Keep Families Together Sunshine Coast

05/16/2026

🇨🇦 The Government of Canada has opened public consultations for the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan.

This is an opportunity for workers, employers, families, and rural communities like the Sunshine Coast to share feedback on:

✔ Workforce retention
✔ Labour shortages
✔ Tourism and service sector needs
✔ Family stability
✔ Rural immigration pathways
✔ Regional economic sustainability

KFTSC encourages community participation to help ensure rural workforce realities are included in future immigration planning.

📅 Consultation open until June 14, 2026

🔗 Official consultation:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/consultations/2026-consultations-immigration-levels.html

05/15/2026

📢 This survey is regarding the proposed changes to Express Entry program requirements and the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and how these changes may affect Temporary Foreign Workers and families on the Sunshine Coast.

Your participation will help support community awareness and ongoing advocacy discussions.

📝 Click here to participate in the survey:

https://forms-formulaires.alpha.canada.ca/en/id/cmnyzn0id00t1x3012c3ytb7d

OUR VOICE MATTERS – HELP SHAPE EXPRESS ENTRY 2026

The Government of Canada is officially seeking feedback on major Express Entry reforms for 2026. This is a rare, direct chance for us on the Sunshine Coast to tell IRCC that the current system needs to work for rural communities, not just big cities.

At Keep Families Together – Sunshine Coast (KFTSC), we are pushing for a system that values people, not just "high points."
What we are fighting for:

✅ Recognition of TEER 2–5 Occupations: Our retail, food service, and healthcare workers are the backbone of this Coast. They deserve a clear path to stay.

✅ Rural Reality: Points shouldn't be based on "big city" wages. We need a system that understands the cost of living and the lower wage scales in towns like Sechelt.

✅ Family First: We need strong support for family pathways like SOWP (Spousal Open Work Permits). A community is only strong when families can stay together!

✅ Contribution over Capital: It’s time to value real community contribution, not just a high-salary paycheck.

📅 DEADLINE: May 24, 2026
Your feedback takes less than 10 minutes but could change the future for many families in our community. Please click the link below, select the "Express Entry 2026" consultation, and make your voice heard.

👇 SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK HERE:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/consultations/2026-consultation-express-entry-reforms.html

05/12/2026

🇨🇦 STRONG FAMILIES. STRONG COMMUNITIES. STRONG COAST.

Many working families across the Sunshine Coast are now facing uncertainty following the January 21, 2025 changes to Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) eligibility.

Across Sechelt, Gibsons, and surrounding communities, workers in retail, hospitality, tourism, grocery, food service, and other essential sectors continue supporting local businesses and rural workforce stability every day.

These workers are not just employees.

They are:
✔ Neighbours
✔ Parents
✔ Taxpayers
✔ Long-term community members
✔ Part of the Sunshine Coast economy

KFTSC respectfully calls for:

🔹 Clear guidance for rural workers and families affected by recent SOWP changes
🔹 Recognition of essential rural service-sector occupations
🔹 Policies that support workforce stability and family unity in communities like the Sunshine Coast

Because when families are stable, communities are stronger.

📌 IRCC Eligibility Guidelines:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html

05/11/2026

🌷 Happy Mother’s Day from KFTSC 🇨🇦

Today, we celebrate the love, strength, and sacrifices of mothers in every family and every community.

At KFTSC, we recognize the many international families across the Sunshine Coast working hard to build stable and meaningful lives while contributing to our local community every day.

Behind every immigration journey is a real family:
A mother supporting her children.
A spouse helping build a future.
A family hoping to stay together and grow together.

This Mother’s Day, we honor all mothers, grandmothers, wives, and mother figures whose care and resilience keep families strong — both near and far from home.

Wishing everyone across the Sunshine Coast a peaceful, joyful, and meaningful Mother’s Day. 💐

05/05/2026

Thank you to the Government of British Columbia for opting in to these temporary measures—we recognize this as an important step.

However, a critical gap remains: it is not yet clear whether dependents are eligible under this program.

Our spouses are already working and contributing to the economy of the Sunshine Coast, and our children are enrolled in local schools and are part of this community. These are not temporary ties—these are families building their lives here.

Families would greatly benefit from clear guidance and certainty.

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to further clarification.

8 likes, 1 comment. "Estado ng TFWs at kanilang mga pamilya sa rural communities | OMNI News Filipino"

05/05/2026

🇨🇦Keep Families Together Sunshine Coast (KFTSC)

With recent federal movement toward faster permanent residency for workers already contributing in rural communities, this is a key moment for coordinated action.

We are calling on federal and provincial governments to address labour shortages and long-term workforce stability on the Sunshine Coast.

