The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program is now closed. The deadline for communities to recommend applicants to IRCC was July 31. August 31 was the last date on which recommended applicants could have submitted a permanent residency application to IRCC. 

RNIP was launched in August 2022 to encourage newcomers to settle in remote regions in Canada. Every region was allowed to invite up to 125 applicants per year, yielding a total program capacity of 2,750.

Typically, newcomers choose to settle in large urban centers like Toronto or Vancouver, where there are already established newcomer communities. 

While skilled newcomers have flocked to major cities, communities in rural and northern Canada have faced a shortage of skilled/ qualified workers in sectors such as healthcare and the trades. Through the pilot program, IRCC selected communities that could welcome newcomers and connect them to established members of the community and local settlement services. 

IRCC did not renew the Pilot but is replacing the program with a different pilot introduced earlier this year. 

Rural Community Immigration Pilot Program 

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program is now closed. The program is a new economic pathway set to serve as an economic immigration program that will benefit some of Canada’s remote regions. 

It will act similarly to the Atlantic Immigration Program, which offers additional support to designated employers in the Atlantic region. These employers, in turn, offer more support to their employees than is typical in other provincial immigration pathways, such as the Provincial Nominee Program. 

The new pilot program is set to launch this fall. IRCC has not yet declared which communities will be eligible to participate or eligibility criteria for newcomers. 

Pilot Programs 

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program is now closed. When IRCC declared RCIP, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said it was to ensure that the department ‘continues work toward making a permanent rural immigration program.’

He further stated that rural and northern communities face unique economic as well as demographic challenges. However, through the Pilot program, rural communities have been able to attract and retain skilled workers that they have required for years to ensure their economic growth. 

Pilot programs in Canada usually last five years, which allows IRCC to gather data and measure their success. In some instances, such as the AIP, the program is made permanent. 

IRCC also recently announced the introduction of the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot for the upcoming fall. The Pilot will aim to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers who settle in communities outside of Quebec. 

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].