A pilot immigration program to help rural communities find skilled workers for hard-to-fill jobs saw 800 people receive permanent residency in the first two months of this year — and hundreds of applications are streaming in for a limited number of available spaces.

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot, or RCIP, began in 2025. It allows 14 small communities across Canada to recommend people with skills and jobs in selected sectors for permanent residency.

Each community can select up to 25 fields as priority professions for their area — anything from health and manufacturing to skilled trades and transport.