Rural And Northern Immigration Pilot Program Now Closed

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) concludes today, August 31. Communities had until July 31 to recommend candidates to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and August 31 marks the final date for those recommended to submit their permanent residence (PR) applications to IRCC.

Launched in August 2022, the RNIP aimed to encourage newcomers to settle in Canada’s more remote regions. Each participating community could invite up to 125 candidates annually, bringing the total program capacity to 2,750 candidates.

Typically, newcomers tend to settle in large urban centers like Toronto or Vancouver, where there are already established immigrant communities. However, while skilled newcomers have gravitated toward major cities, rural and northern communities in Canada have been grappling with shortages of skilled workers in sectors such as healthcare and trades. The pilot program allowed selected communities to welcome newcomers and help integrate them by connecting them with local community members and settlement services.

IRCC has chosen not to renew the RNIP. Instead, a new pilot program, introduced earlier this year, will replace it.

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Rural Community Immigration Pilot Program

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot Program is a new economic immigration pathway designed to support some of Canada’s more remote regions. Similar to the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), this pilot will provide additional support to designated employers in rural communities, who will, in turn, offer more comprehensive support to their employees than is typical in other pathways like the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

The new pilot program is scheduled to launch this fall. However, IRCC has not yet disclosed which communities will be eligible to participate or the specific eligibility criteria for newcomers.

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Pilot Programs

When announcing the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP), Immigration Minister Marc Miller emphasized the goal of creating a permanent rural immigration program. “Rural and northern communities face unique economic and demographic challenges,” he stated. “However, through the RNIP, rural communities have been able to attract and retain the skilled workers they’ve needed for years to ensure their economic growth.”

Pilot programs in Canada typically run for five years, providing IRCC with the time needed to collect data and evaluate the program's effectiveness. Successful pilots, such as the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), may even become permanent.

In addition, IRCC recently announced the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot, set to launch this fall. This new pilot program aims to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in communities outside of Quebec.

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