Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 16, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba MANITOBA needs many more eco- nomic immigrants if it’s going to achieve Premier Wab Kinew’s goal of becoming a “have” province by 2040, the provincial labour and immigration minister says. After chopping in half Manitoba’s 2025 allocation of nominees — which the province relies upon to recruit and retain skilled immigrants — the fed- eral government announced last week Manitoba is getting a 30 per cent boost. The increase of 1,489 nominations brings the total for 2025 to 6,239. That’s after the number had dropped to just 4,750 this year. It was 9,500 in 2024. The increase “bolsters” the nominee program’s capacity to address provin- cial labour market needs “and deliver on Manitoba’s strategic priorities,” the provincial government said in a state- ment last week. “It’s still not enough for what we need in order to grow and to continue to thrive here,” Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said Wed- nesday from Toronto, where she was attending a meeting with her federal, provincial and territorial counterparts. “We’re not letting up until we get what we need for Manitoba. Immigration is a big economic driver for our province, and with the goals and plans and the strategy that we have as an NDP gov- ernment, this is a vital piece of it.” Canada began to reduce its immi- gration rates last October, when it an- nounced the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan. It lowered the target for permanent residents in 2025 from 500,000 to 395,000 in an effort to re- duce pressure on housing and infra- structure. Marcelino said she’s been lobbying the federal government for a larger allocation since the province’s number was cut in half. Manitoba was not alone. Saskatchewan’s allocation was cut from 8,000 to 4,000, and Alberta saw its num- ber reduced from 9,942 to 4,875 during the same period. Marcelino said Manitobans have pre- sented a united front, with business and municipal leaders writing letters that she presented to Immigration, Refu- gees and Citizenship Minister Lena Diab earlier this year to pass on to Prime Minister Mark Carney. She said impacted communities and sectors desperate for skilled workers have banded together to get their mes- sage across to Liberal MPs in Manitoba. “The focus is still very unified when it comes to this push for more economic immigration specifically,” she said. Unlike some other provinces, nom- inees are the “lifeblood” of Manitoba’s economy, which relies on skilled-work- er immigrants to maintain its popula- tion and standard of living, Marcelino said. However, the province has to push annually for an increased allocation from Ottawa, which controls immigra- tion, she said. “I think they do understand that they can’t treat all the provinces in the same way and that we all have different needs and we have certainly different economies and different kinds of issues that we’re facing,” Marcelino said. “For example, the housing crunch, the higher youth unemployment rates and things like that that other prov- inces are experiencing, we don’t ex- perience to that same level. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates and youth unemployment rates.” And Manitoba is relatively affordable compared to some of the other prov- inces, she said. She wants the federal government to transfer some of its own economic immigrant allocation to Manitoba so it can increase its number of provincial nominees. “Provinces know best what our specific labour needs are, not the feder- al government,” Marcelino said. “The kind of respect and considera- tion I’m asking from the federal gov- ernment is what I have been doing for our rural strategic initiatives and those rural municipalities.” Marcelino said they tell the prov- ince how many nominees they need and can manage, then it’s set out in an agreement. “That way, it’s not me telling them, ‘Hey, here’s a whole bunch of immi- grants that you should have in your location.’ That’s not going to work. They’re the ones that know what their housing situation is, what kind of labour shortages that they’re facing specific- ally,” she said. The “mini” provincial nominee pro- gram succeeds in rural areas “because these folks punch above their weight,” Marcelino said. “With just a little bit of help like that, they can go far.” The premier’s goal of becoming a “have” province by 2040 that no long- er needs federal equalization payments “is an important vision to have for our people in Manitoba,” she said. “We’re going to do that by growing our economy, and immigration has a big role to play in that. That’s why we keep pushing so hard. What this is about at the end of the day is our lifeblood here in Manitoba.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca TOP NEWS A3 THURSDAY OCTOBER 16, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Laser said he and the other officer ap- proached an open section of the structure and called out for anyone inside. A wom- an replied from what sounded like the far side of the structure and made her way to the officers. The woman “appeared upset with our presence,” Laser said. When the other constable asked the woman how she was doing “she replied that things were fine, and it was just ‘shift change’ and that it was her turn to ‘work,’” Laser said. “Of note, our unit observed that (the woman) appeared well dressed, with clean, fresh-looking clothing (and) with freshly applied makeup and done-up hair,” he said. “In our experience, (the woman) did not appear to be transient or suffer from a lack of resources that those experiencing homelessness or a transient lifestyle often do.” Laser said the construction of the shelter suggested it was “built for the purpose of concealing the activity occur- ring within it.” He said all observations of the con- tents of the shelter “were made from the publicly accessible pedestrian pathway… (and) could have been made by any mem- ber of the public.” When executing the search warrant, police would work with community outreach workers to provide resources to any encampment occupants in need of assistance and would not be forcing the removal of anyone living there, Laser said. The search warrant was executed on Aug. 27 and multiple items were seized, including 50 bicycle frames, 77 bike tires, 53 bike tire rims, a gas generator, lawn- mower, pressure washer and wheelchair. Insp. Helen Peters said at the time the WPS wanted to treat the structure like anyone else’s residence and obtain a search warrant before investigating. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Police used a warrant to search and seize goods from an encampment along Waterfront Drive in August. Passed in 2019, Quebec’s national assembly invoked the notwithstanding clause to protect it from being struck down by any court. In a subsequent review by the Superior Court of Quebec, the majority of the law was upheld on the basis that the notwith- standing clause was used. However, the court did rule the law could not reasonably be applied to members of the national assembly or English language school boards because it violated minority language rights, which cannot be overridden by Section 33 of the Charter. That lower court decision was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2024. