The five Ontario communities participating in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) have released their priority sectors and occupations for 2026.
Foreign nationals with a job offer that aligns with an Ontario community’s labour market needs can pursue permanent residence (PR) through this pilot.
Assess your eligibility for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot
This article will break down the sectors and occupations being prioritized by each region in Ontario participating in the RCIP.
Participating Ontario regions include:
- Thunder Bay;
- North Bay;
- Sault Ste. Marie;
- Sudbury; and
- Timmins.
Thunder Bay
In 2026, Thunder Bay—located in Northwestern Ontario— is prioritizing the recruitment of foreign workers across the following six sectors:
- Business, finance and administration;
- Health;
- Education, law and social, community, and government services;
- Sales and service;
- Trades, transport, and equipment operators; and
- Manufacturing and utilities.
The manufacturing and utilities sector is a new inclusion this year, compared to last.
Below you can find Thunder Bay’s 25 priority occupations (and their associated National Occupational Classification—or NOC—codes) for the RCIP:
Eligible priority occupations
- Administrative assistants (13110)
- Aircraft mechanics and inspectors (72404)
- Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics, and mechanical repairers (72410)
- Bakers (63202)
- Construction trades helpers and labourers (75110)
- Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
- Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunication occupations (72011)
- Cooks (63200)
- *Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants (33100)
- Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
- General office support workers (14100)
- Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (44101)
- Hotel front desk clerks (64314)
- Licensed practical nurses (32101)
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102)
- Payroll administrators (13102)
- Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants (33103)
- Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (11202)
- **Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
- Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (64100)
- Social and community service workers (42201)
- Sawmill machine operators (94120)
- Security guards and related security service occupations (64410)
- ***Other services supervisors (62029)
- ****Transport truck drivers (73300)
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission notes that NOCs that fall under the 2026 priority sectors, but are not included on the list of priority occupations, may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
*NOC 33100 was listed by Thunder Bay as “Dental assistants and Dental technicians,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
**NOC 31301 was listed by Thunder Bay as “Registered nurses,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
***NOC 62029 was listed by Thunder Bay as “Security supervisors,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
CIC News has reached out to the city of Thunder Bay for clarification on inclusions, exemptions, and considerations surrounding these NOCs, but has not heard back at the time of publication. The article will be updated as details are provided.
****Only short-haul and local transport truck drivers are being considered under this NOC.
Thunder Bay’s list of designated employers, which will be updated on an ongoing basis, can be found by visiting this page.
North Bay
There are six sectors being prioritized by North Bay (located in Northeastern Ontario) in 2026:
- Business, finance and administration;
- Health;
- Education, law and social, community and government services;
- Sales and service;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators; and
- Natural and applied sciences.
Natural and applied sciences is a newly added sector, not present last year.
Below is the list of 25 occupations (and NOCs) North Bay is prioritizing under the RCIP this year, as of February 3, 2026:
Eligible priority occupations
- Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (12200)
- Administrative assistants (13110)
- Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors (72404)
- Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (72410)
- Civil engineers (21300)
- Computer network and web technicians (22220)
- Construction trade helpers and labourers (75110)
- Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants (33100)
- *Electricians (except industrial and power system) (72200)
- Electrical and electronics engineers (21310)
- Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
- Financial advisors (11102)
- Financial auditors and accountants (11100)
- Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (44101)
- Licensed practical nurses (32101)
- Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors (72100)
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient services associates (33102)
- Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants (33103)
- **Chemical plant machine operators (94110)
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
- Security guards and related security service occupations (64410)
- Shippers and receivers (14400)
- Social and community service workers (42201)
- Software developers and programmers (21232)
- Welders and related machine operators (72106)
*NOC 72200 was listed by North Bay as “Electricians,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
**NOC 94110 was listed by North Bay as “Production Line Workers,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
CIC News has reached out to the city of North Bay for clarification on inclusions, exemptions, and considerations surrounding these NOCs, but has not heard back at the time of publication. The article will be updated as details are provided.
North Bay notes that all fast food and retail occupations are currently excluded from consideration under the RCIP.
There is no publicly available list of designated employers under the RCIP for the city of North Bay as of the time of this writing.
Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, situated in Northern Ontario between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, is prioritizing individuals with job offers in the following six sectors for selection under the RCIP in 2026:
- Health;
- Education, law and social, community and government services;
- Business, finance and administration;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators;
- Manufacturing and utilities; and
- Natural and applied sciences.
Natural and applied sciences, along with business, finance and administration are newly prioritized sectors this year; sales and service was in-demand last year but is now off the list.
The following 25 occupations and NOC codes are being prioritized by Sault Ste. Marie under the RCIP in 2026:
Eligible priority occupations
- Accounting and related clerks (14200)
- Administrative officers (13100)
- Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors (93200)
- *Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors (72404)
- **Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (72410)
- Computer network and web technicians (22220)
- Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
- ***Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants (33100)
- Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
- Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (22310)
- Engineering managers (20010)
- Financial advisors (11102)
- Financial auditors and accountants (11100)
- ****Other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors (94219)
- General practitioners and family physicians (31102)
- Industrial and manufacturing engineers (21321)
- Licensed practical nurses (32101)
- Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors (72100)
- Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (22301)
- *****Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102)
- Machine operators of other metal products (94107)
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
- Social and community service workers (42201)
- Other trades helpers and labourers (75119)
- ******Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators (73301)
*NOC 72404 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Aircraft instruments, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians, and inspectors,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
**NOC 72410 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Automative service technicians,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
***NOC 33100 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Dental assistant,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
****NOC 94219 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Finishing line worker,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
*****NOC 33102 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Personal support worker,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
******NOC 73301 was listed by Sault Ste. Marie as “Transit operators,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
CIC News has reached out to the city of Sault Ste. Marie for clarification surrounding inclusions, exemptions, and considerations surrounding these NOCs, but has not heard back at the time of publication. The article will be updated as details are provided.
