Ottawa has announced a new federal immigration pilot program to support growing the economy in rural and northern communities, including the North Bay area.

The five year Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program will help them support and welcome newcomers as they settle in as part of the local community.

“Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s economic success. The economic and social benefits of immigration are apparent in communities across Canada. By creating an immigration pilot aimed at rural and northern communities, we’re looking to ensure that the benefits of immigration are shared across the country,” says Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota was at the launch in Sudbury.

“We have jobs, we need workers in northern Ontario to develop things, to develop the businesses and get our economy going again,” he says. “That was something that was heard very strongly by Minister Hussen.”

Rota says there’s local support for the program.

“The Chamber of Commerce, Al McDonald the Mayor of North Bay, they’re all very thrilled to have this happen, they’re all behind it and the nice thing about this legislation is that it allows us to work as a group,” he says.

Rota says communities are typically competing against each other, but that’s not the case with this program.

The innovative economic immigration pilot is aimed at testing new, community-driven approaches to address the diverse labour market needs of smaller communities.

It builds on the success of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot that was launched in March 2017 to help drive economic growth in Atlantic Canada.

As of today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is seeking applications from interested communities in Ontario, Western Canada, and the territories in order to select communities to participate in the pilot.

Interested communities must work with a local economic development organization to submit an application, demonstrating how they meet the eligibility criteria and how immigration will promote economic development in their community.

 

(File photo)