Here are 10 interesting facts about immigration in Manitoba that may be helpful to know:

1. In 2014, Manitoba was 5th top destination for new permanent residents after Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia

   A total of 16,222 permanent residents chose Manitoba as their immigration destination, an increase of 23.8% from 2013. This represents 6.2 % of Canada’s total immigration. Of these immigrants, a big bulk came under economic class followed by family class.

2. Manitoba welcomed the highest number of refugees per capita in Canada in 2014

   Six percent of Canada’s government-assisted refugees (435) and 22% of privately sponsored refugees (1,004) settled here last year. Most of them came from Somalia, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

3. MB received the second-highest number of Provincial Nominees and Family Class immigrants on record

   A total of 12,187 provincial nominees and 1,831 permanent residents under the family class settled in the province.

4. Winnipeg is still the top destination but 14.8% of newcomers to MB in 2014 chose to live outside of Winnipeg

   More than 85% of immigrants destined for Manitoba settled in Winnipeg. Meanwhile, those who chose to live outside of Winnipeg settled in Brandon, Neepawa, and Winkler.

5. Top source countries are the Philippines, India and China

   Manitoba’s newest immigrants came from over 150 countries with around 60% coming from these top countries (and the US).

6. Immigrant median age is 28 years old; Male and female numbers are almost equal

   Newcomers’ median age was at 28 years while the median age of Manitobans was 38.

7. Most common mother tongues are Tagalog and Punjabi

   Tagalog and Punjabi represented 42.4 percent of the total. Other languages in the top five are English, Russian, and Chinese.

8. Number of immigrants with a bachelor’s degree, MA, and PhD growing

   In 2014, 42.4% of immigrants had bachelor’s degrees while 12.6% had master’s degrees.

9. Top occupations: registered nurses, secondary school teachers, industrial butchers, and cooks

   A big bulk of immigrants to Manitoba had work experience representing about 400 occupations. In terms of skill type and based on the National Occupation Classification, 70.6% of principal applicants had previous occupations in sales and service; business, finance and administration; management; health; and natural and applied sciences. Also, 74% of Manitoba’s economic immigrants are considered highly skilled.

10. Manitoba received more than 5,000 temporary workers

    In 2014, Manitoba received 4,898 temporary workers through the federal International Mobility Program and 1,102 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Source: 2014 Manitoba Facts: Annual Statistics Report