DONOVAN: The urbanization of small-town Canada — rural Canada should reject Ottawa’s radical demographic makeover

Ottawa is redirecting immigration into small and remote communities, a move which threatens to replicate in small-town Canada the same immigration-fuelled social and economic problems plaguing major urban centres.The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) was launched in January 2025, one of the last immigration policies implemented by the Trudeau government. A total of 14 communities are included, ranging from Claresholm in Alberta, Steinbach and Brandon in Manitoba, Peace Liard and West Kootenay in BC, and Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan.At the time, the federal government claimed rural communities “frequently face unique labour market and demographic challenges” and thus would benefit from immigration.Labour shortages and ageing demographics are the two justifications trotted out whenever Ottawa is forced to justify why Canada — not just rural Canada — needs high immigration.These excuses are also regularly debunked by immigration skeptics. One must only think of such examples as the mass movement from Atlantic Canada to Alberta for work in the oil sands, or the yearly seasonal movement of adventurous youth from cities to the deep wilderness for work as tree planters, to see that labour issues can have domestic fixes.The ageing demographics argument has been shredded by numerous academic studies, most recently in a 2025 study by the Migration Policy Institute, which found the only way immigration can address ageing is the surreal option of “continuously increasing the scale of immigration” forever..Since taking power in the spring of 2025, the Carney government has not been shy about shelving Trudeau-era policies when it sees fit, yet the RCIP remains untouched.Interest in the program among foreign nationals is running hot as across-the-board federal cuts to permanent resident admissions propel increasingly desperate prospective immigrants towards specialized pathways they may not have otherwise considered.The way the RCIP works is that local economic development organizations in each community “identify its critical labour gaps, designate trustworthy employers, and recommend suitable candidates” for review by Canada’s Immigration Department.Numerous social media posts have been popping up promoting the RCIP as a viable path to living in Canada. One post by an immigration consultant calls the program a “hidden PR opportunity.” Another post, also by a consultancy, tells of a certain “Mrs. K” who went “from being Out of Status in the US to a new life in rural Canada” through the RCIP, getting approved in just five months and bringing her spouse and four children to Canada. Rural Prosperity Group, an advocacy organization, reports demand for the RCIP “continues to far exceed the limited number of available spots,” noting 800 people have attained permanent residency through the program in the first two months of 2026 alone. Ontario’s Sault Ste. Marie was forced to pause RCIP applications for the month of June this year “due to a high volume of applications received in May.” Many of the communities targeted for increased immigration have comparatively low foreign-born populations relative to Canada’s big cities. In Moose Jaw (pop: 33,600), for instance, roughly nine-in-ten people are white or indigenous. In Steinbach, about 85% of the population is white or indigenous, and the city of 17,800 is known for its deeply rooted Mennonite flair, with a significant number boasting historic German origins..Thus, the small towns designated for increased immigration under the RCIP may well notice a more significant change in the character of their communities than would cities like Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary, with their substantial foreign-born populations. The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality in BC welcomed the inclusion of Peace Liard in the RCIP by proclaiming that the program will “foster diversity, stimulate innovation, and create a vibrant community atmosphere.” Most in rural Canada likely would not see immigration-fuelled change in their community as “vibrant.” Polls indicate opposition to mass immigration rises the further one travels from the major cities. A typical Leger poll from 2024 found that 75% of rural Canadians said immigration is too high, as compared to 62% of those in urban centres. Small-town Canada’s distrust of high immigration is warranted. At their best, small towns are tight-knit communities that reap a rich harvest of high social trust and cohesion. People know and talk to each other, look out for one another, and pitch in for community projects.In Canada’s largest cities, these qualities have been the first casualties of Ottawa’s policy of mass immigration since it was imposed in the early 1990s. Our urban centres now report Eritrean riots (Calgary), clashes between Hindus and Sikhs (Brampton), and an ongoing campaign of intimidation of Jews by pro-Palestine Muslim agitators (Montreal).The experiment of socially engineered cultural “diversity” has already been attempted in Canada’s large cities. There is no need to replicate its failures in small towns. Like so many Trudeau-era programs, the only fix for the RCIP is to abolish it.

DONOVAN: The urbanization of small-town Canada — rural Canada should reject Ottawa’s radical demographic makeover

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