Manitoba nominated record number of immigration candidates for permanent residence in 2018
Citizens of India received 34% of 5,207 nominations issued by MPNP last year
Manitoba issued a record 5,207 nominations for Canadian permanent residence in 2018, with 98 per cent going to skilled worker candidates.
Newly released numbers from the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) show that 5,119 nominations went to candidates in the Skilled Worker in Manitoba and Skilled Worker Overseas immigration streams in 2018.
The remaining 88 nominations went to candidates in Manitoba’s Business Investor Stream.
The MPNP is part of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program, which allows participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of economic immigration candidates for Canadian permanent residence each year.
The MPNP is Canada’s oldest provincial nominee program and one of its most popular. The program marked its 20th year in operation in 2018 and has welcomed more than 130,000 immigrants to the province since its introduction.
According to the province, 90 per cent of immigrants are employed within their first year in Manitoba and around the same percentage choose to stay in the province.
Of those nominated in 2018, 21 per cent did not have a job offer in the province but had a family or community connection instead.
Skilled worker nominations
The skilled worker nominations issued by the MPNP in 2018 broke down as follows:
- Skilled Worker in Manitoba: 3,399 nominations, or 65 per cent
- Skilled Worker Overseas: 1,720 nominations, or 33 per cent
The MPNP confirmed to CIC News that 535 nomineess were candidates with a valid profile in the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for three of Canada’s main economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.
The MPNP introduced a new Express Entry-aligned pathway in 2018 as part of its renewal program. The pathway is open to candidates in the Express Entry pool with work experience in a profession found on the MPNP’s In-Demand Occupations List, among other criteria.
Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination receive an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, effectively guaranteeing an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
To be considered for a nomination from the MPNP as a skilled worker, the first required step is to create and submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile with the province.
Profiles receive a score out of 1,000 based on factors such as education, work experience and a candidate’s connection to Manitoba and the highest-ranked are issued a Letter of Advice to Apply for a provincial nomination.
The MPNP said 26,443 skilled worker candidates submitted an Expression of Interest profile in 2018 and 7,950 Letters of Advice to Apply were issued.
Other key findings from 2018:
- Skilled Worker in Manitoba applications approved: 98%
- Skilled Worker Overseas applications approved: 90%
- Percentage of nominees without a job or job offer in Manitoba: 21%
- Top country of citizenship for nominees: India
- Top skill type for nominees: 6 — Sales and Service
- Processing time for Skilled Worker in Manitoba applications: 2.8 months
- Processing time for Skilled Worker Overseas applications: 3 months
- Nominees with a Manitoba post-secondary degree: 1,292
Citizens of India and Sales and Service professionals led 2018 nominees
Citizens of India led nominees with 1,780 nominations, or 34.2 per cent of the 2018 total. This was up slightly from 2017, when Indian citizens received 31 per cent of nominations.
Citizens of China received 825 nominations, or 15.8 per cent of total nominations in 2018. This was also a slight increase over 2017, when 686 Chinese citizens were nominated by the MPNP.
Top 10 Countries of Citizenship
Country of Citizenship |
# of Nominations |
% of Total Nominations |
| India | 1,780 | 34.2% |
| China, People’s Republic | 825 | 15.8% |
| The Philippines | 617 | 11.8% |
| Nigeria | 306 | 5.9% |
| Brazil | 191 | 3.7% |
| South Korea | 190 | 3.6% |
| Pakistan | 130 | 2.5% |
| Algeria | 84 | 1.6% |
| Ukraine | 80 | 1.5% |
| Vietnam | 66 | 1.3% |
Nominations by occupation
In terms of occupations, immigration candidates with skilled work experience in the Sales and Service sector led nominees with 1,885 nominations. They were followed by candidates with work experience in the business, finance and administration occupations, who received 728 nominations.
A total of 1,847 nominations went to candidates with work experience in occupation rated as Skill Level B under Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) and another 1,659 nominations went to candidates with work experience in an occupation rated Skill Level C.
Nominations by Skill Type
Skill Type |
# of Nominations |
| 0 Management occupations | 402 |
| 1 Business, finance and administration occupations | 728 |
| 2 Natural and applied sciences and related occupations | 499 |
| 3 Health occupations | 87 |
| 4 Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services | 225 |
| 5 Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport | 49 |
| 6 Sales and Service occupations | 1,885 |
| 7 Trades, transport and equipment operators | 599 |
| 8 Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations | 90 |
| 9 Occupations in manufacturing and utilities | 555 |
Source: MPNP
Job offer, Manitoba graduates
Of the 5,119 skilled worker candidates who were nominated in 2018, 79 per cent (4,101) had a job offer in Manitoba. The MPNP said this was an increase of 51.2 per cent over 2017.
The MPNP also established a record in 2018 for the number of nominees who completed post-secondary studies in Manitoba, which stood at 1,923. In 2017, 1,292 nominees were Manitoba graduates.
International graduates in Manitoba are the focus of the MPNP’s new International Education Stream, which provides faster pathways to permanent residence for international graduates of Manitoba post-secondary institutions with skills required by employers in the province.
The International Education Stream has three pathways — Career Employment Pathway, Graduate Internship Pathway, and the Student Entrepreneur Pathway.