The Rural Community Immigration Pilot moves faster than the guides written about it. A community that was open last week can be shut for the rest of the year, and the published closing date is often not what actually closes the window.
We checked all 14 community websites directly today. The positions below are as at 2 November 2026. Nine communities have activity this month. Five are finished for the year.
Every community, as at 2 November 2026
| Community | Status today | November window | What actually closes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Sudbury, ON | Open now | 2 to 6 November | Final 2026 intake. Nothing after this |
| Claresholm, AB | Open now | 1 to 17 November | Three allocations issued per month |
| Pictou County, NS | Open now | 1 to 15 November | About seven recommendations per intake |
| Steinbach, MB | Open now | 2 to 15 November | Seven applications, whichever comes first |
| Brandon, MB | Open, rolling | No windows, continuous | 15 percent of the allocation held for health |
| Altona and Rhineland, MB | Open, rolling | No windows, continuous | Two per employer in food and beverage retail |
| North Okanagan Shuswap, BC | Opens 8 November | 8 to 10 November, see the warning below | Highest scoring candidates selected |
| North Bay, ON | Opens 15 November | 15 to 21 November | Up to 25 recommendations, final 2026 window |
| Moose Jaw, SK | Opens 16 November | 16 to 20 November | Up to 12 recommendations |
| Sault Ste. Marie, ON | Closed for 2026 | None | August was the last intake of the year |
| Timmins, ON | Closed | None | Closed 16 October |
| Thunder Bay, ON | Closed | None | Portal shut at noon on 15 October |
| West Kootenay, BC | Closed for 2026 | None | September was the final intake |
| Peace Liard, BC | Closed | None | Closed at noon on 20 October |
The date on the calendar is not the deadline
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in the program, and November shows it clearly.
Steinbach opened today and the calendar says 15 November. But the published rule is that the window closes on the 15th or when seven applications arrive, whichever happens first. Seven. In a community with hundreds of designated employers, that can be gone in a morning. Steinbach then issues up to five recommendations from those seven, first come and first served, so arriving sixth is not the same as being in the running.
Claresholm runs to 17 November but issues three allocations a month against a total of 36 for the year. Pictou County runs to 15 November and makes roughly seven recommendations per intake.
If your employer is preparing an application for one of these, the useful question is not how many days are left. It is how many places are left.
Occupations that already closed, before the year did
IRCC caps individual occupations within each community. Once a cap is met, that occupation is done for the calendar year even while the community keeps accepting everyone else. These are live examples we confirmed today.
| Community | Occupation | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Moose Jaw, SK | NOC 63200 Cooks | Annual cap reached. Closed for 2026 |
| Moose Jaw, SK | NOC 62010 Retail sales supervisors | Annual cap reached. Closed for 2026 |
| Thunder Bay, ON | NOC 64100 Retail salespersons | Cap met in June. No further applications accepted |
| Steinbach, MB | NOC 14200 Accounting clerks | Listed as no spots available |
| Steinbach, MB | NOC 42202 Early childhood educators | Listed as no spots available |
Being on a priority occupation list in January is no assurance that the same door is open in November. Check the occupation, not just the community.
A trap in the North Okanagan Shuswap dates
Read this one carefully if you are working with that community. Its own intake table prints the fifth window as 8 to 15 November, and directly underneath prints an update shortening it to 8 to 10 November. Both lines are on the page at once.
Treat 10 November as the closing date and confirm with the community before relying on anything later. An applicant who trusts the longer date loses five days they never had.
Eligible and competitive are not the same thing
Several communities publish a minimum score to enter the pool and then select the highest scorers. The gap between those two numbers is where most disappointment lives.
| Community | Minimum to enter the pool | What actually got selected |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Sudbury | 79 points | The cut off is the minimum. No lower scores proceed |
| Timmins | 79 points since 30 July | Same, the floor was raised mid year |
| West Kootenay | 50 points | Most recent published cut off was 93 |
| North Okanagan Shuswap | 50 points | Published cut offs of 91, 93, 94 and 96 across four intakes |
| North Bay | 50 points | Not published. Highest scorers selected monthly |
| Thunder Bay | 50 points | Not published. Monthly draws from the pool |
Clearing 50 in West Kootenay put candidates roughly 43 points short of the people being chosen. Meeting the minimum buys a place in the queue, not a recommendation.
Sault Ste. Marie is closed, and that is worth saying plainly
We are based here, so we get asked constantly. The August window was the final intake of 2026. There is no November window and no 2027 calendar has been published. Employer designation is still possible, which matters if you are planning for next year, but no community recommendation can be issued right now.
If someone is telling you the Sault intake is open this month, they have not checked. More on what is coming in our piece on the points based system expected for 2027.
Nobody has published anything about 2027
We looked at all 14 sites specifically for this. Not one community has published a 2027 intake calendar, a 2027 priority occupation list, or a 2027 allocation figure.
Two communities said something forward looking and both are worth knowing. Claresholm ran a survey to set its 2027 priority sectors, which closed at 11am today. Thunder Bay states plainly that there is no guarantee current priority sectors or occupations will be supported next year.
Anyone publishing confident 2027 occupation lists today is guessing. Treat those claims the way you would treat a weather forecast for next June.
What to do this week
| If you are | This week |
|---|---|
| A candidate with an offer from a designated employer in Sudbury | Your employer must act by 6 November. There is no later window in 2026 |
| A candidate in Steinbach, Pictou County or Claresholm | Treat it as closing today, not on the published date. The caps are small |
| Waiting on North Bay, Moose Jaw or North Okanagan Shuswap | Have everything assembled before the window opens. These run three to seven days |
| In Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Thunder Bay, West Kootenay or Peace Liard | Nothing to submit this year. Use the time on employer designation and language scores |
| Without a job offer at all | No community accepts candidate applications directly. The offer comes first, always |
Common questions
Can I apply to RCIP myself? No. Only a designated employer can submit for a community recommendation, and only while an intake is open. There is no candidate portal you can use on your own.
Does a recommendation guarantee permanent residence? No. The community recommendation supports a permanent residence application to IRCC, which assesses eligibility and admissibility separately.
Should I pay someone who promises me a job offer? No. Claresholm puts this bluntly on its own website, warning that anyone who does not put you in direct contact with the employer should not be trusted. That is good advice and it applies in every community.
Why do the dates keep moving? Communities run these pilots locally with small teams and fixed allocations. Timmins cancelled two scheduled windows this year. Schedules change without notice, which is why a check in October tells you very little in November.
The honest summary
November is busier than October, but it is also the end of the runway. Sudbury, North Bay and West Kootenay have all described their current or upcoming window as the last of 2026. For most communities, what does not happen this month waits until a 2027 calendar nobody has published yet.
The communities worth your attention today are Sudbury, which closes on 6 November, and Steinbach, where seven applications end the window regardless of the date.
Sources
Every position above was taken from the community’s own website on 2 November 2026: Invest Sudbury, North Bay and District Chamber, Timmins EDC, Sault Ste. Marie EDC, Thunder Bay CEDC, Steinbach EDC, Economic Development Brandon, Altona and Rhineland, Moose Jaw and District Chamber, Town of Claresholm, West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap, Peace Liard and Pictou County Partnership.
General information only, current on 2 November 2026, and not legal advice. Intake dates and caps change without notice. Confirm every detail with the community and on canada.ca before acting, and speak with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant about your own situation. No recommendation, invitation or permanent residence outcome is guaranteed.
Reviewed by Mary Unogwu Ogenyi-Igoche, RCIC-IRB R731653, Ubuntu Worldwide Immigration Consulting Inc., regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
