Supporting newcomers and rural economies including in southwest and southeast Alberta

Two immigration streams are helping set up newcomers and rural communities for success.

Rural communities are the backbone of Alberta’s economy, and Alberta’s government is committed to supporting their success. The Rural Renewal Stream attracts skilled newcomers to rural communities to support local labour needs. The Rural Entrepreneur Stream focuses on attracting newcomer entrepreneurs to create jobs and support the local economy.

Communities under 100,000 people are welcome to apply to become a designated community. To become designated, rural communities must show that they have sufficient economic need and supports available to attract and build long-term relationships with newcomers. To date, 22 communities have been designated to participate in the Rural Renewal Stream and 37 communities are qualified for the Rural Entrepreneurial Stream.

As part of the entrepreneurship stream, prospects interested in starting or buying a business in rural Alberta are required to visit the participating communities in advance. This allows them to see where they will live and operate their business and allows the community to meet the entrepreneur and embrace the business idea.

“Rural Alberta provides a unique opportunity to leverage needed skills and talent newcomers and entrepreneurs hold, benefiting local economies and supporting community diversity. As communities experience ongoing challenges in accessing a talented and innovative workforce, designated rural immigration streams are a great step in promoting the vast opportunities that exist by living and working in Alberta’s rural areas,” stated Paul McLauchlin, president, Rural Municipalities of Alberta.

“This is welcome news for Alberta Municipalities’ rural members. We encourage them to follow the lead of Brooks, Duchess, Falher and Trochu and apply to become designated communities for these worthwhile immigration streams,” said Cathy Heron, president, Alberta Municipalities.

Alberta’s government is taking a number of actions to help grow Alberta’s labour pool to support the province’s growing economy, including providing support for Albertans to develop new skills and grow in careers. This includes Alberta Jobs Now, which provided private and non-profit businesses with job supports, and a $600-million investment in Alberta at Work to help Albertans find jobs, build skills and advance their careers.

Quick facts

• The rural immigration streams are part of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, a federal-provincial program that nominates individuals for permanent residence.

• A full list of communities (https:// www.alberta.ca/aaip-rural-entrepreneur-stream-participating-communities.aspx) participating in the Rural Entrepreneur Stream is available at alberta.ca.

• Newly designated communities for the Rural Renewal Stream include Brooks, Bassano, Duchess, County of Newell, Rosemary, Taber, Municipal District of Taber, Vauxhall.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sets the limits for nominations the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program can issue each year. IRCC provided 6,500 nomination certificates to Alberta for 2022.

• Nearly 5,000 nomination certificates have been issued so far in 2022.