ManitobaA federal immigration program in Manitoba that faced significant cuts earlier this year subsequently received a boost of over 30 per cent from Ottawa — bringing the total number of slots through the provincial nominee program to 6,239, up from 4,750 in January.Ottawa adds almost 1,500 to Manitoba’s allotment months after provincial immigration minister raised concerns Bryce Hoye · CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2025 7:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoManitoba will receive a boost of 1,489 slots for immigrants applying through the provincial nominee program. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)A federal immigration program in Manitoba that faced significant cuts earlier this year subsequently received a boost of over 30 per cent from Ottawa.Manitoba is receiving an additional 1,489 slots through the provincial nominee program this year — bringing the total spots allotted from the federal government to 6,239, up from 4,750 in January.Each province receives an annual allocation of nominations from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for those looking to relocate from other countries.Early this year, the federal government announced it was reducing the provincial nominee allotment nationwide by half, from about 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025. It was seen as one of several moves by the Liberals to stabilize population growth and relieve pressure facing the housing market, and mainly crafted with big cities in mind.In January, Manitoba Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said Manitoba shouldn’t suffer due to a housing crunch in big cities. She said the decision would “hurt Manitoba businesses and worsen labour shortages.”Marcelino had asked for 12,000 nomination slots, which would’ve represented a 26 per cent increase from last year and double the nominees Manitoba had in 2022.The province lobbied against the cuts because Manitoba has heavily relied on the nominee program for the past couple decades to grow the local economy.Marcelino was out of province on Tuesday and was unavailable to comment.CBC News has requested comment from the federal government regarding the recent increase.Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara credited Marcelino for pushing for more provincial nominee slots in the face of cuts.Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara speaks with reporters after question period at the Manitoba Legislature on Tuesday. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)”This is something the provinces did not have the opportunity to contribute [to] before that decision was made by Canada” to reduce provincial nominee program allotments, said Asagwara.”We are not all the same, we do need a unique approach, a tailored approach, and our minister of immigration has been doing a great job advocating … to prioritize Manitoba’s voice.”On Tuesday morning, the province put out a news release stating it had invited 328 temporary foreign workers working in health care in Manitoba to apply to the provincial nominee program.That included 187 health-care aides, 21 physicians, 11 registered nurses and workers in other professions supporting patient care, according to the release.Asagwara said their department has been working with Marcelino’s to help people here through the temporary foreign worker program find a pathway to keep practising in Manitoba.Under then-premier Heather Stefanson in 2023, the Progressive Conservatives lobbied Ottawa to up the number of nominees to 9,500 as an answer to serious labour shortages in Manitoba. The PCs approved 7,348 nominations that year after failing to process 2,152 applications in time.Nearly three-quarters of Manitoba’s immigration last year came through the provincial nominee program, according to Statistics Canada.The province receives $500 per applicant through the program.ABOUT THE AUTHORBryce Hoye is a multi-platform journalist with a background in wildlife biology. He has worked for CBC Manitoba for over a decade with stints producing at CBC’s Quirks & Quarks and Front Burner. He was a 2024-25 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. He is also Prairie rep for outCBC. He has won a national Radio Television Digital News Association award for a 2017 feature on the history of the fur trade, and a 2023 Prairie region award for an audio documentary about a Chinese-Canadian father passing down his love for hockey to the next generation of Asian Canadians.Selected storiesEmail: bryce.hoye@cbc.caFacebookMore by Bryce HoyeWith files from Ian Froese
Feds boost Manitoba’s provincial nominee program by 30% months after cutting immigrant approvals in half
