Lethbridge County is ending its participation in a provincial immigration program.
The County says the conclusion of its run in the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program’s Rural Renewal Stream after two years comes on the heels of changes to provincial and federal policies regarding the number of immigrants coming into Canada.
The goal of the initiative was to attract newcomers to more rural areas of the province, helping boost employment and creating a quicker path to permanent residency.
Lethbridge County joined the program in 2023, and the Town of Taber was tasked with facilitating it on behalf of the County, the M.D. of Taber, Vauxhall, Coaldale, Picture Butte, Milk River, Raymond, Cardston, and Nobleford.
Officials say during those two years, the program helped fill 235 full-time positions at 88 different businesses across the participating municipalities. It was paused last summer for an evaluation and afterwards, the provincial government lowered its annual immigration allocations by half, to 4,875.
The County notes the program proved quite popular, with 49,000 applications still in the queue, but funding from the Settlement, Integration, and Language Projects stream is set to end on March 31. That, combined with the high number of applications and reduced allocations led to the decision for the County to end its participation.
Reeve Tory Campbell says Lethbridge County is grateful to the Town of Taber for facilitating the program. “Many of our businesses have shared how valuable this program has been for them. When council decided to participate in 2023, we saw it as a great opportunity for our business community—benefiting both employees and employers,” he states.
“While we are disappointed that the Rural Renewal program is ending, we remain open to future opportunities that support our businesses in filling employment gaps.”
The Town of Taber, which is ending its participation as well, says it is committed to offering endorsement letters to qualified candidates who submitted their application before the program was paused.
“With provincial immigration allocations cut in half to 4,875 across all six AAIP streams and over 49,000 individuals already in the queue, this was a natural transition point for our participation,” says Amy Allred, the Town of Taber’s Economic Development Manager.
“The reduction in allocations presented increasing challenges for continuing the program, but we are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and grateful for the businesses and communities that helped make it a success.”
Allred adds the Town is pleased to be called the home for many workers and their families that have chosen to settle in the southern Alberta community.
“Taber and our partner communities remain open for business and committed to fostering economic growth and prosperity for all.”
