Ontario regions announce jobs eligible for permanent residence through the RCIP
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:
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:
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:
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.
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.
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
