Agri-Food Pilot pathway to permanent residence closes

Foreign nationals who have not yet applied to the Agri-Food Pilot can no longer pursue Canadian permanent residency through this pathway.

Canada's Agri-Food Pilot will not accept any more applications. The federal pilot received enough applications to fill all allotted spaces as of February 13, 2025.

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Foreign nationals who submitted their applications before February 13, 2025 will continue to have their applications processed.

Agri-food workers who have not applied to the pilot will need to seek permanent residency through other pathways (some of which have been listed below).

The pilot was originally launched for a three-year period, but extended in 2023, with an end date of May 14, 2025.

While successful pilots are sometimes extended or lead to the establishment of permanent immigration programs, there has been no mention of another extension of the Agri-Food pilot or any program to replace it, as of now.

What is the Agri-Food Pilot?

The Agri-Food Pilot is a pathway to permanent residence (PR) launched by the federal government in 2020 for workers in specific occupations concerning agriculture and food processing. Eligible sectors included meat product manufacturing, greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production (including mushroom production), and animal production.

In January 2025, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it would be capping the number of applicants to the program in 2025 to 1,010. Previously, IRCC had accepted 2,750 applications to the pilot each year.

The fact that the program met its allocation for the year within the first two months of 2025 indicates strong demand among foreign nationals and employers in the sector.

Alternative PR pathways

Foreign nationals working in agri-food occupations who are considering immigrating to Canada can look at alternate pathways including Provincial Nominee Programs, the newly launched Rural Community Immigration Pilot, Express Entry, and the Atlantic Immigration Program.

Provincial Nominee Programs

Under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), provinces and territories are able to nominate foreign nationals who meet specific labour market needs for permanent residence.

Canada has more than 80 provincial immigration streams. This includes some dedicated to agriculture and food processing in provinces where the occupation is in-demand.

For example, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Employer Job Offer: In-Demand stream lists agriculture as an in-demand occupation, making it a suitable pathway for those with a job offer in Ontario.

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP programs

Rural Community Immigration Pilot

This is a newly-launched employer-focused pathway for foreign workers who receive job offers from designated employers in specific communities in Canada.

IRCC has named 14 communities that have been selected to participate in the pilot. The communities will provide more detail when prospective PR candidates can expect to be able to apply.

Apart from having a job offer, the program has work experience, language proficiency, education, and proof of funds requirements for candidates to be eligible. You can find the full eligibility requirements here.

Express Entry

Foreign nationals can also seek PR through Canada's Express Entry system.

To seek PR through Express Entry, an eligible foreign national can create an online profile through IRCC's website. The Canadian federal government then periodically invites Express Entry candidates to apply for PR based on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores.

The CRS evaluates candidate profiles on the basis of factors such as their age, education, work experience, and language proficiency.

To be eligible for Express Entry, a foreign national must have a skilled occupation and must qualify for one of the three Express Entry-managed federal immigration programs:

• The Canadian Experience Class;
• The Federal Skilled Worker Program; or
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Express Entry has category-based selection draws which prioritize candidates with French language proficiency or with work experience in in-demand occupations and sectors.

IRCC recently announced its 2025 Express Entry categories, and Agriculture and agri-food remains on the list of categories. That said, the only occupation remaining under this category is Butchers (NOC code 63201).

Foreign nationals who would have applied to the Agri-Food Pilot and are not butchers can still create Express Entry profiles, but will require either a higher CRS or French Language proficiency to receive an ITA, as only butchers will be eligible for the Agri-Food category based draws.

Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)

Agri-food workers might also consider pursuing PR through the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), an employer-focused pathway for those who want to settle in one of Canada's Atlantic provinces:

• New Brunswick;
• Newfoundland and Labrador;
• Nova Scotia; and
• Prince Edward Island.

To qualify for the AIP, a foreign national must have a job offer from a designated employer, and must have that job offer endorsed by the province.

They must also have either skilled work experience, or be an international graduate of a recognized post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada.

Each province designates employers following its own process.

You can find the list of designated employers for AIP directly through the respective provincial websites.

Several provinces, including New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, have announced changes to their AIPs in 2025.

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