Canada makes immigration program permanent to help foreign workers
Canada is making it easier for some foreign workers to put down permanent roots in the country, with the government announcing a permanent immigration pathway for newcomers.
A week following the 2026 federal budget announcement, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced that the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) will become a permanent program on Jan. 1, 2027, building on the success of the existing pilot that helps rural communities attract the workers they need.
The program also comes in the wake of the federal government’s recently released 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan, which emphasizes retaining skilled workers who are already living in Canada and directing immigrants toward areas that are facing labour shortages.
It includes an initiative to help up to 200,000 temporary residents already in Canada transition to permanent residency by the end of 2027. The government has also set an annual target of 380,000 permanent resident admissions by 2029.
Now, the permanent program will continue in the 14 communities already participating in the pilot: North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay in Ontario; Pictou County in Nova Scotia; Steinbach, Altona/Rhineland, and Brandon in Manitoba; Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan; Claresholm in Alberta; and West Kootenay, North Okanagan-Shuswap, and Peace Liard in B.C.
The government says there are plans to expand to more communities in the future.
In order to qualify for the RCIP, eligible foreign workers need a job offer from an employer designated by a participating community, along with an endorsement from an economic development organization in the community. Applicants must also meet requirements related to work experience, education, language proficiency, and settlement funds.
Sean Fraser, Canada’s minister of justice and MP for Central Nova, says the program is already making a difference in places like Pictou County.
“It’s helping local businesses keep workers they need, people who’ve become our neighbours and friends, and want to build their lives here,” says Fraser. “We’re making it permanent, so businesses can count on it when they can’t fill jobs locally, and these families can keep calling our community home.”
Between January 2025 and August 2026, participating communities designated more than 1,950 employers, who issued over 4,700 job offers and community recommendations.
The permanent program builds on the previous Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which welcomed more than 12,500 candidates and their family members to smaller communities between 2019 and 2024.
According to Diab, the program recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach to immigration does not work for rural Canada, giving smaller communities a more reliable way to attract workers and encourage newcomers to build long-term lives there.
With files from Kenneth Chan