Beginning January 1, 2015, the Province of Manitoba will be allocated 500 additional immigrants to nominate from the new Express Entry Pool of skilled workers who have expressed interest in immigrating to Canada.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s “Express Entry” system, which intends to match the education and experience of people interested in immigrating with the qualifications needed by Canadian employers.
Manitoba’s Express Entry allocation is separate from and in addition to the allocation of 5,000 immigrants that Manitoba can nominate each year under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).
The MPNP nominee program is the main source of Manitoba’s immigration, making up 70 per cent of all newcomers to the province.
In April 2014, federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced a new federal recruitment model for economic immigration dubbed Express Entry. Starting in January, it will be a “major step forward in the transformation of Canada’s immigration system into one that is fast, flexible and focused on meeting Canada’s economic and labour needs,” the federal minister said.
Applicants are ranked using a point system age, education, experience, training and language skills. A qualifying job offer will provide extra points. Applicants with the highest scores will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence and will be processed within six months.
Approved employers will be able to select directly from the national Express Entry pool if they secure an approved labour market impact assessment from Service Canada. Workers in the Express Entry pool will make their qualifications directly available online to employers. Service Canada will provide employers with worker profiles but employers will not have direct access to the pool.
The new Express Entry Immigration system is expected to significantly reduce wait times for the bulk of Canada’s annual skilled workers.
Source: Manitoba Government
