Thunder Bay Is Benefiting from the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

2 minute read

"The economic development experts in Thunder Bay, Ontario recently gave their endorsement to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). According to Emily Lauzon, the workforce development officer at Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission says that the RNIP has been an integral part of their human resource planning."

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: Sep 27, 2021

The economic development experts in Thunder Bay, Ontario recently gave their endorsement to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). According to Emily Lauzon, the workforce development officer at Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission says that the RNIP has been an integral part of their human resource planning.

Thunder Bay has a stagnant population growth with an aging population. This means many organizations are proactively trying to hire foreign workers to avoid the oncoming labor shortages.

What Is the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP)?

Launched in 2019, the RNIP targets foreign nationals recommended by the participating communities, provided the applicant meets other minimum eligibility requirements. This program was introduced to promote economic immigration to the rural and northern communities of Canada. Currently, the following 11 communities across Canada are participating in this pilot:

North Bay
Sudbury
Timmins
Sault Ste. Marie
Thunder Bay
Brandon
Altona/Rhineland
Moose Jaw
Claresholm
Vernon
West Kootenay

To participate in this pilot, communities must meet the following requirements:

Have a population of at least 50,000 or less
Be located at least 75 kilometers from a core Metropolitan Area, or
Have a population of at least 200,000 and be considered remote from other larger cities by the Statistics Canada Remoteness Index

To obtain permanent residence through this pilot program, applicants must meet both community and federal requirements. They must have a valid job offer from an employer in the community to qualify for this program.

How Has the RNIP Benefitted Thunder Bay?

The RNIP benefitted more than 80 employers in Thunder Bay. Moreover, the community is almost 92% of the way to achieve their goal of recommending at least 150 foreign workers for the program. Currently, almost 138 recommendations have been made under the pilot program.

Since the beginning of this year, Thunder Bay has been recommending foreign workers employed in the key sectors to avoid labor shortages. Out of the total, a majority of 69 recommendations went to workers employed in the hospitality industry. Another 26 went to those in the accommodation and foodservice sector.

Around 12 foreign workers in healthcare and social assistance were also recommended for the program. The remaining were from different sectors including 7 in profession, scientific and technical services, 8 employed in transportation, 6 in retail, and the remaining 3 from the manufacturing and construction sector.

At least one applicant employed in one of the following sectors was also recommended:

Arts

Entertainment and recreation sector

Real estate

Rental and leasing

Administrative support

Waste management

Remediation services

Wholesale trade