In 2009, the province of Manitoba welcomed the highest number of new immigrants in almost a century, and hopes to welcome 20,000 newcomers annually by 2017.

At the official opening of Winnipeg’s new Immigrant Centre, Manitoba Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced that while the final number of newcomers in 2009 has not been determined yet, it is already well over 12,000 more than triple the number of immigrants that settled in Manitoba a decade ago.  The increase is largely due to the success of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

The Immigrant Centre was previously known as the International Centre, and in the past year it has offered language classes and other settlement services and referrals to more than 1,700 newcomers from 114 countries.

The province is expanding its immigration services in anticipation of a significant increase of new immigrants. Manitoba hopes that by 2017, the annual number of newcomers that settle in Manitoba will reach 20,000.