Filling Labour Market Shortages: The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Deb Fehr Barkman, Director Immigration Promotion and Recruitment Branch Manitoba Labour and Immigration February 2007

Overview Manitoba’s Immigration Directions Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Facilitating Temporary Foreign Workers to Manitoba Manitoba’s New Initiatives

Manitoba’s Immigration Directions 1996 – Canada-Manitoba Immigration Agreement 1998 – Provincial Nominees and Settlement Services 2003 – Manitoba Action Strategy for Economic Growth – 10,000 immigrants 2006 – Manitoba seeks 20,000 immigrants/year by 2016

Immigration To Canada by Destination Province 2006 (preliminary) Source: Citizenship and Immigration CanadaPrepared by Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Manitoba Immigration Levels 7,4276,4924,6214,5883,7114,6443,0148,097 9,989 Source: Citizenship and Immigration CanadaPrepared by Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Shifting Trends Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada Federal Immigration Streams Provincial Nominees Prepared by Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Manitoba Immigration by Top Source Countries Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada Prepared by Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) The Provincial Nominee Program is a tool to facilitate application processing due to: Ability to expedite processing Meet regional needs Provide flexible and dynamic responses

How does the Provincial Nominee Program work? Partnership with Families, Communities, Employers and Post-Secondary Institutions Applicants with Strong Connections to Manitoba Diversity of Immigration Streams Entrepreneurs and Farmers Employers and Temporary Workers Family Supported Skilled Workers International Students Strategic Initiatives with Industry, Regional and Ethno-cultural Communities

What is Manitoba’s Role in the Recruitment of Temporary Foreign Workers? Temporary Foreign Workers: Meet immediate employer needs Provincial Nominee Program: Meet long term labour market needs Contribute to community development Positively affect demographics

Choosing Canada’s Foreign Worker or the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Temporary Foreign Workers: Address immediate labour market needs Not prepared to make a permanent job offer Provincial Nominees: Part of a long term human resource plan Permanent job offers Direct role in screening and selecting workers

MPNP Accessible to Temporary Foreign Workers Candidates are eligible to apply to the MPNP if they: Have worked in Manitoba for a minimum of six months Have a valid work permit Have a permanent full time employment offer

New Initiatives Recruitment of Temporary Foreign Workers Abroad (i.e. partnership with German Federal Employment Service (ZAV)) Canada – Manitoba Working Group on Temporary Foreign Workers