The Town of Sylvan Lake has cancelled its participation in Rural Renewal Stream Program. 

The Town participated in the RRS Program to help employers fill vacant positions through immigration. Despite the cancellation, we are applying what we learned to future programs and services. 

RRS Sylvan Lake Program goals 

  • Support businesses to find employees for difficult to fill, vacant, year-round positions  
  • Attract new long-term residents to the community 
  • Support growth and diversity in the community 

Why cancel the program? 

  • Created unserviceable backlogs
  • Backlog of applications waiting for Government of Alberta approval
  • Application processing created a large workload for the Town of Sylvan Lake, with little return value
  • Did not support long-term living wage jobs

 Affordability and long-term growth 

The program has created difficult situations for candidates. The province requires that candidates live in the community where they work. Our living wage is around $22.00 per hour. Candidates coming into these jobs cannot afford to live in Sylvan Lake long-term and will eventually move on to other opportunities. This does not support our goal of attracting long-term residents. 

Newcomer retention is not just about being a great community. People need to be able to afford to live here and grow their families here. By supporting jobs under a living wage, we may be placing newcomers in a difficult financial position. 

The program created some positive outcomes and helped us: 

  • Build stronger connections with Care for Newcomers and Catholic Social Services. This helped expand our capacity to welcome newcomers in a more meaningful way 
  • Facilitate stronger connections within our newcomer community through the newcomer networking initiative 
  • Learn about immigration as we move forward with any future rural immigration programs 

 The future of immigration in Sylvan Lake 

Administration is committed to welcoming and supporting newcomer integration in our community. The Town of Sylvan Lake is advocating for changes to the Rural Renewal Stream Program and will consider future opportunities to get involved. For those looking to immigrate, Government of Alberta programs include: 

Questions? 

If I already have a letter from the Town but haven’t submitted it to the province yet, may I still submit it?

  • Yes, letters from the town do not expire.

If my prospective employee changes their mind, may I transfer their letter to someone else?

  • No, unfortunately, letters may not be transferred.

If I have already sent my application to the Province with my community letter of support, will my application be cancelled?

  • No, your application will continue to be processed, the Town’s cancellation of the program will not impact your status if you already have a letter from the community.

What other immigration programs are available to me?

Where can I look for information and updates about the program?

Settlement Support Services 

  • Province of Alberta: Immigrate to Alberta
  • Government of Canada: Newcomer Services
  • Care for Newcomers – Regional Settlement Practitioner  
  • Interpretation & Translation, improving English skills, Settlement Support in Schools, community connections, documentation, accessing basic needs, mentorship and volunteer opportunities
  • Central Alberta Immigrant Women’s Association (CAIWA)
  • Driver’s Licence
    • Sylvan Lake Registries Inc. 
    • 150 Pelican Place, Sylvan Lake, Alberta T4S 1K2, Canada 
    • Phone 403 887 2102
    • sylvanlakeregistries.com
    • Email: slregistries@telus.net
  • General Information 
    • Phone: 211 (Interpretation Available)