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge of the law with an eye towards a ruling that pro- vides more guidance to provinces on how to invoke Section 33. Kinew acknowledged Manitoba’s approach is unique and untested in Canada. However, he said he has talked with other premiers who are concerned about Quebec’s law, and he will raise the idea with Prime Minister Mark Carney in a one-on-one meeting next week in Ottawa. He also said that legal scholars have floated the idea of pre-emptive legal reviews to ensure the notwithstanding clause is applied correctly by governments. “I think … our government is looking to set an example here, and it’s happening within a context where, not only is the notwithstanding clause being used in other parts of the country to target religious freedoms, to target cultural and religious minorities, to target LGBTQ2S+ people. “Manitobans elected a moderate government here, and I want a voice of moderation as part of this conversation, because if you cut through all the legal theory, effectively what you’re talking about with the use of the notwithstanding clause is the ability to suspend people’s human rights by a parliament or a legislature.” Kinew was quick to note he is not seeking support to amend the Constitution, and nothing in the forthcoming Manitoba bill will empower the courts to strike down a future law passed by a government through use of the notwithstanding clause. Although unique in its approach, there is growing support for greater involvement by courts in creating guardrails for the use of Section 33. In its submission to the Supreme Court on Quebec’s law, the federal Liberal government has argued that without rules, re- peated invocation of the notwithstanding clause is tantamount to “indirectly amending the Constitution.” Ottawa has also asked whether it’s possible for courts to de- termine whether the use of Section 33 would cause “irreparable impairment” of Charter rights. The notwithstanding clause has been used more than two dozen times; with 17 invocations, Quebec has made the most use of it. Manitoba has never used it to protect a law passed in its legislature. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca CAROL SANDERS CHARTER ● FROM A1 SEARCH ● FROM A1 More than 30 U.S. doctors on path to Manitoba E FFORTS to recruit American doc- tors to Manitoba are starting to pay off. Manitoba has 33 U.S. physicians in various stages of recruitment, a spokesperson for the health minister confirmed. “I just had dinner last week with a doctor who is new to Manitoba and very excited to be joining our health- care workforce who’s from the United States,” Health Minister Uzoma Asag- wara said. The U.S. physicians have been lured through the Health Care Retention and Recruitment Office that was set up by the province last year. Asagwara said Manitobans should be proud to have access to universal health care. “One of the things (the U.S. phys- ician) made really clear to me is that what makes Manitoba and Canada such an attractive place to practise as a doc- tor is that he’s not going to have to make decisions about his patient’s health care based on what they can afford — that he doesn’t have to worry about bank- rupting a family based on a treatment that might save their life,” Asagwara said. In Canada, Manitoba ranks near the bottom for the number of physicians per capita, with many communities underserved and patients continuing to face challenges in accessing timely care, said physician advocacy group Doctors Manitoba. The organization has long advocated for the province to focus more of its recruitment efforts on the U.S., said president Dr. Nichelle Desilets said. Last November, shortly after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, Doc- tors Manitoba launched a U.S. physician recruitment campaign. It placed ads in several states and set up a website for doctors to learn more. Doctors Manitoba targeted phys- icians concerned about the Trump presidency and the uncertainty it poses — especially in states that lim- it the ability to offer evidence-based medicine in areas such as reproductive health, gender-affirming care or med- ical assistance in dying. Doctors Manitoba promoted the prov- ince as offering economic stability, ex- cellent quality of life and a health-care system where the government stays out of the patient-doctor relationship. The province followed suit, and in June, approved a change to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba regulations, streamlining recruitment for U.S. doctors to apply for full licen- sure if they meet certain requirements. “It’s very encouraging to hear that 2025 is shaping up to be a record year,” Desilets said Wednesday. It’s the result of taking a team ap- proach, with individual physicians reaching out to American colleagues, government and Shared Health recruit- ment efforts — and changes by the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, she said in a statement. “While we are seeing strong prog- ress, it’s early and we can’t let up as Manitoba continues to climb out of a record shortage of physicians.” The province is not letting up on re- cruiting U.S. doctors and nurses, said the health minister, who is also a regis- tered psychiatric nurse. “We want people to know that this is a province for everyone — that divers- ity on the front lines of our health-care system makes our province and our health care strong.” The minister, whose parents immi- grated from Nigeria, said that message resonates not only with Americans, ref- erencing a conversation with a doctor recruited from the U.K. “She’s now been practising in Mani- toba over recent months. She’s enjoying it. She’s looking forward to her first winter here in the province. We’re go- ing to make sure that she’s really com- fortable. And we just keep asking folks to share the word. There’s good news about health care in Manitoba.” In September, Manitoba reported a record number of net new physicians over the past year. The number of registered family physicians, special- ists and medical residents with a full certificate of practice reached 3,498 as of April 30, up from 3,334 on the same date last year — a net gain of 164. On Tuesday, the province announced that 328 temporary foreign workers working in health care were invited to apply to Manitoba’s provincial nominee program. The immigration program allows the province to nominate skilled workers for permanent residency based on local labour needs. The workers include 187 health-care aides, 21 physicians, 11 registered nurs- es and other professionals supporting patient care. Two of the 21 doctors are working in Killarney. They can now make the community home, Janice Smith, mayor of the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, said in a news release. “It can be more challenging to re- cruit in rural communities compared to larger centres, but the right fit sees the incredible value of small town life. Here, doctors truly become part of the community, and the difference they make is deeply felt and appreciated.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Universal health care seen as part of turnaround CAROL SANDERS MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says diversity helps make health care strong. TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba, says a team approach is working. Ottawa boosts immigration number in Manitoba but ‘still not enough’: NDP ;