Staffing shortages blamed for Manitoba's failure to meet former government's immigration targets

The former Manitoba government successfully lobbied Ottawa to welcome thousands more newcomers to the province than planned, but then couldn’t process many applications in time.

As of last November, the province issued 6,333 nominations through the provincial nominee program in 2023 — well shy of the 9,500 nominations the former PC government was permitted to approve.

Each nomination represents one family unit, as chosen applicants can bring their spouse and any dependants.

While December’s numbers, which aren’t finalized, would boost the year’s total nominations, the NDP government confirmed the province didn’t reach its goal.

Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said the previous government didn’t hire enough staff to sift through the paperwork.

“I know that the department tried to process as many applications as they could, but at the end I think it was a question of capacity,” Marcelino said in an interview.

Malaya Marcelino, Manitoba’s minister of labour and immigration, said the provincial government is working to bolster staff in its office that looks after provincial nominee program applications. (Warren Kay/CBC)

The NDP was elected last October, so the government was limited in its ability to expand staffing numbers last year, Marcelino said.

“But we certainly hope to put more resources into the department and we already made certain moves to do that,” she said.

A spokesperson said the province is currently advertising three job openings. Further staffing changes are being considered as part of budget deliberations.

A Winnipeg immigration lawyer said the province has a long history of accepting as many nominations as Ottawa permits.

“From my experience, this current situation is extremely unusual,” Alastair Clarke said.

“Normally in the past when the federal government allocates the number of nomination certificates, the province is able to not only issue that number, but they often will receive more certificates from other provinces.”

Since 1998, the Manitoba provincial nominee program (MPNP) has been used to bring skilled workers to the province to help address labour gaps. The program has contributed greatly to Manitoba’s population growth by bringing in more than 185,000 people.

Manitoba suffers with fewer immigrants: lawyer

Given that successful nominees can bring their families, Manitoba’s failure to reach its 2023 target led to potentially a few thousand less immigrants settling in the province.

“Right now, Manitoba has a labour shortage. I’m regularly dealing with employers and individuals who are looking for workers,” Clarke said.

“If we are not issuing all of those certificates, that means that businesses lose out, that means that individuals who are interested in coming to Manitoba lose out, that means that friends and family members who want to utilize the benefits of the MPNP program, they’re not given those certificates so they can’t become permanent residents in our province.”

Former premier Heather Stefanson made expanding the provincial nominee program one of her priorities when she took office in late 2021.

In her first phone call with the prime minister, the former PC leader said she requested Manitoba be granted more nominees.

In Heather Stefanson’s first phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she asked for Ottawa’s support to expand the provincial nominee program so Manitoba could take in more immigrants. The two political leaders are seen here in a 2022 file photo. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

The lobbying worked. Last March, the provincial government issued a news release touting how Manitoba would benefit from a “significant increase” in the nominations it can accept, from a maximum of 6,325 in 2022 to 9,500 in 2023. The province “advocated strongly” for this increase, the release said.

Jodie Byram, the PCs’ current labour and immigration critic, provided a statement that didn’t address Manitoba’s inability to process as many immigrants as the previous administration wanted.

Instead, she called the long-standing provincial nominee program a success and said “Manitobans will soon learn whether or not the NDP has the political will to keep the program trending in the right direction.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada wouldn’t comment on the provincial government’s performance in 2023.

Spokesperson Remi Lariviere, however, said it’s standard practice every fall that provinces and territories that don’t use their nominations have those spaces distributed to other jurisdictions. He wouldn’t confirm if that happened in Manitoba’s case.

Program ‘vital’ to Manitoba’s prosperity: Marcelino

Marcelino said the province would ramp up capacity in its processing office, but it won’t happen overnight.

The provincial nominee program “is a real boon for our province, especially for our rural and northern municipalities. This is very, very important to them for their continued growth and for labour shortages,” she said.

“This is something that we’re going to be really pushing because it’s very vital to Manitoban prosperity.”

Clarke said the existing officers have an onerous job and need the help.

He was surprised to learn recently a busy processing officer called the employer of one of his clients on a Sunday. The employer initially thought it was a prank call, since they didn’t expect government staff to be putting in time on a weekend.

Clarke said he also hopes additional hires will decrease the processing time between a nominee receiving their letter of invitation to apply and receiving their nomination certificate.