidates must meet the additional requirements set by the participating communities.

You need to

• Have professional experience or have a degree from a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the recommending community
• Meet or exceed the language requirements
• Meet or exceed the educational requirements
• Prove that you have enough money to support your transition to the community
• Intend to live in the community
• Meeting community-specific requirements

Work experience

You need 1 year of continuous full-time work experience (at least 1,560 hours) in the past 3 years. Work experience must be acquired in a single job, but can come from multiple employers

How to calculate your working hours

• Count the number of hours worked in part-time and full-time jobs
• The hours must be in 1 profession, but they can be with different employers.
• The hours must extend for at least 12 months.
• Working hours should be inside or outside of Canada.
• If you have worked in Canada, you must have had permission to work in Canada.
• Don’t count the hours you weren’t paid for (volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count)
• Do not count the hours when you were self-employed

International students

You are exempted from the above work experience criteria if you’re an international student who graduated with

1. A certificate of a post-secondary program of 2 years or longer and you:
2. Were studying as a full-time student for the entire duration of the 2+ years
3. Received the certification no longer than 18 months before you applied for permanent residence
4. You have been in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months and studies to receive your credential

Or

• A master’s degree or higher and you
• I have studied as a full-time student for the duration of your studies.
• Did not receive your degree more than 18 months before you applied for permanent residence

You cannot apply as an international student if your certificates come from a program in which

• Half of the program is made up of more than English or French.
• distance learning made up more than half of the program
• a grant has been granted that obliges you to return to your home country to apply what you learned

Language requirements

You need the NOC category to meet the minimum language requirements based on that for the job in the community. This can be either

• Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or
• Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)
• The minimum requirements language for each NOC category are
• NOC 0 and A: Canadian language Benchmark of level 6 (CLB/NCLC 6)
• NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5
• NOC C and D: CLB/NCLC 4

You must submit your results from a particular language test. These results must have the time of application for less than 2 years.

Educational requirements

You need

• a Canadian high school degree or
• A report from a designated organization or professional association showing that you have completed a foreign certificate equivalent to a Canadian high school.

Settlement funds

Unless you are already legally working in Canada at the time of application, you must demonstrate that you have enough money to look after yourself and any family members while you are settling in your community.

You must demonstrate that you have enough money to support you, family members, even if they do not come to Canada with you.

Intend to live in the community

To participate in this pilot project, you must plan to live in the community in which you’re applying.

Community-specific requirements

Each municipality will make additional demands on applicants.

Visit their websites to learn about their community-specific needs.

Selection criteria for interested communities

Communities interested in the pilot project on Immigration in the country have the following criteria:

• Have a population of 50,000 people or less and located at least 75 km from the core of a Census Metropolitan Area
• have employment opportunities;
• have an economic development plan;
• have a local organization for economic development that can lead the project for the community; and
• to settle new immigrants in the community by developing or having:
• relationships with local or regional organizations working for immigrants,
• Opportunities to bring newcomers into contact with established members of the community, for example through mentoring or networking.
• Access to key services such as education, housing, transportation, and healthcare.

Quick facts about the Pilot Project on Rural and Northern Immigration

• The communities will be responsible for recruiting candidates and confirming permanent residence.
• New arrivals are expected to arrive as part of this pilot project in 2020.
• The communities worked with local economic development organizations to apply by March 11, 2019, showing how they met the eligibility criteria.
• The Atlantic Immigration Pilot was launched in March 2017 as part of the Atlantic Growth Strategy. The four Atlantic Provinces can accommodate up to 2,500 workers in 2019 as part of this pilot to meet labor market needs in the region.
• Rural communities employ over four million Canadians and generate almost 30% of the national GDP.
• Rural Canada provides food, water, and energy to urban centers and supports the industries that contribute to Canada’s wealthy economy.
• Between 2001 and 2016, the number of potential employees has decreased by 23%, while the number of potential pensioners increased by 40%.