Issue
Employers across Ontario, but particularly in Northern and Rural areas, are experiencing a shortage of qualified employees and a shrinking labour market. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program can help to address these challenges by allocating nominee spots to Northern and Rural communities.
Background
Labour shortages are being felt across the province, but particularly in Northern and Rural areas where population growth is limited. Northern Ontario specifically is experiencing a demographic shift and a population decline that is fueled by natural aging, low fertility rates, a rising life expectancy and an increase of out-migration. Population and migration trends to 2016, suggest that Northern Ontario needs 50,000 newcomers by 2041 in order to sustain current population levels. Furthermore, Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census shows that 4 of the top 5 municipalities in Ontario with the highest rate of population decline are in Northern Ontario.
Newcomers represent potential growth and innovation for Northern and Rural communities, however, the vast majority of newcomers to Ontario settle in the Greater Toronto Area.
The federal Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIP) has proven highly successful in attracting new people to Northern Ontario specifically, and to rural and northern Canada generally. RNIP has proven to be such a success that the federal government is moving to make it a permanent program and an integral part of Canada’s overall immigration strategy. Ontario should learn from and mirror this success through the allocation of Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) spots for Northern and Rural Ontario communities.
Both Northern Policy Institute and the Conference Board of Canada have long observed that a portion of the OINP could easily be used to support a provincial rural and northern initiative. That point is even more valid today since the OINP has recently seen a massive expansion. From 9,750 nominees in 2022 to 16,500 in 2023 with the goal of growing that number to 18,000 in 2024.
Northern and Rural communities provide the food, forests and minerals that are essential to our daily lives. Providing an allocation of OINP spots will help to address the labour needs of Northern and Rural areas so that we can contribute to a vibrant economy for all Ontarians.
Recommendations
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce urges the Government of Ontario to:
- Ensure that the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program addresses labour market challenges by allocating 3,000 nominee spots to Northern Ontario and 6,000 nominee spots to Rural communities in Southern Ontario; and
- Provide sufficient Newcomer Settlement & Language Training and Language Interpreter Services to address the growth of OINP nominees in Northern Ontario and Rural communities.
References
