Canada Makes Rural Community Immigration Pilot Permanent, Reserving 5,500 Spaces This Year
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, on November 9 that Minister Lena Metlege Diab is making the Rural Community Immigration Pilot a permanent program, under Budget 2026 and the 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan.
The permanent program will first continue with the 14 communities now in the pilot, expanding later, and 5,500 admissions spaces are being reserved for it this year. Its predecessor, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot of 2019 to 2024, involved more than 2,800 employers and admitted more than 12,500 applicants and family members. From January 2025 to August 2026, communities in the current pilot designated more than 1,950 trusted employers and issued more than 4,700 job offers and community recommendations.
Newcomers under the program mainly fill labour gaps in health care, education, sales and services, which the government says helps rural communities attract and retain talent. (Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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