COVID-19 Updates: Taking steps to return to normal.
- Public health restrictions: Alberta entered Step 2 on March 1.
- Book your vaccine: Albertans 5+ can get it now. Get third dose when eligible.
COVID-19 Updates: Taking steps to return to normal.
Communities with the capacity to attract, recruit and welcome newcomers, can apply to participate in this stream.
The Rural Renewal Stream addresses current labour needs and skill shortages in rural Alberta communities and helps newcomers settle into the community. This stream requires a community to apply to the Government of Alberta for community designation.
This stream is community-driven. A candidate must be endorsed by a designated community and meet all criteria for the Rural Renewal Stream. Do not apply to the province of Alberta if you do not have a community support letter.
Once designated, the community then works with employers to attract and recruit newcomers and collaborates with a settlement providing organization to retain newcomers by sharing information on settlement supports. This may include accommodation, education, health care and services such as language training.
Interested communities fill out a Community Designation Application form. Additional points will be awarded for communities with less than 10,000 residents. Once a community is designated, they will be able to attract, recruit and retain newcomers using this stream.
An application will only be evaluated if all of the mandatory requirements below are met:
The Rural Renewal Stream cannot be used for:
Communities must have the capacity to attract, recruit and welcome newcomers in order to participate in the Rural Renewal Stream. A Rural Renewal Stream candidate is a foreign national who does not have permanent residence or Canadian citizenship. This person could be living in or outside of Canada.
Read the Rural Renewal Stream Factsheet (PDF, 169 KB)
Communities will be responsible for:
Contact us if you have questions around this stream and community designation.
There is no direct funding for the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the Government of Alberta offers grants to support capacity building of small centre or rural areas to attract, welcome and retain newcomers in rural Alberta. These grants are part of an annual call for proposals that support community capacity building.
An economic development organization fills out the application in partnership with the community.
Note: applications that do not have all of the mandatory requirements will not be evaluated.
The letter should outline the following on the official letterhead:
The letter should outline the following on the official letterhead:
The letter must be on the official letterhead and issued by the local economic development organization of the community and must outline the following:
The completed application and supporting documents need to be submitted for designation by email to: [email protected]
The initial intake will designate a limited number of communities depending on the quality of proposals. Intake for this designation is open (communities can submit at any time) until the province designates sufficient number of communities to proceed or until February 16, 2023, whichever comes first.
Applications will be evaluated on a points system (points for each category are noted in the application). Communities must score a minimum of 150 points in order to be considered for designation. In the event that multiple applications are received at the same time, selection will be based on top scores.
Government of Alberta representatives will review the initial application and let the applicant know if the application is complete (all mandatories have been provided). The amount of time this review will take will depend on the volume of applications.
Once the application has been reviewed and deemed complete, the applicant will receive an email confirming the official date of submission. At this point, the application cannot be altered.
The application will be evaluated and a government representative will contact the community to indicate the status of the application within 4 weeks of the official submission date. The applicant will be notified if more time is needed and will be notified the outcome of the application via email.
Community designation will last 3 years to the date that the community received email confirmation of designation. There will be an option to extend the designation by an additional 2 years to a maximum of 5 years.
The list of designated communities ready to recruit will be posted here.
A designated community, in partnership with their local economic development organization and participating employers, are responsible for recruiting foreign nationals. Candidates may be recruited from within Alberta, Canada or outside of Canada.
Candidates that are currently living in Canada are only eligible if they have legal status in Canada. If the community is recruiting outside Canada, all federal immigration rules and regulations apply. The Government of Alberta will not compensate the community for any recruitment costs.
The community partnership reviews candidate applications to ensure candidates meet all criteria, including the program eligibility. Communities may choose to have additional criteria separate from the mandatory criteria. This can include a particular skill set or certain occupations that help the community fill a specific labour need.
The employer provides a job offer to the successful candidate and the community endorses the newcomer.
An endorsement of candidate letter is issued to the candidate chosen by the community for the Rural Renewal Stream.
The candidate submits their application through the AAIP Portal ensuring all criteria for Rural Renewal Stream is met. There is a non-refundable application fee for this stream. The application will be reviewed and the candidate will be notified if they are eligible for nomination.
While the permanent residency application is being processed, the candidate can request a 204(c) Letter of Support to apply for a temporary work permit to allow them to start working in the designated community.
Nominee applies to Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada for permanent residency
The federal government makes the final decision on permanent residency applications. A nomination by the province does not guarantee an approved permanent residency application.
It is the responsibility of the community to identify what kind of settlement supports they will offer in collaboration with the settlement providing organization to help the candidate and their family settle into the community.
Pre-arrival settlement services are available through the federal government for permanent residents. The province has some services available for nominated temporary residents in Canada with a valid work permit.
An evaluation of the community designation may be conducted at the end of the designation period. The community will need to participate in the evaluation by providing information as requested.
Connect with us if you have questions about this program:
Email: [email protected]
Was this page helpful?
You will not receive a reply. Do not enter any personal information such as telephone numbers, addresses, or emails.
Your submissions are monitored by our web team and are used to help improve the experience on Alberta.ca. If you require a response, please go to our Contact page.