In the province of Saskatchewan Canadian immigration has already generated growth in small communities and continues to receive investment.

While some provinces are just starting to promote immigration as a way to increase the population of small communities, Saskatchewan is already reaping the rewards of its previous investments. The thriving immigrant community in Saskatchewan has come about after substantial investment was made in the Provincial Nomination Program. This is set to continue as the province is set invest $2.69 million into immigration over the course of the next two years.

Rob Norris, Canadian immigration minister for the Saskatchewan province says:
“30 per cent are locating outside of Regina and Saskatoon and while there is still a significant focus on Regina and Saskatoon, we are seeing a greater geographic distribution and that’s very healthy.”

Nursing is one industry where there has been a major growth in migrant numbers. Nearly 100 registered nurses who made the move to Canada from the Philippines have been hired for hard-to-recruit positions. An additional 30 nurses who will be working in rural health care centres and hospitals will arrive in August. 109 entrepreneurial immigrants were selected in 2008 and 400 new jobs will appear soon from their investments.

In 2008, nearly 3,000 individuals were selected from their Canada visa application for fast track permanent residency. Their spouses and children bring that total up to over 10,000.

The Saskatchewan province’s population is now the highest it has been in 20 years, at 1,027,092 largely due to immigration.

Norris says:
“This new strategy draws on our multicultural heritage to strengthen our communities. When you can bring people together with different backgrounds, cultures, world views and ideas, they all have something special to contribute.”