Making Room for Newcomers: How Small Communities are Attracting New Residents

Immigration has been a hot topic in the federal landscape for years, one that seems to be growing in importance to voters across the country. For many in the big cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal, the issue is focused on the high number of newcomers entering too quickly, with not enough resources to manage the inflows. Their concern, driven mostly by the sheer volume of immigrants, is focused more on what immigration will cost, and less on how immigration can produce significant economic and cultural benefits for their communities. This is not, however, the only view on immigration in Canada. Many communities, especially small, rural, and remote communities in Atlantic and Northern Canada, are seeing the exact opposite problem; not enough new people to revitalize shrinking communities and local economies. The question begs: in such an environment, how do small communities attract newcomers away from big cities and into their corner of the world? What is the role of the federal government in assisting municipalities in their goal?

Although the federal government has recently made moves to reduce temporary foreign worker and international student immigration, causing consternation in the Atlantic region, the government does have a few tools for attracting newcomers available to municipalities today. The Atlantic Immigration Program, a joint venture between the federal government and the four provincial governments in the region, allows employers to skip the usual Labour Market Impact Assessment to hire foreign workers, as long as there are no Canadian candidates for the work, and provided the employer meets certain criteria, including operating in the region for at least 2 years and having access to settlement service supports for their newcomer employees. The program has been quite successful since its inception, bringing in 1000 newcomers in 2017 and increasing to 14,500 in 2025. Indeed, the program has been successful enough that the federal government has been increasing the allotments and immigration quotas of the program year-over-year since its induction, despite the prevailing public mood on immigration.

Outside of the Atlantic, rural communities all over the country can avail of the Rural and Northern Immigration Program (RNIP), designed to spread out the benefits of immigration by assessing labour needs in communities of 50,000 population or less, and matching opportunities to incoming migrants with the required skills. The RNIP program is explicitly created for job placements, improving local economic development, and providing support to employers who otherwise may not have found suitable candidates for their roles.

The federal and provincial orders of government are not the only ones working to support their communities with targeted immigration. Local governments across Canada are implementing creative solutions to bring in people with skills that are missing from their community mix. Although rural and remote communities may lack the economic might and labour markets of the big cities, they boast a unique charm all their own, and many are leaning into their uniqueness to create novel incentives to drive people to check out their communities. The City of Saint John, New Brunswick, for example, has repurposed shipping containers from their significant port operations and converted them into shopfronts and residences called the AREA 506 Container Village. Campbellton, NB has spent millions redesigning their waterfront and designing attractions centred on the popular salmon fishing in the region. Other communities, like Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, or Tantramar, New Brunswick host incredible festivals and events in the summertime, focused on local natural elements like the marshlands in  Tantramar or the basin in Bridgewater. Music festivals, especially traditional and folk music, are key for the Atlantic region, and draw tourists and immigrants alike to experience unique cultural offerings, like the Maritime Fiddle Festival in Dartmouth, NS or the annual Folk Festival in Bannerman Park in St John’s, NL.

Indigenous communities, too, are among the major innovators of the region, offering Mi’kma’q storytelling events, craft-making and artisanal demonstrations, kitchen parties, and displays of Indigenous art and traditions. Visitors from all over the world come to the Atlantic region to learn more about indigenous heritage, and many find their new permanent home along the way. Unique cultural touchpoints are a key driver for immigrants and Canadians in other provinces who want to move beyond the tourist experience and engage with something truly real and can be a massive boost to any community working to build its legacy and impact.

What are your communities doing to lean into your uniqueness? How are you leveraging your cultural cachet into placemaking for newcomers, building the economy and the population in the process? Write to us at tyler@strategicsteps.ca and tell us about the creative methods your town is implementing to keep our communities welcoming, diverse, and strong.