Sault Ste. Marie does not have any priority occupations listed under the Natural and applied sciences sector as of the time of this writing.
You can find the Sault Ste. Marie’s list of designated employers on the city’s webpage here.
Sudbury
In 2026, the city of Sudbury—the most populous city in Northern Ontario—is prioritizing the six sectors listed below for the RCIP.
- Business, finance and administration;
- Health;
- Education, law and social, community and government services;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators;
- Natural and applied sciences; and
- Natural resources and agriculture.
The business, finance and administration sector is a new addition this year, with all other priority sectors remaining the same as last year.
The city notes that “there may be limited circumstances in which candidates from this category could be considered,” despite inclusion as a priority sector.
You can find the list of 25 occupations (and associated NOC codes) being prioritized by Sudbury under the RCIP this year below.
Eligible priority occupations
- Auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators (72411)
- Automotive and heavy truck and equipment parts installers and servicers (74203)
- Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics, and mechanical repairers (72410)
- Chemical technologists and technicians (22100)
- Civil engineering technologists and technicians (22300)
- Construction estimators (22303)
- Construction managers (70010)
- Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
- Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants (33100)
- Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
- Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (22310)
- General practitioners and family physicians (31102)
- Heavy-duty equipment mechanics (72401)
- Home support workers, caregivers, and related occupations (44101)
- Instructors of persons with disabilities (42203)
- Licensed practical nurses (32101)
- Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (22301)
- Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations (33101)
- Mining engineers (21330)
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102)
- Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment (32109)
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
- Social and community service workers (42201)
- *Transport truck drivers (73300)
- Welders and related machine operators (72106)
*NOC 73300 was listed by Sudbury as “Truck drivers,” but has been edited to reflect the official name per the NOC system.
CIC News has reached out to the city of Sudbury for clarification surrounding inclusions, exemptions, and considerations surrounding this NOC, but has not heard back at the time of publication. The article will be updated as details are provided.
Find out which employers are currently designated by the city of Sudbury for participating in the RCIP in 2026 here.
Timmins
The sectors being prioritized by Timmins (a city located in Northeastern Ontario along the Mattagami River) under the RCIP in 2026 remain similar to those established in 2025:
- Health;
- Education, law and social, community and government services;
- Trades, transport and equipment operators;
- Natural resources and agriculture; and
- Manufacturing and utilities.
Compared to last year, the city of Timmins has added manufacturing and utilities, and removed business, finance and administration under its RCIP priority sectors.
It is the only Ontario city with five priority sectors under the RCIP; all others have increased from five sectors in 2025 to six in 2026.
See below for the 25 specific occupations Timmins is prioritizing under the RCIP in 2026.
Eligible priority occupations
- Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (12200)
- Administrative assistants (13110)
- Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (32104)
- Automotive and heavy truck and equipment parts installers and servicers (74203)
- Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (72410)
- Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (72400)
- Construction trades helpers and labourers (75110)
- Early childhood educators and assistants (42202)
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) (72200)
- Geological and mineral technologists and technicians (22101)
- Health information management occupations (12111)
- Heavy equipment operators (73400)
- Heavy-duty equipment mechanics (72401)
- Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations (44101)
- Labourers in wood, pulp and paper processing (95103)
- Licensed practical nurses (32101)
- Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors (72100)
- Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations (33101)
- Mining engineers (21330)
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102)
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (31301)
- Social and community service workers (42201)
- Transport truck drivers (73300)
- Underground mine service and support workers (84100)
- Welders and related machine operators (72106)
You can view Timmins’ list of employers that have been designated under the RCIP in 2026 here.
About the RCIP
The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) is a federal pathway to PR, launched in 2025, designed to help designated rural communities (outside Quebec) address chronic labour shortages.
There are 14 communities participating in the RCIP, each of which designate specific employers to recruit workers in priority sectors and occupations established by the community.
To qualify, a foreign national must have a job offer from a designated employer who will send their community recommendation application to the community for review. If recommended by the community, the foreign national may apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for PR.
Beyond having a job offer for a position in a priority sector or occupation, foreign nationals must also
- Have at least one year (1,560 hours) of related work experience in the past three years;
- Job offer in TEER 0 or 1: work experience can be in TEER 0–3.
- Job offer in TEER 2: work experience can be in TEER 1–4.
- Job offer in TEER 4 of 3: work experience can be in TEER 2–2.
- Job offer in TEER 5: work experience must be in same five-digit NOC code.
- Meet language proficiency requirements;
- Job offer in TEER 0 or 1: Minimum of CLB 6.
- Job offer in TEER 2 or 3: Minimum of CLB 5.
- Job offer in TEER 4 or 5: Minimum of CLB 4.
- Have a Canadian credential or the foreign equivalent; and
- For education outside Canada, you must have a valid Educational Credential Assessment.
- Have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family for settlement in the community.
- Ranges from $10,507 for a single applicant to $27,806 for a family of seven—and $2,831 for each additional family member.
You can learn about how RCIP developments and performance in its first year (2025) here.
The RCIP also provides special work permits to foreign nationals with an eligible offer of employment who have submitted their application for PR (and passed the completeness check). To learn more, visit our article on RCIP work permits.
Assess your eligibility for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot