In Brooks, Alta., where immigration has helped fill labour shortages and reshape the local economy, business owners and local officials are watching closely as a series of referendum questions on provincial immigration policy heads to voters this month.
Mitchell Iwaasa, Brooks’ Economic Development Officer, said finding skilled workers remains difficult for local businesses. Brooks was the first community designated under the Rural Renewal Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, which helps rural communities recruit newcomers to address labour shortages. According to Iwaasa, Brooks has endorsed more than 300 candidates for permanent residency through the program.
One beneficiary of the stream is Jasmeet Singh, a 25-year-old who came to Canada from Delhi in 2023 and now works as an accounting technician at iThrive Bookkeeping in Brooks. He is on a work permit and has been endorsed by the city to support his application for permanent residency. His employer, iThrive Bookkeeping CEO Nancy Lassiter, said she struggled to fill the position locally, noting that Canadian applicants either already had jobs or were not interested in working for a small startup.
Economic Roots of Local Growth
Iwaasa traced much of Brooks’ demographic shift to the city’s largest employer, the JBS meat-packing plant, which has more than 3,000 employees in a community of about 17,000. As the company struggled to find enough workers locally and elsewhere in Canada, it increasingly recruited internationally, and many of those newcomers went on to settle permanently in Brooks. Iwaasa said the community has benefited as many of those workers stayed, grew roots, and started their own businesses, adding that multiculturalism has itself become part of the city’s draw.
Among those entrepreneurs is Deyanira “Dey” Fournier, who came to Canada from Venezuela more than 20 years ago. She and her fiancé recently opened Tacos el Profe in Brooks, which she described as busy and well-supported by the community. Fournier said she hopes to eventually expand the business to Calgary.
Referendum Questions and Proposed Fees
Albertans will vote Oct. 19 on 10 referendum questions, including one on the province’s future in Canada and five specifically concerning immigration. Those questions ask whether Alberta should seek greater control to reduce immigration to what the ballot describes as “more sustainable levels,” prioritize economic migration, and give Albertans first priority for new jobs. Voters will also be asked about restricting access to provincially funded programs based on immigration status, requiring some temporary residents to live in Alberta for 12 months before accessing social supports, charging some temporary residents fees to use health and education systems, and requiring proof of Canadian citizenship to vote provincially.
Premier Danielle Smith said this week that the government is considering a health-care premium of about $1,900 for some temporary residents if Albertans support the related referendum question, though she noted no final fee has been set and the referendum itself would not automatically impose one. Smith said permanent residents who commit to a lifetime in Alberta should be entitled to the same programs as citizens, but that temporary residents “should really pay their own way.” She said the province’s rapid population growth — roughly 600,000 new residents over the past five years — has strained services and infrastructure including schools and hospitals.
It remains unclear what effect, if any, the referendum could have on programs such as the Rural Renewal Stream. Iwaasa said immigration is important to Brooks’ economic growth and diversity, and that anything restricting immigration to the community would not be a benefit.
Weighing Growth Against Pressure on Services
Singh declined to comment directly on the referendum questions but said his goal is to make his life in Alberta permanent. Lassiter said she understood the concerns driving the broader debate over immigration levels, saying she believes the balance was “tipped a few years ago” and that governments need to weigh whether housing, health care and other infrastructure can keep pace with population growth.
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