St. Paul area communities designated under Rural Renewal Stream

County of St. Paul, including the Town of St Paul, the Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay, has been designated under the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program’s Rural Renewal Stream (RRS).

The RRS addresses current labour needs and skill shortages in rural Alberta communities and helps newcomers settle into the community.

This stream is community-driven and once designated the community works with employers to attract, recruit and retain newcomers by sharing information on settlement supports.

The RRS designation enables employers working through the program to provide foreign nationals with employment, surpassing the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and allowing the foreign national to enter directly into the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program.

The RRS designation was applied for and will be administered by STEP Economic Development Alliance on behalf of the municipalities, with the support of the St. Paul & District Chamber of Commerce, the Elk Point Chamber of Commerce, the Portage Community Adult Learning Program (CALP) and other community partners.

“STEP’s previous work with the Rural Development Network to assess the needs of newcomers to rural communities prepared us for the successful application,” STEP Chair and County Councillor Darrell Younghans said in a press release.

“While the communities have been recruiting medical professionals through their own efforts, more was needed to be done to attract labour to the region.”

To be eligible for the program, businesses must be located within the boundaries of the County of St. Paul, inclusive of the Towns of St. Paul and Elk Point and the Summer Village, must have permanent, full time positions they are unable to fill, and good standing with federal, provincial and municipal regulations. STEP will work towards standing up the program within the next four weeks and once completed, details of the RRS program will be advertised and made available online.

Cold Lake was already approved for designation under the Rural Renewal Stream just a week ago.