The province is attributing an increase in the labour force to a record-breaking number of immigrants making their way to Manitoba last year.

Last year the province accepted the largest number of immigrants in Manitoba's history. 18,905 people were permitted to make Manitoba home, allowing the province to grow its workforce. 

Many of the people who immigrated to Canada did so by being sponsored. Sixty-five per cent of all people permitted into Canada was through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program.

"Eighty-eight per cent of the labour force growth in the province has resulted directly from immigration."

“Immigration will continue to bring newcomers to the province and build a thriving economy for all Manitobans,” Economic Development and Training Minister Ralph Eichler says in a statement.

In the year leading up to the province's 150th anniversary, Manitoba has seen the workforce strengthen thanks to newcomers to Canada.

"Within the past five years, 88 per cent of the labour force growth in the province has resulted directly from immigration in response to Manitoba’s increasing demand for workers," a statement from the Department of Economic Development and Training says.

Almost 75 per cent of all newcomers in Manitoba are of working age and "contribute significantly" to the growth of Manitoba's labour force according to the Department of Economic Development and Training.

Manitoba accepted 5.5 per cent of the total number of newcomers who made a home in Canada in 2019.