Province eager for immigrant workers

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This article was published 04/11/2017 (2951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba will soon ask the federal Liberals to let them handpick even more workers from abroad, through a popular program that lets provinces fill labour gaps.

Thus week, Ottawa unveiled its immigration targets for the next three years, which included a boost to the provincial nominee program.

Manitoba has received the largest share of immigrants under that program among all other provinces for almost every year since its 1998 start. In 2016, the province brought in some 9,900 people through the program.

“The nominee program is a great asset for Manitoba’s economy,” Education Minister Ian Wishart wrote Friday. He’s the provincial minister responsible for immigration. “We look forward to further discussions with Ottawa about increasing Manitoba’s annual allocation of nominees for express entry.”

Next year’s federal quota for the program(excluding Quebec) will be from 49,000 to 54,000 workers, with a target of 51,000. In 2016, Canada brought in 46,170 workers, which was on the short end of Ottawa’s admission range. The federal number has almost doubled over the past five years.

Near the end of each year, provinces and territories put forward a requested number of immigrants in a private letter to federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, who then decides how much each area gets. The whole process takes a few weeks.

“Capping PNP application intake is critical because only a certain number of applications can be processed each year,” said Hussen’s spokesman, Hursh Jaswal. He said the numbers are determined by how many applications bureaucrats can process in a reasonable time and what each jurisdiction’s economy needs.

Manitoba uses a points system that favours people who have lived in Manitoba (such as students), people with family ties and especially work experience relevant to the province’s needs.

This year, the province implemented a $500 application fee, saying it would be used to speed up the process.

Census data published last month revealed that more than half of all immigrants to Manitoba have come through the nominee program since its start, and of those three-quarters live in Winnipeg.

The Philippines has been Manitoba’s top source country, and the program has evolved from seeking sewing-machine operators to farmhands and high-tech scientists.

Wishart also praised the federal Liberals on Friday for implementing a plan that looks three years ahead, instead of the mandatory year-ahead due each year on Nov. 1.

“The multi-year levels plan allows for better forward planning,” he said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca