A new immigration pilot was announced at Greater Sudbury’s city hall Thursday morning aimed at attracting francophone immigrants, along with the return of a rural program for skilled workers.
Both programs are focused on helping employers find the workers they need to overcome labour shortages.
Sudbury, Timmins and the Superior East Region were selected to participate in the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.
The new program aims to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec.
“This ensures the economic development of Francophone minority communities, while also helping to restore and increase their demographic weight,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a news release.
“Each selected community is represented by a local economic development organization, which will work with IRCC to identify its critical labour gaps, designate trustworthy employers and recommend suitable candidates to IRCC for permanent residence.”
Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in an interview that the city can bring in around 48 French-speaking newcomers each year for the next five years.
“This will allow some of the francophone organizations that have a hard time,” Lefebvre said.
“The francophone community certainly is growing here — it’s one of the largest ones outside of Quebec in a municipality.”
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