The Canadian Trucking Alliance is applauding plans for a five-year federal immigration project meant to help newcomers – including truck drivers – settle in local communities.

Immigrants will be selected for the pilot program based on occupational skills and local needs, including roles from truck drivers to teachers. About 3,000 participants are expected overall.

“[This program] is not just a temporary foreign worker program. It’s a permanent program to give permanent residency to skilled immigrants and their families,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Minister Ahmed Hussen said during a related press scrum.

The trucking industry has a significant driver shortage and as our sector continues to work diligently to attract Canadian citizens to the occupation of truck driver, innovative immigration pilot programs like these will also help will gaps in the labor market while helping the Canadian economy grow,” said Canadian Trucking Alliance president Stephen Laskowski. “Our hope is this program’s success will spur its evolution from a pilot to a permanent program, which will allow all qualifying Canadian fleets, regardless of location, to attract truck drivers from overseas to become Canadian citizens employed in the trucking industry.”

“Filling these driving positions immediately is crucial and this pilot will help do that. As an industry, we are continuing to review and implement both short and long-term solutions to the driver shortage,” added Angela Splinter, CEO of Trucking HR Canada.