Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, paid a visit to Greater Sudbury on Thursday to announce a pilot program to attract skilled immigrants to rural and northern communities.
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a five-year federal immigration pilot open to communities in Ontario, Western Canada and the territories.
It will allow municipalities to access support to help newcomers settle in as part of the community.
The program is designed to use immigration to help meet local labour market needs and support regional economic development, combating issues such as out-migration of youth, aging populations and labour market shortages.
“We hope this pilot program will allow these communities to grow even further through immigration,” said Hussen, who launched the program in a room filled with international students at Cambrian College.
He said the program was created in part because of advocacy by Northern Ontario politicians.
That includes fellow Liberal caucus members such as Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre, Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré and Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota, who all attended the press conference.
The program, based on a similar project launched two years ago in Atlantic Canada, won't be targeting specific sectors, he said.
“The kinds of workers that will be recruited through this program will depend on the local community and employers,” Hussen said. “It will be diverse, and it will be based on the regional labour market.”
The minister said the pilot program will be capped at around 3,000 workers, but the number of immigrants could be three times higher or more, as they'll be bringing their families along.
“It's not just a temporary foreign worker program,” he said. “It's a permanent program to give permanent residency to skilled immigrants and their families.”
Asked if anti-immigrant sentiment may be an issue in the program's introduction, Hussen said Canada is not immune to this type of rhetoric, which he said “sows intolerance and fear and division.”
“We know that immigration continues to make a difference in our country,” he said, giving some examples of newcomers who are making contributions in their field.
“One of the reasons why Canada has the best performing economy in the G7 countries is immigration. Immigration is actually an economic difference maker between us and our competitors around the world.”
Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre said he often hears from local businesses who say they can't fill crucial job vacancies not only in the mining sector, but the city's budding high-tech sector.
“We're hearing from businesses that they're forgoing contracts” due to a lack of qualified workers, he said.
Interested communities have until March 1 to submit applications for the immigration pilot program.
Mayor Brian Bigger said he's exited about the possibilities of the new program.
“I'm very pleased about the announcement today,” he said.
“We've been working very hard at attracting people to our community. As you know, as Sudburians, we're open for immigration. We're welcoming and inclusive. We have jobs that we absolutely want and need to fill.”
Hussen was asked if Greater Sudbury is a shoe-in as one of the sites for the pilot project, given he announced its creation here.
“I would say Sudbury has a strong chance,” he said, adding that he didn't doubt that the “guys behind me” — Lefebvre and Serré — will ensure the city is on the list.
