Manitoba’s First Nations Premier election creates history with Wab Kinew (Manitoba’s NDP leader) on October 3, 2023. He will come in place of Premier Heather Stefanson. Web Kinew played multiple roles as a rapper, journalist, and author. He also acquired the position of the first director of Indigenous Inclusion (University of Winnipeg). Moreover, in 2017, he also became the leader of Manitoba NDP.
Manitoba’s First Nations Premier election creates history
Kinew won the election as a First Nations Premier and created history. However, despite this historical record, his win is largely due to the solid commitments he has made toward enhancing the provincial healthcare system.
Additionally, if he wants to deliver the promises he has made, the province will need to recruit more immigrants to fill the job vacancies.
For instance, Kinew commits to hiring 300 nurses and 400 physicians in the next four years. He will need to create a task force to carry out a recruitment campaign.
Apart from this, he has also committed to hiring 200 paramedics by the term’s end and expediting the accreditation process for health professionals with international education. He also looks forward to renewing health coverage for international students with post-secondary education.
Manitoba will hire from overseas
Last year (in 2022), Manitoba’s doctors published a report, and it is in sync with the number of healthcare professionals that Kinew aims to hire. The report that was published last summer states that besides hiring from overseas, Manitoba must acknowledge healthcare professionals from the United States as well.
Not only this, Manitoba is also managing a recruitment initiative for Philippines nurses. The province states that it offers assistance to nurses residing in the Philippines in exploring the immigration process. It will also offer paid licensing and bridging education whenever necessary. Besides this, the province will also assist them with paid travel, allowances related to accommodation, mentorship, workplace orientation, individual support travel, and guidance.
Last year in July, through an announcement, Manitoba revealed that over 300 Internationally educated nurses from the Philippines had acquired employment offers at numerous sites in the province.
Immigration to Manitoba
From a historical perspective, Manitoba emerged to be a leader in the Canadian immigration strategy. Manitoba introduced the Provincial Nominee Program in Canada in 1988. Each Canadian province and territory operates through a PNP, with Quebec and Nunavut as exceptions. These two provinces have their own agreements with the federal government.
PNP permits provincial governments to select candidates for immigrating to provinces. However, these candidates will be the ones who will have immense potential to contribute to the provincial labor force and enhance the Canadian economy.
Success of PNP in Manitoba
When PNP was introduced in Manitoba, the first year itself, the province brought in 418 newcomers. However, as of 2023, the province has issued 9,500 nominations to candidates.
In the initial days of its launch, the PNP became prominent in Manitoba, and following this, other provinces also adopted it. Currently, the PNP is a leading example of economic Canadian immigration.
The Immigration Levels Plan 2023 -2025 revealed that toward the end of 2025, 117,500 newcomers will come to Canada through PNP.
In this entire year, Manitoba has conducted an increased number of PNP draws, selecting candidates in prominent occupations. These in-demand occupations are healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and hospitality.
The province has also started a Strategic Recruitment Initiative for its employers who are lacking skilled workers. As a result of this initiative, the province also conducted the largest PNP draw of 2023. The draw occurred on September 28 when 1,072 candidates received Letters of Advice to Apply.
This initiative has a similar function as that of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. For instance, if an employer can showcase an urgent requirement for a foreign skilled worker as the local labor force is not sufficient to fill the vacant job positions, they might have the eligibility to hire candidates from the MPNP stream, Manitoba Skilled Workers Overseas.
Canada’s Indigenous population
Nearly 1.8 million indigenous individuals are present in Canada, which is around 5 percent of the total Canadian population. This data has been derived from Census 2021 by Statistics Canada.
Out of this figure, 55 percent of people reside in Western Canada. Kinew represents the First Nations People in Canada, and this is a substantial achievement.
According to the Census, there are 90,990 Indigenous individuals in any Canadian city. Manitoba comprises 63 First Nations, further consisting of six of the massive twenty bands in Canada.
Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, congratulated Kinew on his historical victory and had a detailed discussion on enhancing healthcare and housing and advancing reunion with Indigenous individuals.
If you have any general queries or concerns regarding Canadian immigration, you can reach out to Make Home Canada experts. You may either write to us at [email protected] or call us at 1-800-979-0509.
