CIMM - Economic Pilot Programs

Key Messages

• To spread the benefits of immigration to all parts of the country, we have launched and are developing several pilots that have a regional or sectoral focus.
• This allows the government to respond to specific labour market challenges through targeted economic immigration strategies.

Supplementary Messages

Atlantic Immigration Pilot

• In 2018-2019, the Atlantic provinces saw their highest population growth since the 1970s, with immigration – including from the pilot – being the main driver of this trend.
• Since its launch, participating employers have made nearly 5,500 job offers in key sectors. This has resulted in over 5,300 approved permanent residents destined for or already in the Atlantic region.
• Given the success of the pilot, the Prime Minister has asked me to make the program permanent, with at least 5,000 admission spaces.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

• The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a 5‑year pilot focused on helping smaller communities to welcome immigrants who will fill labour shortages and help support middle-class jobs in remote communities.
• Eleven rural and northern communities will be participating in this program, and they will have access to a range of supports to test this new innovative, community‑driven model that will help fill labour gaps.

Municipal Nominee Pilot

• IRCC will work to create a Municipal Nominee Pilot that will allow local communities, chambers of commerce and local labour councils to directly sponsor permanent immigrants.
• The Municipal Nominee Pilot will build on lessons learned and complement other immigration pilots, as we seek to spread the benefits of immigration across the country.
• We have seen significant interest in the Municipal Nominee Pilot already and will be consulting cities, provinces and stakeholders in the months ahead on how to implement the pilot.

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

• The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is a 3‑year Government of Canada economic immigration pilot to address the labour market needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, particularly relating to the the mushroom and greenhouse production, meat processing, and livestock raising industries.
• The pilot provide employers with the opportunity to retain temporary workers as permanent residents and fill jobs year-round.

Background

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot:

• The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot was developed to help address hiring challenges and support Canada’s export growth.
• It will provide a pathway to permanent residence for agri-food workers with Canadian work experience, particularly in the mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing, and livestock raising industries.
• The three-year pilot will launch on March 30, 2020, with a total of 2,750 applications accepted annually.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot:

• The Atlantic Immigration Pilot is a collaborative partnership between IRCC and the Atlantic Provinces. Specifically, the pilot is designed as a pan-Atlantic approach to address labour market needs and increase newcomer retention through an employer-driven model where employers play a more active role in the recruitment and retention of candidates, as well as through a mandatory settlement plan and customized settlement supports.
• Since its launch in 2017, participating employers in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot have made over 5,500 job offers in key sectors including accommodations and food services, manufacturing and health care. This has resulted in over 5,600 approved permanent residents already in the Atlantic region.
• According to the ongoing evaluation of the pilot, preliminary findings indicate that the majority of Atlantic Immigration Pilot newcomers are still living in Atlantic Canada. Overall, out of 1,089 survey respondents, 89% reported living in their intended province of destination at the time of the survey – although the majority of these respondents were only admitted in 2019; it will be some time before we will be able to assess the impact of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot on retention in the longer term.
• The Government has committed to transitioning the pilot into a permanent program. IRCC is working with partners and stakeholders to ensure that the roll-out of the permanent program incorporates all of the lessons of the pilot, including those related to supporting retention and maintaining program integrity. The full results of the evaluation will be available this spring.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot:

• Through a community-based economic development approach, this pilot partners IRCC with 11 community organizations in northern Ontario and western Canada who will recommend immigrants based on local economic development and labour market needs.
• This pilot is testing new partnerships to determine whether pairing meaningful career opportunities with community-tailored settlement approaches can increase the attraction and retention of newcomers in smaller Canadian centres. The objective of the program is to help distribute the benefits of immigration to all regions of Canada.
• Several communities have finalized and implemented local criteria and begun accepting applications from interested candidates. The remaining communities are at varying stages of readiness as they develop the pilot locally and put dedicated resources in place. All are expected to become active in the first half of 2020.

Municipal Nominee Program:

• We look forward to adding a Municipal Nominee Program among our immigration pathways. Communities have been expressing interest in meeting their specific needs for attracting and retaining a greater number of immigrants.
• IRCC will be engaging stakeholders as well as provinces and territories as the program is developed.

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot:

• The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot was developed to help address hiring challenges and support Canada’s export growth. It will provide a pathway to permanent residence for agri-food workers with Canadian work experience, particularly in the mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing, and livestock raising industries. The three-year pilot will launch on March 30, 2020, with a total of up to 2,750 applications accepted annually.

NOC C Initiative:

• In 2016, the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities produced a report on temporary workers that recommended that IRCC review pathways to permanent residence for temporary workers who fill labour market needs and have long employment tenure in Canada.
• In response to this recommendation, 2,000 supplementary Provincial Nominee Program base spaces will be distributed to Provinces and Territories every year from 2019 to 2021. This allocation specifically targets increasing transitions to permanent residence for intermediate-skilled (National Occupational Classification skill level C) temporary foreign workers.
• Uptake for this initiative was low in 2019. Of the 2,000 additional spaces that were distributed, only 21% were used in the first year. Many factors contributed to this low uptake, including a low stock of eligible workers and the provinces’ and territories’ need for time to adjust to a new program.