Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan has announced that improvements to Manitoba’s migrant integration policy are to be made in order to attract more skilled workers to the province under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).

The following improvements were announced:

• Improved information services for people planning to move to Manitoba
• More help for immigrants to find and keep jobs
• Easing the process of recognising the academic and professional qualifications of foreign-trained workers
• Improving the orientation program for new migrants
• Increasing the chances for migrants to receive language training
• Expanding migration settlement services outside of the capital city, Winnipeg

Manitoba will receive $17 million from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to help implement the new policies. Approximately 10,000 skilled migrants have entered the province since the MPNP was founded in 2001, and it is hoped that this number will double over the next ten years.