Manitoba Labour and Immigration

For information about immigrating and settling in Manitoba visit www.immigratemanitoba.com

Manitoba Immigration - the Immigration Division of Manitoba Labour and Immigration - is responsible for driving our province's economic growth through immigration through two essential programs:

Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)
Manitoba Immigrant Integration Program (MIIP)

The foundation of both of these programs is the Canada-Manitoba Immigration Agreement. The CMIA is the basis for our ongoing and direct partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program

The MPNP is responsible for the selection of economic immigrants according to criteria that are consistent with the provisions of the CMIA. The MPNP has two different selection processes, one for skilled workers and one for entrepreneurs.

All applicants approved by the MPNP become provincial nominees. Nominees must then apply to CIC for a permanent resident visa. CIC has the final authority to issue a permanent resident visa to any applicant if they are found to be true economic immigrants who pass security and medical background checks.

Workers selected for long-term employability

The MPNP selects skilled workers according to their employability in the Manitoba labour market as determined by minimum criteria for age, education and training, work experience and language ability, and according to their adaptability as determined by their financial resources, current or previous employment in Manitoba, and/or their likelihood of long-term settlement in Manitoba as demonstrated by the Settlement Plan they submit with their application as well as the support of relatives, friends and communities. The level of education, work experience and language ability required depends upon the skilled worker's intended occupation.

Entrepreneurs require viable business plan

The MPNP selects entrepreneurs or business immigrants according to a business plan that meets current requirements including a successful Exploratory Visit to Manitoba, a successful interview with MPNP immigration officers, and the ability to demonstrate sufficient net worth and business management experience necessary to implement their business plan. Applications by entrepreneurs to the MPNP are assessed by the staff of the PNP-Business unit within Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade.

Annual levels set with CIC

Manitoba Immigration submits all Certificates of Nomination for both skilled workers and entrepreneurs directly to the visa offices of CIC according to the annual levels plan agreed to with the federal government. The successful provincial nominee must submit a permanent resident visa application to the local visa office and then, once the permanent visa has been issued, travel directly to Manitoba to begin working or starting a business according to the terms of their nomination.

Continuum of Service

Manitoba Immigration supports a "continuum of service" approach through which we link the immigrants we select directly to the pre-arrival and post-arrival settlement services they need to establish successfully in Canada.

The continuum begins at the point of application itself, where an electronic application tool, MPNP Online, assists candidates to determine whether they are qualified and guides them to submit complete applications, with supporting documentation, to hasten processing.

Manitoba Immigrant Integration Program

Manitoba Immigration provides funding directly to settlement service agencies through the MIIP, a program established jointly with CIC through the CMIA, with financial support from the Government of Canada and Province of Manitoba.

This funding is provided through contribution agreements signed with non-government agencies to deliver settlement services consistent with Manitoba Immigration's Settlement Strategy, consistent with the terms of the CMIA and MIIP guidelines.

Pre-arrival services

Pre-arrival services for Manitoba-destined immigrants are delivered with a variety of online tools including settlement planning resources, the Working in Manitoba Tool, an interactive planning workbook and an interactive, teacher-supported, distance-learning website called Manitoba START, our pre-arrival focal point to begin preparing themselves for labour market success soon after they arrive in Manitoba.

In some countries immigrants can take advantage of the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program. CIIP provides pre-arrival orientation services once they have cleared the medical and security background checks that are part of the permanent resident visa application process.

Manitoba START is also the first stop for newcomers arriving in Winnipeg to begin their post-arrival settlement path. Similar services are available in the different regions of Manitoba through settlement service hubs in centres such as Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Thompson, Neepawa, Winkler and Steinbach.

At Manitoba START, newcomers to Winnipeg are registered for settlement services and referred to the Winnipeg English Language Assessment and Referral Centre. At WELARC immigrant's language skills are assessed and they placed in the appropriate Adult English as an Additional Language class.

Our province's extensive network of Adult English as an Additional Language (Adult EAL) classes and programs are overseen by the Adult Language Training Branch of Manitoba Immigration.

Manitoba START also connects newcomers to an immigrant employment counsellor to assist them with a career plan, including assistance with qualifications recognition for regulated occupations and with job matching with available employment opportunities. In the different regions of Manitoba, our settlement service centres work closely with Employment Manitoba to ensure that newcomers receive high quality labour market supports.

Services for francophones, refugees

Government and privately sponsored refugees begin their settlement journey in Winnipeg with special reception agencies — Accueil Francophone.

These specialized reception agencies ensure that those newcomers with special needs receive the professional supports they require quickly through agencies including Family Centre, NEEDS (for refugee youth) and Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, which provides housing and other programs. Professional interpreter services are made available by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and efforts are being made to expand access to other sectors such as justice and other systems.

Settlement supports

After newcomers have received the arrival orientation and employment supports they need to get started in Manitoba, they can take advantage of ongoing settlement integration supports available to them throughout the city and throughout the province.

In Winnipeg, the Immigrant Centre provides assistance with a variety of settlement needs including documentation, housing, volunteer language tutors and citizenship test preparation.

Neighbourhood settlement services are available throughout Winnipeg through schools, community centres and clinics to provide ongoing assistance to newcomers wherever they settle.

Settlement agencies such as Westman Immigrant Services in Brandon, South Central Immigrant Services in Morden, Altona and Winkler, and Eastman Immigrant Services in Steinbach provide settlement supports to immigrants in those communities and environs.

Other programs and services

Manitoba Immigration also provides additional immigration and settlement services.

General immigration information is provided by the trained staff of Manitoba Immigration to members of the public including immigrants along with referral to the local and regional offices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada or Service Canada.

Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) can receive advice directly from our staff or through our various settlement service providers related to answering their immigration status questions, and receive assistance from Employment Standards, Workplace Safety and Health and others.

Manitoba employers can receive recruitment assistance directly from Manitoba Immigration by being connected with the job-matching services of Manitoba START or with one of the international job-matching agreements with official employment agencies in countries including the Philippines, Iceland, France and Germany.

Employers can also receive assistance from Manitoba Immigration staff with completing the application for a Manitoba business registration, required under the Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, and for the federal Labour Market Opinion necessary to recruit a temporary foreign worker.

Employers and newcomers can benefit from English At Work, programs in which Manitoba Immigration and the employer partner to provide professional language training at the workplace. Manitoba Immigration will also connect employers with workplace cultural integration supports provided by Diversity and Intercultural Training.

Newcomers requiring assistance with the recognition of international credentials in order to secure employment are served by Manitoba Immigration's Academic Credentials Assessment Service (ACAS). Limited financial supports for those who are beginning the licensing process for regulated professions are provided through Manitoba Immigration's Credentials Recognition Program.