Welcoming – that’s how St-Pierre-Jolys Mayor Raymond Maynard describes his southern francophone community. And soon he hopes they will be welcoming a wave of newcomers thanks to a federal immigration pilot project.
Located less than an hour south of Winnipeg, the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys is the only Manitoba francophone community to be included in Ottawa’s Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.
“We feel very privileged that we were chosen to do this,” Maynard told CTV News.
Back in March 2024, the federal government launched the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in francophone minority communities outside of Quebec.
The government said this pilot aims to boost economic development of these communities.
“By welcoming skilled immigrants to these areas, we are addressing labour shortages and economic needs while promoting the benefits of living in a smaller town or city,” Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller said in a news release.
Maynard said the pilot will make it a little easier for immigrants to settle in St-Pierre-Jolys. While he hasn’t been given any indication of how many will be welcomed through the pilot, he hopes it is a lot.
“It’ll be great for our community, because it’ll help our community grow and help bring a diversity of different people, different ethnic groups, to our town which is awesome,” he said.
When asked what his favourite part of living in St-Pierre-Joly, Maynard said it’s an easy answer.
“St-Pierre is a very quiet and a good community where everybody looks after each other,” he said. “If I go on holidays, I don’t even have to ask a neighbour. They’re going to keep an eye on the house. It’s just the way it works in town. Everybody helps each other.”
Rural Manitoba communities tapped for immigration
Other rural Manitoba communities have been tapped for an immigration boost through a second pilot project the federal government is launching – the Rural Community Immigration Pilot.
“The Rural Community Immigration Pilot ensures that rural communities have access to programs that address labour shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need,” the federal government said in a news release.
The cities of Steinbach and Brandon, along with the town of Altona and the Rhineland Municipality, have all been included in the program.
Each community selected for the two pilot projects will be represented by a local economic development organization. This organization will work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to highlight labour gaps, find trustworthy employers, and recommend candidates for permanent residence.
The federal government said work is already underway to get the work up and running.
