Canada launches a toolkit to help small and rural communities attract newcomers

Spearheaded by the National Working Group on Small Center Strategies, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), in partnership with provincial governments and immigrant settlement service providing organizations, has launched a toolkit for smaller communities across Canada wanting to attract immigrants and support their settlement and integration by their own.

“Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Tool Box of Ideas for Smaller Centers” is a comprehensive toolkit to help smaller communities across the country to benefit from immigration for their growth and sustainability. This toolkit will not only guide such communities in developing their own immigration strategy but also encourage them in building an inclusive plan for newcomers.

This toolkit includes information on immigration and employment realities, and recommendations on strategies for building support, reducing barriers and creating welcoming communities. Specifically, it addresses topics such as (a) creating local opportunities; (b) setting practical objectives; (c) building consensus; (d) involving the community; (e) the importance of family ties, employment, and housing services; (f) accessing existing opportunities under current immigration rules as they relate to skilled and business immigrants, provincial nominees, refugees and temporary residents; and, (g) factors needed to create a welcoming community, such as respect for diversity, accessibility of public services and educational facilities, health, safety, faith and spirituality and leisure activities.

This toolkit was created by the National Working Group in response to an expressed interest by smaller communities in attracting and retaining newcomers after a recent Statistics Canada report. The report, which studied the years 1992-2005, showed that income differences between native-born Canadians and new immigrants in smaller centers and rural areas closed faster over time than in large urban areas.

This toolkit is funded through a contribution agreement from Citizenship and Immigration Canada as part of its programming aimed at helping newcomers to Canada integrate and settle in their new communities. Overall, the Government of Canada is investing $1.4 billion in settlement funding over five years to provinces and territories outside of Quebec, which receives annual funding through a separate agreement.