Significant reductions in the number of immigrants to Canada will have a negative impact on Manitoba businesses, industry leaders fear.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that the federal government will significantly reduce the number of immigrants Canada accepts over the next three years.

It’s unclear exactly how big a decline Manitoba will face. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said individuals “have mobility rights and are free to move.”

Canada is expected to welcome 395,000 new permanent residents in 2025, a drop of 21 percent from the previously set target of 500,000.

In 2026, this number will decrease to 380,000, and in 2026, to 365,000.

The news is disappointing, said Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

“Manitoba relies on international immigration to fuel its labor market and slow but steady population growth,” he said.

He expects the province’s population to stagnate or decline slightly. This affects employers looking to develop a Manitoban workforce, he said.

Manitoba’s unemployment rate – 5.7 per cent – ​​is lower than the national average. The province counted 23,735 vacant positions between April and June.

Businesses are relying on permanent residents and temporary foreign workers to fill gaps in sectors ranging from hospitality to financial services, Rémillard noted.

Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association, plans to write a joint letter with his Western Canadian peers denouncing immigration restrictions.

“We are all decimated by this,” Jeffrey said Friday.

The recent policy change follows a federal decision to cap the use of temporary foreign workers at 10 percent of a company’s workforce.

The reduction in the number of temporary foreign workers puts additional pressure on rural and quick-service restaurants, Jeffrey noted.

In September, a Flin Flon Chicken Chef owner told the Free press he would probably operations must be reduced once the changes regarding temporary foreign workers have been implemented.

“We just can’t attract staff in these areas,” Jeffrey said.

Record levels of immigration have been blamed for Canada’s housing shortage. However, housing is available in many communities that need workers, Jeffrey noted.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – metropolitan areas facing an affordable housing crisis – experience the highest numbers of immigration to Canada.

“What we are hearing and seeing from the federal government is a national program designed around the challenges of three major centers,” Rémillard said.

“We need to have a deeper conversation as a country about making changes to our immigration policy that actually attract, encourage and enable more regional immigration outside of the Big Three. »

Remillard was taken over by Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork. Permanent residents fill pork plants in small Manitoba communities.

“Places like Neepawa, Brandon, Killarney and Selkirk are not the same as Toronto and Vancouver,” Dahl said. “They shouldn’t be treated the same.”

Manitoba’s provincial nominee program has benefited pork producers, Dahl continued. This year, Manitoba has 9,500 applications to fill.

On Thursday, the federal government announced it would allocate 55,000 immigration places nationally, each year, to the provincial nominee program from 2025 to 2027.

Ottawa aims to reduce the number of temporary residents to five per cent of the total population over the next three years, including temporary foreign workers and international students.

This means a drop of 445,901 and 445,662 temporary residents in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Manitoba’s trucking industry recruits hundreds of temporary and permanent workers each year. As the economy improves and more trucks are ordered, staffing will become an issue, according to the executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association.

The cuts will not solve the problem of mistreatment of temporary foreign workers, added Aaron Dolyniuk.

“We need to do a better job of screening and making sure we have the right employers participating in immigration,” he said.

Manitoba’s non-permanent resident population increased 42 per cent year over year — by 21,279 people — as of Jan. 1, 2024. The group represented 4.85 per cent of Manitoba’s total population.

In 2023, Manitoba welcomed 24,909 immigrants and recorded a net increase of 23,250 migrants, an increase of 48% from the previous year.

Employers in the health, education and trades sectors regularly look for immigrants to fill labor shortages, noted Bisi Adebayo, external relations manager for the Manitoba-Immigrant Employment Council: “The number of ‘Immigrants currently arriving is still enough.’

The Provincial Nominee Program is important to growing Manitoba’s economy, Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino wrote in a news release.

“The reality in Manitoba is that we need skilled labor, particularly in rural and northern areas,” she said. “We will continue to advocate for the federal government to meet Manitoba’s labor needs.

Sixty-two percent of permanent resident admissions to Canada will be devoted to the economy class by 2027, according to the Liberals.

Canada has experienced strong population growth in recent years, largely due to immigration. Prime Minister Trudeau campaigned on increasing immigration levels during the 2015 election.

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Gabrielle Piché
Journalist

Gabrielle Piché reports on the affairs of Free press. She completed an internship at Free press and worked for its sister store, Canstar Community Newsbefore entering the business beat in 2021. Learn more about Gabrielle.

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