Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Those wishing to immigrate to Canada can apply for permanent residency in the municipality of Sault Ste. Marie.

Sault Ste. Marie is a town of 72,000 people located in the south of the province of Ontario, near the U.S. border.

Sault Ste. Marie is accepting applications under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. It is designed to allow foreign professionals to settle in small communities where there is a labour shortage.

Applicants must receive a community recommendation. For this, you must meet the requirements of the immigration program and the requirements of the town where you plan to move.

Federal requirements

All applicants interested in applying for a recommendation from Thunder Bay must meet the requirements of the federal government:

1 year of work experience within the last 3 years;
high school education;
language proficiency at the level appropriate to the profession;
sufficient amount of money;
job offer in a community.

Sault Ste. Marie community requirements

You must score a minimum of 70 points to be considered for immigration. Points are awarded as follows:

Criterion	Points
Job offer
In one of the priority occupations (list below)	55
In another occupation	0
Age
18 to 36 years old	6
37 to 47 years old	3
More than 48 years old	2
Experience in a priority occupation
2 years	2
3 years	4
4 years	6
5 years	8
6 or more years	10
Bonus: 1 year or more of work experience in Sault Ste. Marie within the last 5 years	8
Study in Sault Ste. Marie within the last 5 years
Completed academic program of 2 years or more	6
Completed one-year academic program	3
Residence in the community at the time of application
Candidate owns real estate in Sault Ste. Marie	8
Candidate leases accommodation in Sault Ste. Marie	4
Connections to the community
Close relative in Sault Ste. Marie (parent, sibling, child)	10
Distant relative in Sault Ste. Marie (grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, niece)	5
Knowledge of the community
Candidate stayed in Sault Ste. Marie for at least 5 nights and met with at least 2 employers	8
Candidate has knowledge of and interest in the recreational and cultural life of Sault Ste. Marie	5
Points for spouse/common-law partner
Spouse has a job offer in Sault Ste. Marie in a priority occupation	10
Spouse has at least 2 years of work experience a priority occupation	5
Spouse has passed an English or French test for at least level 5 on the CLB scale	5

Priority occupations in Sault Ste. Marie

The community of Sault Ste. Marie first considers applicants who have received a job offer in one of the priority occupations. The commission reserves the right to accept or not accept those who have found employment in another field.

The list includes:

occupations in business and finance;
occupations in natural and applied sciences;
occupations in nursing;
occupations in health;
occupations in education services;
installers, repairers and servicers, and material handlers;
transport and heavy equipment operation and maintenance occupations;
trades helpers, construction labourers, and related occupations;
care providers and educational, legal, and public protection support occupations;
industrial, electrical, and construction trades;
processing, manufacturing, and utility supervisors and central control operators;
processing and manufacturing machine operators and related production workers;
assemblers in manufacturing;
labourers in processing, manufacturing, and utilities;
middle management occupations in trades, transportation, production, and utilities;
chefs;
restaurant and food services managers.