🇨🇦 Federal Priorities

🎯 Restore Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) eligibility for TEER 2 & 3 Supervisors (Food & Retail)
→ Reduce family separation
→ Improve retention in essential sectors

🔗 https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html

🎯 Create permanent residency pathways for TEER 4 & 5 workers
→ Address rural labour shortages
→ Support a reimagined immigration system aligned with labour market realities and community contributions
→ Supported by findings from the HUMA Committee and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission brief

🔗https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/451/HUMA/Brief/BR13928895/br-external/CanadaEmploymentInsuranceCommission-e.pdf

🔗 https://www.ourcommons.ca/committees/en/HUMA/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=13196142

🎯 Expand the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) to include the Sunshine Coast
→ Provide a direct, community-driven pathway to permanent residency
→ Address persistent rural labour shortages
→ Ensure workers already living and contributing locally can stay long-term
→ Align with federal goals of regional immigration and rural economic development

🔗 https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/rural-northern-immigration-pilot/community-interest.html

🏛️ Provincial Priorities (BC)

🎯 Strengthen BC PNP access for rural essential workers on the Sunshine Coast

→ Focus on key sectors: tourism, hospitality, food service, retail, and community services
→ Align selection with real labour shortages in rural communities
→ Ensure TEER 2–5 workers in essential roles have realistic pathways to retention and permanent residency

📢 Why This Matters

Essential workers are already sustaining our rural economy, especially in tourism and local services.

👉 They are not temporary — they are foundational to community stability.

💬 If workers are essential enough to build our communities, they are essential enough to keep their families together.

05/04/2026

🇨🇦 IRCC Update – May 4, 2026
Filling labour gaps by accelerating PR for 33,000 workers

Key Points:

* ✔ Canada will fast-track permanent residence (PR) for up to 33,000 workers in 2026–2027
* ✔ Focus is on smaller, rural, and remote communities facing labour shortages
* ✔ Applies to workers who:
* Have already applied for PR through programs like PNP, AIP, community pilots, caregiver, or AgriFood
* Have lived in smaller communities for 2+ years
* ✔ Priority is given to workers already contributing to local economies
* ✔ This is part of a one-time In-Canada Workers Initiative (Budget 2025)
* ✔ IRCC will process applications from existing PR inventory faster

⸻

Official News Release:
🔗 https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2026/04/filling-labour-gaps-in-smaller-communities-by-accelerating-permanent-residence-for-33000-workers.html

04/28/2026

OUR VOICE MATTERS – HELP SHAPE EXPRESS ENTRY 2026

The Government of Canada is officially seeking feedback on major Express Entry reforms for 2026. This is a rare, direct chance for us on the Sunshine Coast to tell IRCC that the current system needs to work for rural communities, not just big cities.

At Keep Families Together – Sunshine Coast (KFTSC), we are pushing for a system that values people, not just "high points."
What we are fighting for:

✅ Recognition of TEER 2–5 Occupations: Our retail, food service, and healthcare workers are the backbone of this Coast. They deserve a clear path to stay.

✅ Rural Reality: Points shouldn't be based on "big city" wages. We need a system that understands the cost of living and the lower wage scales in towns like Sechelt.

✅ Family First: We need strong support for family pathways like SOWP (Spousal Open Work Permits). A community is only strong when families can stay together!

✅ Contribution over Capital: It’s time to value real community contribution, not just a high-salary paycheck.

📅 DEADLINE: May 24, 2026
Your feedback takes less than 10 minutes but could change the future for many families in our community. Please click the link below, select the "Express Entry 2026" consultation, and make your voice heard.

👇 SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK HERE:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/consultations/2026-consultation-express-entry-reforms.html

04/27/2026

Our Advocacy Continues:

While this is a welcome development, it remains a temporary measure. The priorities of Keep Families Together Sunshine Coast remain unchanged:

• Family Stability: Ensuring the renewal and continuation of status for dependents already living in our community.
• Long‑Term Inclusion: Advancing the case for the Sunshine Coast to be formally included in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP).

Progress for the Sunshine Coast

Today marks an important step forward for our region. The Government of British Columbia has confirmed its participation in the federal temporary measures under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

This development offers meaningful relief to local employers and supports the retention of the dedicated workers who contribute so much to the stability and wellbeing of the Sunshine Coast.

Acknowledging Our Partners We extend our sincere appreciation to the leaders and offices whose support has helped move this forward:

• The Honourable David Eby, Premier of British Columbia

• The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

• The Honourable Randene Neill and staff’s, MLA for Powell River–Sunshine Coast,

• The Honourable Patrick Weiler, Norman & Ms. Donna Bell, MP for West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country

A special thank‑you is also extended to Sechelt Mayor John Henderson for Sechelt.

We also recognize the core employers of Keep Families Together. Your resilience, advocacy, and commitment to your workers and their families have been central to achieving this progress.

Our Advocacy Continues

While this is a welcome development, it remains a temporary measure. The priorities of Keep Families Together Sunshine Coast remain unchanged:

• Family Stability: Ensuring the renewal and continuation of status for dependents already living in our community.

• Long‑Term Inclusion: Advancing the case for the Sunshine Coast to be formally included in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP).

This is a moment of progress, but not the end of our work. We will continue collaborating with all levels of government and our local business partners to secure long‑term, sustainable solutions for the families and employers who call the Sunshine Coast home.

With appreciation to:
Patty Hajdu
Buckley Belanger MP
Mayor Silas White
Sunshine Coast Chamber of Commerce
Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast
Sechelt Downtown Business Association
Sunshine Coast Regional District

BC official Statement: https://shorturl.at/o2rT4

IRCC official TFWP link https://shorturl.at/PGRAV

04/25/2026

Get familiar with some of the Sunshine Coast film locations you might recognize from the hit TV series, Murder in a Small Town.