Manitoba's Action Strategy for Economic Growth
Growing Immigration
The Manitoba government has acted on PEAC’s recommendation to make
immigration a central feature of the province’s growth strategy.
Manitoba set a bold target – to attract 10,000 immigrants to Manitoba annually – and the goal has been achieved. Manitoba’s immigration increased 24% in 2006 – its highest level in half a century – significantly outpacing the national performance.
The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program has been instrumental in achieving this goal. This program, which allows Manitoba to recruit and select immigrants to meet the province’s unique economic and labour needs, has proven very successful. Manitoba accounted for fully half of all provincial nominees who came to Canada in 2006.
Based on this record, Manitoba has set another target – to double immigration over the next 10 years. To reach this goal, Manitoba will strengthen and extend its successful partnerships with employers, educators and communities. New funding will be provided for settlement services and targeted training, and new legislation will be introduced to improve recognition of foreign qualifications.
Our success in attracting and retaining immigrants is based in large part on Manitoba’s innovative approach to helping immigrants settle and succeed in our province. Manitoba supports a range of immigrant economic development initiatives including:
- settlement services
- language training and English as an Additional Language services
- labour market integration, and
- ethno-cultural community support and anti-racism initiatives.
These are designed to ensure that newcomers enjoy a positive start in Manitoba, enabling them to connect to employment and training opportunities and establish roots in Manitoba communities.
