Over the past ten years, Manitoba's Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) has been the most successful of all Canadian provinces' and territories', making Manitoba the leading destination in Canada for immigrants on a per capita basis.

The Manitoba PNP, an immigrant program that was tailored-made for the province's needs, was established in 1998. At that time, the Manitoba Government set an ambitious goal of welcoming 10,000 immigrants annually by 2006 -- 7,000 more than they were receiving through federal immigration programs at that time. The Manitoba PNP enabled the attainment of that goal. In 2007, there were 11,000 newcomers to the province.

Manitoba has now set a new goal of welcoming 20,000 immigrants to the province annually by 2016.

In the meantime, Manitoba is readjusting current frameworks and infrastructure to increase the retention rate of newcomers. They recognize that the most important things for newcomers to Manitoba are jobs, housing, and transportation.

Manitoba plans to direct new federal spending on infrastructure towards affordable housing for newcomers. A recent report from the University of Winnipeg highlighted housing as crucial for social, cultural, and economic integration into society. The report's recommendations include:

• changing unit size and design to meet the needs and household composition of new arrivals, whose families are often large;
• reviewing public housing criteria to ensure that they reflect cultural practices and characteristics of newcomers;
• building transitional housing to facilitate resettlement and integration;
• and increasing the supply of affordable rental housing.

Additionally, the province hopes to invest in improvements to its public transportation systems. Many immigrants (especially refugees, who comprise over 10 per cent of Manitoba's immigrants) rely on public transit as their principle means of transportation. These systems need to be improved in cities throughout the province to provide efficient, affordable, and safe public transportation that can bring people to jobs that are currently inaccessible without a personal motorized vehicle.