Rural and Francophone Community Immigration pilots

The Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots are pathways to permanent residence for skilled workers who want to work and live in one of 18 rural and smaller communities in Canada:

Rural participating communities

  • Pictou County, NS
  • North Bay, ON
  • Sudbury, ON
  • Timmins, ON
  • Sault Ste. Marie, ON
  • Thunder Bay, ON
  • Steinbach, MB
  • Altona/Rhineland, MB
  • Brandon, MB
  • Moose Jaw, SK
  • Claresholm, AB
  • West Kootenay, BC
  • North Okanagan Shuswap, BC
  • Peace Liard, BC

Francophone participating communities

  • Acadian Peninsula, NB
  • Sudbury, ON
  • Timmins, ON
  • Superior East Region, ON
  • St. Pierre Jolys, MB
  • Kelowna, BC

I’m an employer in a participating community

Apply to become a designated employer

Before you can hire a skilled worker, you need to:

  • Take the required training
  • Apply to your local community to get designated

How to get designated as an employer

Hire a qualified international candidate

Once designated, you can hire qualified international candidates for jobs you haven’t been able to fill locally. These candidates can be overseas or living in Canada as temporary residents.

Start the hiring process

I’m a skilled worker

Get hired in a rural or Francophone community

You can apply for permanent residence through these pilots if you:

  • are a skilled worker
  • get a qualifying job offer from a designated employer

You can be living abroad or already be in Canada as a temporary resident.
You don’t need skilled work experience if you recently graduated from a public post-secondary school in the community.

Apply to work in Canada while you wait

Once you apply for permanent residence, you might be eligible to get a work permit while you wait for us to process your application. You must have:

  • a job offer from a designated employer
  • a referral letter from your participating community

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