COLD LAKE - City of Cold Lake council discussed an uptick in applications to the municipality's Rural Renewal Stream (RRS) in a recent Corporate Priorities Meeting on March 18 - a trend attributed to the suspension or termination of similar programs in approximately 10 other Alberta communities.
Andrew Serba, manager of economic development, communications, and strategy, provided an update on the current state of the RRS. He noted that the program had previously achieved a balance between job demand and the availability of nominations through the program, however, there has been a shift.
"That has changed a little in the last month or so, as about 10 communities have paused or completely ended their Rural Renewal Stream programs."
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This development has led to increased interest in Cold Lake's program, Serba explained.
"While we do believe that this wave will subside, we'll also note that immigration targets in Canada are continually being revised downward, and this is affecting access to the Rural Renewal Stream itself."
To illustrate the impact of these changes, Serba provided specific figures.
"In 2024, all streams of the AAIP, or Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, had 9,942 nominations allocated to them."
In 2025, AAIP nomination allocations were reduced to 4,875, with 3,978 applications already submitted – 82 per cent of the total available.
Focusing on the RRS specifically, Serba added, "Getting into specifics for the Rural Renewal Stream itself, in 2024, 1,830 nominations were allocated to the program."
"While for 2025 that number is 950. And the program has already received over 1,190 applications for those nominations," he continued.
Despite the surge in applications, Cold Lake's program continues to process nominations.
Cold Lake has issued 299 nomination letters, with 172 nominations already granted and 11 awaiting the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC's) decision, excluding the recent application surge.
Serba expressed confidence that the demand would stabilize.
"Administration feels that the demand for the program should equalize once again to a relatively manageable level, although it should be noted that because of the expression of interest system that the AIP is using along with the scoring system which ranks the applicants, even applicants who apply later in the process could ultimately be successful, especially if their application covers a labour market demand that the government begins to prioritize."
He warned that expanding the program could lead to a surge in applications.
"Ultimately, the administration feels that for the time being, the Cold Lake program is properly scaled by the last set of restrictions that were imposed, and we could continue to see some success throughout this year."
Mayor Craig Copeland asked whether the success of applications is being tracked and if a report is provided on the outcomes.
Serba explained that success tracking is not currently in place, noting that the program was originally intended as a pilot and was expected to involve only two or three communities.
Serba said many applicants don't grant permission to share their information with municipalities, and while that changed later, applications with consent haven't been processed yet. Success stories have been based on anecdotal evidence from employers and previous applicants.
