February 23, 2001
Immigrants made Manitoba their home in record numbers in 2000 with an increase of 24 per cent over the previous year, Labour and Immigration Minister Becky Barrett announced today.
"As we enter this new century, we are once again looking to immigration as an important part of our province’s strategy for maintaining a competitive edge in the global markets of tomorrow," said Barrett. "There are over 100 languages spoken in Manitoba, making this province an attractive destination for new Canadians. Manitoba’s cultural diversity and vibrancy is further enriched by recruitment of immigrants to our community."
In 2000, a total of 4,584 immigrants brought their skills, experience, dreams and hard work to Manitoba, up from 3,702 in 1999 and 2,993 in 1998.
Manitoba has encouraged the federal government to grant the same proportion of immigrants to the province as its portion of the Canadian population--3.8 per cent or approximately 7,500 to 8,000 newcomers per year. As the first province to implement both an immigrant promotion and recruitment campaign and the Provincial Nominee Program, Manitoba has been at the forefront in developing proactive and strategic means to increase provincial immigration levels.
The Provincial Nominee Program helps fill vacancies in fields where no skilled workers are available. The top three source countries for Provincial Nominees are the Philippines, Germany and the United Kingdom. The top four occupations selected by Manitoba through the program are welders, nurses, computer programmers and machinists.
The three main classes of immigrants are:
The five provinces that receive the most immigrants are Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba.
"Our government is committed to attracting new immigrants by promoting Manitoba as a preferred immigration destination," added Barrett. "Today we recognize that immigration is not only the story of our past but also the key to our future."
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