Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Extension
Attracting immigrants to northern and rural areas has been a challenge for years. The immigration program launched in 2019 has been very successful.
Thunder Bay has extended its immigration program until 2024.
The successful Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Project will run until 2024. The project was initially set to run from 2019-2022, but after seeing positive results, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission extended the timeline.
Immigrants will be attracted through a pilot immigration program for rural and northern Canada to include nearby communities of Thunder Bay.
Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario are great places to live. In 2022, 281 qualified foreign workers were selected to live permanently in the territory. They were employed by 144 organizations. The original plan was to invite 250 people. Immigrants are employed mainly in retail, health care, catering and local businesses.
Many employers have registered with the system and are ready to hire new workers. Interest helps not only to attract but also to retain new residents in the region.
A total of more than 700 people, including family members of the selected candidates, were recruited for the program.
Thunder Bay is one of 11 communities selected in 2019 to participate in the program at the federal government's initiative. Another successful community is the town of Claresham in the province of Alberta.
