People & Places
Manitoba Q&A
Ben Rempel of the Manitoba immigration department answers Andrew Collier's questions.
What does Manitoba have to offer prospective immigrants?
If you're looking for a welcoming new home for your family, Manitoba is a clear choice. Located at the centre of Canada, Manitoba offers excellent job opportunities, friendly, multicultural communities - both urban and rural - and a high standard of living. The province offers affordable housing, quality education and thriving cultural and sports scenes. Manitoba is also a healthy, natural outdoor playground that provides residents with an abundance of fresh air, clean water, green parks, sandy beaches and sparkling lakes.
Manitoba has room to grow with opportunities for you and your family. We take pride in our high-quality education system, affordable housing and public services such as healthcare. Manitoba is home to people of more than 200 nationalities, so no matter what part of the world you come from, you'll always find neighbours with a similar background.
Manitoba is home to a vibrant arts scene, with local live music, theatre, dance, art galleries, museums and four seasons of festivals. These include Folklorama, the world's largest cultural festival, the Festival du Voyageur, a winter celebration of Manitoba's French-Canadian heritage, and the Trappers'Festival that celebrates northern and Aboriginal history.
Do you think Manitoba is migrant-friendly?
Each year more than 10,000 newcomers make Manitoba their home. We understand that immigrating to a new country can be very challenging. We have a wide range of programmes and services to assist you while you settle in. Provincial government staff will guide newcomers and provide advice about resources to help you settle and connect with employment. We will also recommend useful programmes, services and resources to help you adapt to life in your new province/country.
Moreover, diverse cultures give you the opportunity to be you, because Manitoba cherishes cultural diversity. Winnipeg, the capital city, is still the meeting place of nations, founded at the forks of two mighty rivers, the Red and the Assiniboine, thousands of years ago. Over 200 languages are spoken here, in a wide range of shops, community centres and places of worship. Manitobans care, as shown by our having the highest rate of volunteerism in Canada.
How do the main cities compare with other major Canadian cities and what do they offer?
Big city vibe with small centre affordability. World-class culture for every taste means you can choose from theatre, symphony, contemporary dance, art, and dozens of museums. You can see what's on tap at the local pub and cheer for your favourite sports club. Winnipeg, the capital city, boasts a reputation for the greatest number of restaurants per person in Canada, as well as the highest number of sunny days. You will have time for your family, since the average commuting distance to work in Winnipeg is less than six kilometres, the lowest of any Canadian city with a population over 500,000. About half the province's 1.2 million live in Winnipeg, while the rest reside in more than 200 smaller cities, towns, villages and First Nations (land reserved for Canada's aboriginal people).
What is the landscape like in the Prairies - as flat as the stereotype?
Look again. Manitoba is a province of memorable contrasts - north and south, urban and rural. You'll find gentle slopes at Clear Lake at Riding Mountain National Park and rocky shores at Whiteshell Provincial Park. You can lose yourself in the sand dunes of Grand Beach or find yourself among neighbours in accessible, affordable lakeside cottage country. Manitoba is the province of 100,000 lakes, home to beluga whales and polar bears in the north and rich, rolling farm lands in the south. The many beautiful provincial parks are year-round havens for campers, fishers, hikers and lovers of the great outdoors. Enjoy summer walks along Winnipeg's river banks. In winter join the crowds on the longest continuous ice skating rink in the world on the river trail starting at The Forks.
The prairies are coping remarkably well with the recession - why do you think this is?
Manitoba's economic diversity means job opportunities and the cost of living do not jump up or drop down suddenly like other provinces. Farming and agri-food, manufacturing, telecommunications, aerospace, information technology, healthcare, mining, forestry and mighty rivers make Manitoba a continental powerhouse in hydro-electric generation.
Despite global economic turbulence, Manitoba continues to lead Canada in job performance and job creation. Over the last 12 months, Manitoba's employment grew by 10,000 individuals and our unemployment rate was the third best in Canada.
In addition, private forecasters predict that Manitoba's economy will grow faster than Canada's economy in 2009.
A strong economy and a better, faster, cheaper way for businesses to reach world markets are just the beginning of what Manitoba offers. Check out these other advantages:
* A well-educated, highly-skilled, productive and multilingual workforce;
* A strategic mid-North American location in a central time zone, with ready access to the United States, Mexico and emerging markets in the Americas;
* Flexible and cost-effective transportation links and intermodal facilities providing worldwide shipping by rail, air, road and sea;
* Extensive connectivity, with a state-of-the-art high-speed, high-density broadband infrastructure;
* Extremely competitive business costs, including affordable office and land costs, low construction costs and affordable taxes;
* An extensive network of research and development facilities supporting innovation and technology development;
* An unsurpassed quality of life with affordable living costs, excellent recreational and cultural amenities, reliable and accessible public health care and education, attractive communities and a beautiful natural environment; and
* Cost competitiveness - our capital city, Winnipeg, is continually ranked as a great place to invest and do business.
Manitoba also offers a wide rage of education opportunities. Four universities - including Western Canada's oldest - and three colleges, plus a variety of vocational and technical learning centres, ensure that Manitoba's workforce is both trained and motivated. Combined with remarkably low employee turnover rates, this commitment to education and training gives your business a tremendous edge over your competition.
Here are Manitoba's strongest economic sectors:
Manufacturing - Manitoba makes it all. High productivity and access to a skilled and reliable workforce help Manitoba's manufacturing exports to grow and encourage export-driven expansion.
Financial Services - Canada's largest mutual fund company and largest insurance company are the cornerstones of our financial services sector.
Agriculture and Food Processing - With only four per cent of Canada's population, most people are surprised to learn that Manitoba produces 10 per cent of the nation's agricultural products.
Biotechnology and Life Sciences - Manitoba's biotechnology sector is among the fastest growing in Canada. Growing clusters of public research institutions and research-based private sector firms give Manitoba an expanding international profile in agriculture and health biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical and diagnostic services.
Information and Communications - The province hosts a wide array of ICT companies, including Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and CanWest Global Communications Corporation. This core strength is bolstered by the local operations of ICT multinationals including IBM and EDS whose Manitoba operations each employ approximately 300 Manitobans.
More companies are relocating in Manitoba. Boeing Canada Technology, Motor Coach Industries, Biovail Corporation, Maple Leaf Foods, Standard Aero, Monsanto, Pillsbury, CanWest Global, JRI, 3M Canada and Magellan (Bristol) Aerospace are just a few of the multinational corporations that have chosen to establish or expand their operations in Manitoba. Their reason for doing so is simple - Manitoba's winning combination of low operating costs, highly-skilled labour and prime location make Manitoba too attractive to pass up.
The province also has a green energy advantage. Manitoba has abundant hydroelectric capacity, the lowest published rates in North America and enjoys high system reliability and superior power quality. Annual surveys by Hydro Quebec have consistently shown that Manitoba is the most competitive in terms of published electrical rates for large industrial customers. In addition, Manitoba is a leader in the development and utilisation of renewable and sustainable energy projects including wind, geothermal, biofuels and hydrogen.
What do you think the future holds for Manitoba?
Thousands of newcomers choose to make Manitoba their new home every year. This province was built by immigrants from many nations who enrich our diverse and welcoming communities. Today, through Manitoba's highly successful Provincial Nominee Programme, skilled workers and business people and their families can immigrate to Manitoba quickly and easily. In the coming decades, Manitoba expects continued stability, opportunities and prosperity.
For more information, go to: Immigrate Manitoba
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