Thunder Bay announces eligible occupations for new PR pathway

The municipal government of Thunder Bay has announced eligible occupations to receive permanent residence (PR) on arrival through its participation in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP).

Under the RCIP, a foreign national must have a job offer from a designated employer in a participating community in order to apply for permanent residence.

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Eligible sectors and occupations

The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) has identified five different professional groups that it will aim to target foreign recruitment for, through the RCIP:

• Business and Finance Administration;
• Healthcare;
• Education, Law, Social, Community, and Government Services;
• Sales and Service; and
• Trades, Transport, Equipment Operators, and related occupations.

The Thunder Bay CEDC will aim to recruit the following occupations within these five groups:

Sector	Job Title (NOC Code)
Business, Finance and Administration Occupations	Administrative assistants (13110)
	Financial advisors (11102)
	General office support workers (14100)
Health Occupations	Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment (31204)
	Licensed practical nurses (32101)
	Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102)
	Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants (33103)
	Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
Occupations in Education, Law, Social, Community and Government Services	Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
	Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (44101)
	Social and community service workers (42201)
	Social workers (41300)
	Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies (41301)
Sales and Service	Cooks (63200)
	Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations (65201)
	Food service supervisors (62020)
	Light duty cleaners (65310)
	Retail and wholesale trade managers (60020)
	Retail sales supervisors (62010)
	Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (64100)
	Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers (65102)
Trades, Transport, Equipment Operators and other related occupations	Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (72410)
	Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
	Construction trades helpers and labourers (75110)
	Heavy equipment operators (73400)

Who is authorized to hire for these roles in Thunder Bay?

Only designated employers within a community who are credentialed by an IRCC-partnered community economic development organization may issue RCIP-eligible job offers.

These employers may use the program to either:

• Retain qualified foreign nationals who already work in their community; or
• Recruit a qualified foreign national working abroad or within Canada to fill labour shortages in approved sectors and occupations.

Currently, the Thunder Bay CEDC has not announced any designated employers. More details are expected to be announced as the RCIP progresses in 2025.

Candidate eligibility through the RCIP

Foreign nationals may be eligible to receive PR through the RCIP if they:

• Hold a qualifying job offer from a designated employer in the community;
• Have at least one year (1,560 hours) of related work experience within the past three years*;
• Demonstrate their language abilities by taking an approved test;
• Possess a Canadian educational credential or its foreign equivalent; and
• Show proof of sufficient funds to support their transition and their family’s transition into the community.

Foreign nationals cannot apply directly to the CEDC for a community recommendation.

Instead, the employer who has offered a job to the foreign national must submit a candidate application on behalf of the foreign national to the CEDC to receive a recommendation.

One they meet all the requirements, including having the job offer and community recommendation in hand, the foreign national can apply directly to the federal government for PR.

* General Requirements for relevant work experience:

• At a skill level related to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) category of the job offer;
• Must include actions listed in the NOC description; and
• Must include most of the main duties.

In addition, work experience must correspond to specified skill levels based on the NOC TEER level of the job offer.

Job offer TEER level	Related work experience requirements
TEER 0 or 1	Must be in TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3.
TEER 2	Must be in TEER 1, 2, 3, or 4.
TEER 3 or 4	Must be in TEER 2, 3, or 4.
TEER 5	Must be in the same 5-digit NOC code.

Special exemptions to these rules apply to healthcare workers and foreign nationals who studied and graduated in the community where their job and job offer are located.

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