Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced on 2025-01-30 the launch of two innovative pilot projects—the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP). These initiatives are designed to address longstanding labor shortages and demographic challenges in remote regions and Francophone minority communities, while building on the successes of the previous Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP).
Key Highlights
The new pilots will create a direct pathway to permanent residence for 18 communities, attracting and retaining skilled newcomers who are committed to long-term settlement. Major features include:
- Direct Permanent Residence Pathway: Participating communities will establish streamlined routes to permanent residency, enabling them to tackle critical labor shortages and ensure that skilled newcomers can settle permanently.
- Tailored Regional Support: The RCIP will focus on mitigating workforce challenges faced by remote businesses, while the FCIP aims to increase the number of Francophone newcomers in communities outside Quebec—thereby fostering both economic growth and demographic revitalization.
- Collaborative Local Approach: Each community will be represented by a local economic development organization working in close partnership with IRCC. These organization will identify critical labor gaps, designate trustworthy employers, and recommend suitable candidates for permanent residence to IRCC. Training for these organization is already underway, each community will provide detailed information and timelines on when employers and potential permanent residency applicants expect to have the opportunity to apply.
Participating Communities
Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP):
- Nova Scotia: Pictou County
- Ontario: North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay
- Manitoba: Steinbach, Altona/Rhineland, Brandon
- Saskatchewan: Moose Jaw
- Alberta: Claresholm
- British Columbia: West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap, Peace Liard
Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP):
- New Brunswick: Acadian Peninsula
- Ontario: Sudbury, Timmins, Superior East Region
- Manitoba: St. Pierre Jolys
- British Columbia: Kelowna
Background and Outlook
In its report, An Immigration System for Canada’s Future, released on October 31, 2023, IRCC emphasized the need to strengthen regional immigration measures to better meet local workforce needs. Data from the RNIP pilot project showed that 87 percent of newcomers surveyed in 2022 intended to remain in their communities for the long term, and by the end of 2024, there were already 8,580 new immigrants have obtained permanent residency through the RNIP program. Building on these positive results, the new pilot program marks an important step towards broadening and improving regional migration pathways, ensuring that remote areas and Francophone minority communities can continue to thrive.
Source from: IRCC News Release