A key speaker at an immigration conference feels Thunder Bay is getting better at promoting itself to newcomers.
David Campbell is the President of Jupia Consultants Inc, an economic development and planning firm, and the former Chief Economist with the Government of New Brunswick. He spoke about why immigration is key to economic success and says the city is doing a good job promoting the jobs that are available to newcomers.
“Certainly attracting a lot more international students is a good thing because many of those would like to stay in Canada and we have to find ways to encourage them to stay. I think there has been a lot of work done on that front,” Campbell said.
The keynote speaker at the immigration conference adds having community partners come together also helps retain those newcomers who have already moved to our city.
The one-day conference included local immigration partners, employers, service providers, and post-secondary and government officials.
“According to Statistics Canada, the number of immigrants settling in the Thunder Bay region rose from only 114 in 2009 to 1,154 in 2018, a 10-fold increase,” remarked Campbell.
During the information session on Tuesday, the Thunder Bay Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program was discussed as a valuable recruitment and retention strategy for Thunder Bay.
