S5 Ep5: Canada's Rural Immigration Pilot - Is your prairie community ready?

Life on the Prairies

Join me as I take an in-depth look at the IRCC's Rural Community Immigration Pilot specifically the Call For Proposals (CFP). This episode is great for those communities interested in applying and those newcomers who want to know how this initiative will work.
I will walk through each of the topics within the CFP and provide a bit of insight into how immigration works, why this will benefit rural communities and get into detail of what IRCC is expecting. I will also give my thoughts as to perhaps why some communities may just be better positioned than others.
The rural community immigration pilot aims to ensure that rural communities continue to have the ability to access programs that address labour shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need. It will provide pathways to permanent residence for newcomers who can help to overcome critical labour job shortages and want to live long term in these smaller communities.
The successful communities will launch their own immigration initiatives in the fall of 2024. In a future episode I will look at how this process may work for those in Canada but are here temporarily. Being a rural person who currently lives & works in a rural Canadian town I will give you an insight into rural Canada and its possibilities!
Resources
100meridian.ca

Community Rural Immigration June 14th webinar (Registration Link)
IRCC's Community Application (CFP)
Index of Remoteness
Immigration & Rural Canada
Takeaways

• Read the application (Call for Proposals) from start to finish before you dive in. Be honest with yourself if your community is ready to apply;
• Know what you need and who you need, gather and brain-storm (involve those who need to be involved).
• Make sure you have an inventory of your community's infrastructure & social services;
• Ensure that every partner understand their role in the project.

Highlights
4:27 How this pilot could benefit the communities.
5:10 Not every community should be applying.
7:10 What are they expecting from the community?
9:49 Administrative Capacity - who could that be? Understand there is money coming with this application.
13:30 Roles of Economic Development Organizations, Communities and Employers.
16:14 What is IRCC's role?
10:46 Letters of Support from various stakeholders.
18:23 The basic criteria.
20;25 Housing. Housing. Housing.
22:08 No one is getting funding from IRCC for this initiative.
23:12 Employers - they have to be committed, not just your municipal government. They are the most critical partners.
Music
"Fresh Breeze" by Stwee Audio
"The Time It Takes" by Kayla Luky
https://kaylaluky.bandcamp.com/album/...
Produced by https://www.growmediagroup.ca/