Ontario Launches Regional Economic Development Through Immigration Pilot Program 

January 24, 2025

 The Ontario government has launched the Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) pilot program to target highly-skilled immigration for four rural and northern regions with a high demand for skilled labour: Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, Sarnia-Lambton, and Thunder Bay. REDI enables local employers in these communities to attract up to 800 additional workers for in-demand careers that drive local economic growth, such as health care, technology, and the skilled trades, which includes construction.

“Our government is growing rural and northern economies and giving them the tools they need to build for the future,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “With REDI, we’re enabling rural and northern businesses to attract the talent they need, by providing a blueprint for targeted economic immigration that strengthens communities and drives our economic prosperity.”

The new REDI pilot will be delivered through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which prioritizes and accelerates skilled immigration to fill in-demand labour needs that cannot currently be met. Through REDI, the four participating regions have 200 additional nominations each through the OINP’s Employer Job Offer streams to strengthen local economic growth.

Internationally trained workers interested in applying for permanent residence under the REDI pilot, who have a job offer from an Ontario employer for a position located in one of the pilot communities, are encouraged to visit the OINP website.

“Our government is creating more opportunities for businesses in rural Ontario to attract more in-demand workers that are essential for driving local economic prosperity,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs. “It is because of programs such as REDI, that help develop skills needed to meet the growing demand in small towns and communities across the province, that we continue to build a strong and prosperous rural Ontario.”

The province is also training over one million local workers for in-demand careers in every corner of the province by investing up to $1.4 billion through the Skills Development Fund Capital and Training Streams in partnership with local employers, including over $250 million to train rural and northern workers to date. The new REDI pilot and investments are part of how the government is building a brighter future for all Ontarians and ensuring our province remains the best place to live, work and raise a family.

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Quick Facts

• The four regions selected for the REDI pilot were identified based on their high demand for skilled labour. The pilot is running for one year from January 2, 2025, until December 31, 2025.
• The REDI pilot builds on the success of the OINP’s 2020 Regional pilot, which allocated approximately 300 nominations through the OINP Employer Job Offer category. Participating communities for the 2020 Regional pilot were: Chatham-Kent, Cornwall, and Belleville/Quinte West.
• Enabling internationally trained newcomers to work in the professions they studied for could increase the province’s GDP by up to $100 billion over five years.
• Ontario is investing $100 million in 2024-25 in settlement and employment services that help newcomers learn English or French, access job-ready training and land careers.
• In 2023, Ontario nominated 2,045 health care workers, including physicians, nurses and personal support workers (PSWs), through the OINP.
• Ontario recently passed the Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 which expanded immigration pathways for self-employed physicians using the OINP, and introduced standards and enforcement mechanisms for immigration representatives who consult on OINP applications.

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