Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Those wishing to immigrate to Canada can apply for permanent residency in the municipality of Thunder Bay.
Thunder Bay (province of Ontario), located on the lakeshore 1,400 km from Toronto, participates in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, designed for candidates wishing to immigrate to small towns.
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.
Thunder Bay community requirements
If you meet the federal requirements, you have three options for immigration to the town:
- you have received a job offer in a priority occupation (list below);
- you have received a job offer that requires French proficiency, in any occupation;
- you have lived in Thunder Bay for 2 years and have received a job offer from your current employer, in any occupation.
Thunder Bay evaluates candidates on its system, in which you can get up to 100 points on various factors. Those who score more are invited.
| Criterion | Points |
| Job offer | |
| In any occupation | 0 |
| In a priority occupation or one that requires French | 20 |
| Knowledge of language | |
| Language level meets all requirements (reading, speaking, listening, writing) | 0 |
| Language level exceeds the requirements in 2 fields | 8 |
| Language level exceeds the requirements in all 4 fields | 15 |
| Additional points for two languages (English and French) | 5 |
| Skill alignment | |
| Candidate's education or work experience matches the job offer | 20 |
| Work experience | |
| Less than 1 year | 0 |
| 1-2 years | 1 |
| 2-3 years | 3 |
| 3-4 years | 4 |
| 4-5 years | 6 |
| More than 5 years | 8 |
| Residence in small or rural communities | |
| Experience living in a small or rural community (less than 250,000 people and more than 100 km from a major city) for more than 6 months, except Thunder Bay | 3 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for 6 months | 3 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for 1-2 years | 5 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for 2-3 years | 7 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for 3-4 years | 10 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for 4-5 years | 13 |
| Candidate has lived in Thunder Bay for more than 5 years | 16 |
| Family in Thunder Bay | |
| 1 relative in Thunder Bay | 2 |
| 2 relatives in Thunder Bay | 3 |
| 3 relatives in Thunder Bay | 5 |
| 4 relatives in Thunder Bay | 8 |
| Acquaintances in Thunder Bay | |
| 1 acquaintance in Thunder Bay | 1 |
| 2 acquaintances in Thunder Bay | 2 |
| 3 acquaintances in Thunder Bay | 3 |
| 4 acquaintances in Thunder Bay | 4 |
| Additional points for spouse/common-law partner | |
| Spouse knows English and/or French | 2 |
| Spouse has education or experience in a priority occupation | 2 |
Priority occupations in Thunder Bay
You must get a full-time job offer in Thunder Bay in one of the priority occupations. This list includes:
- nurses;
- physical therapists;
- engineers;
- forest technicians and technologists;
- pilots;
- air traffic controllers;
- pharmaceutical techniques;
- technologists and technicians;
- educators and assistants;
- cooks;
- butchers, bakers, and other professions.
A complete list is available at Tander Bay's official website.
How to apply
When you are ready to apply for a community recommendation, you must fill out the form on Thunder Bay's official website. Acceptance of applications opens monthly for several days. The schedule can be viewed here.
