Why Separate Program for Atlantic Canada?

Introduction 

Canada is one of the well-known and immigrant-friendly countries globally that accepts a huge number of immigrants, and immigration has played a major role in the development and history of Canada as a country. Therefore, immigration will always continue to be an essential part of the growth of the Canadian economy and society. Moreover, Canada has introduced several immigration programs that assist immigrants to settle in the country in the best possible way. With the help of these immigration programs, Canada has established itself as a prominent country worldwide.

It is worth noticing that the vast majority of immigrants become permanent residents in Canada through the Economic and Business Immigration programs. However, these programs vary greatly in their eligibility requirements. Most of the Canadian cities depend on immigrants to support their labour markets.

Each province and territory in Canada has its own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) designed on the basis of its economic and demographic needs. However, some provinces in Canada are very successful in attracting skilled immigrant workers compared to others, and one of them is the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program (AIPP) in Atlantic Canada.

What is AIPP? 

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program has been designed to attract and retain the immigrants who will fill the vacancies in the workforce and contribute to the local economy and community development. In other words, the Atlantic Canadian Businesses will employ newcomers for the vacant positions as they had trouble finding Canadian citizens with the skills required for that specific job.

Why was AIPP launched? 

The federal government of Canada and Canada’s Atlantic provinces jointly launched the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program as an economic growth initiative that would stimulate the growth of Atlantic provinces. The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program aims to facilitate the immigration process for the eligible immigrant who has an employment offer from the designated employer in the Atlantic region. Four provinces in Canada, namely Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, participate in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP).

Why separate programs for Atlantic Canada? 

In the recent decades, four provinces of Atlantic Canada, including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, have experienced unique and severe challenges such as low birth rate, fewer immigrants, no increase in a natural population, and lower rates of interprovincial migration than other parts of the country. Consequently, the government developed strategies to retain more immigrants, international graduates, and temporary foreign skilled workers. However, the immigrant intake in the Atlantic region was disproportionately lower when compared to the immigrant’s intake in other provinces of Canada.

Revolution of Immigration in Atlantic Canada 

After 2016, when the Syrian refugees and economic class immigrants were welcomed in Atlantic Canada’s provinces through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the immigration revolution began. It was in full force in the Atlantic region. However, in spite of the Provincial Nominee Program’s success, there was a prevailing issue in the Atlantic region because of the incapability to retain the immigrants. So, the federal government of Canada and the governments of four provinces in the Atlantic region established the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program in the year 2017 as a significant effort to welcome more immigrants under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

In addition, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP) was added as a tool to promote immigration in the Atlantic region besides the Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program. Since its establishment, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program has been growing in strides, and it has also become a favourable option for immigrants for its unique eligibility requirements. It has increased the immigrants’ retention in the Atlantic region. Thus, the Immigration process to a province in Canada’s Atlantic region has become easier under the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. Moreover, the permanent residency process in Canada has become quicker and smoother through the AIPP.

One of the biggest advantages of AIPP over the other programs is its simplicity, as the pilot program is an employer-driven pathway to employ foreign applicants. Its primary requirement is that the applicant gets a job offer from a designated employer, after which they may easily qualify for Permanent Residency if they fulfill other requirements. Also, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot allows the Atlantic provincial governments to select immigrants as per the province’s economic needs.

It can be noted that the AIPP is the first kind of immigration program that requires the immigrants to get an individualized settlement plan from a recognized settlement services providers organization to settle and establish into their new life in the Canadian society. There are three programs under the AIPP, two for the skilled workers and one sub-program for international student graduates, which are as follows,

• Atlantic High-skilled Program (AHSP)
• Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program (AISP)
• Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP)

There are different categories of eligibility requirements such as Education, Language proficiency, Work experience, Proof of funds, and Job offers for the programs mentioned above of AIPP. Further, with the implementation of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program, the designated employers by the Atlantic provinces don’t need to go through the process of obtaining a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to employ an eligible foreign applicant.

Conclusion 

Considering the huge success of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP), which attracted and retained several foreign workers into the Atlantic region, the program has been extended till December 2021. Also, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is planning to make the AIPP, a permanent program.