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Nominee program, births keep Manitoba's growth rate high

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 06/21/2012 12:12 PM | Comments: 0

Manitoba’s population grew by 16,045 in the past year, exceeding the national growth rate for the third consecutive year, the province announced today.

As of March 31, 1,261,500 people called Manitoba home.

The 1.3 per cent annual increase was the third-highest among Canadian provinces. To put the increase into perspective, Manitoba’s third-largest city, Steinbach, had a population of 13,524 at the time of the 2011 census.

Since last April, nearly 10,300 more individuals came to Manitoba than left for other provinces or countries, nearly matching last year’s total of 10,353.

The main driver of this growth was the record arrival of 16,074 immigrants from around the world, according to Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade Minister Peter Bjornson.

"The Provincial Nominee Program now accounts for more than three-quarters of all new immigrants arriving here," said Bjornson. "It’s been a Manitoba success story."

During the last 12 months, there were 16,483 babies born in Manitoba. This was the highest number of births in the last 17 years and the number has increased for seven consecutive years, Bjornson said.

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