Immigration and infrastructure

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January 13, 2009

By Robert Vineberg Senior Fellow Canada West Foundation

In 2008, the population of Manitoba surpassed 1,200,000 for the first time, well ahead of projections.  Why?  Largely because of the increasing number of immigrants choosing to live in Manitoba.

Over the past decade, Manitoba has undertaken the most successful provincial immigration policy in recent Canadian history.  The policies of successive provincial governments, with close cooperation from successive federal governments, have taken Manitoba from the position of immigration backwater to the leading destination in Canada, on a per capita basis.

In 1998, immigration to Manitoba hit an unenviable low of just under 3,000 newcomers, representing only 1.7% of the immigrants coming to Canada in that year.  The federal selection criteria for immigrants were simply not working for Manitoba.  The provincial government, with broad community and business support set an ambitious goal of 10,000 immigrants by 2006.  Together, Canada and Manitoba created the Manitoba Provincial Nominees Program that has allowed the province to select economic immigrants for its own needs.  The goal of 10,000 was met, on schedule, in 2006 and, in 2007 almost 11,000 immigrants arrived in Manitoba.  The province wants more of the same and has set a ambitious new target of 20,000 immigrants per year by 2016.  However, in order to ensure that immigrants will stay in Manitoba, the province has to take a broader look at its policy framework to ensure that there are synergies between its immigration policy and other policies.

Newcomers, whether immigrants or not, need jobs, housing and transportation.  Therefore, the current national recession and the expected commitment by both senior levels of government to stimulate the economy by spending on infrastructure present a wonderful opportunity.  Adequate housing in safe neighbourhoods with efficient public transit will encourage immigrants to remain in Winnipeg or Brandon or any other city in the province.  The Government of Manitoba has the opportunity to direct the new spending to provide decent affordable, be it public and private, housing for immigrants

In a recent report entitled The Housing Circumstances of Recently Arrived Refugees: The Winnipeg Experience, Dr. Tom Carter of the University of Winnipeg wrote, “For any newcomer household, access to stable and affordable housing is crucial for their social, cultural, and economic integration into a society.”   

The report’s recommendations include: changing unit size and design to meet the needs and household composition of new arrivals, whose families are often large; reviewing public housing criteria to ensure that they reflect cultural practices and characteristics of newcomers; building transitional housing to facilitate resettlement and integration; and increasing  the supply of affordable rental housing.

While the report focuses on refugees, and over 10% of Manitoba’s immigrants are refugees, the recommendations apply to all immigrants. 

Most immigrants have to rely on public transit.  Many jobs are out of reach simply because immigrants cannot get to them by public transit.  Public transit systems in Manitoba must be affordable, efficient and safe to enable all residents to share in our economic, educational and cultural wealth.  Bus transit in our smaller cities must be improved.  For example, Brandon realized that transit was a key to the growth of the new Maple Leaf plant, 60% of whose labour force consists of migrant workers.

In Winnipeg, however, busways may be fine for today, but let’s use part of the stimulus funding to start building the Winnipeg Transit of the future.  Edmonton and Calgary were both cities of about 700,000 when they began to build their LRT systems and today they are further expanding their systems.  Winnipeg is not too small and it is not too early to get a start on our LRT system. 

Imagine fast, clean, electrically powered Light Rail Transit running west from Portage and Main to the airport, south to the University of Manitoba and to the east and north as well.  Imagine bright heated stations along the way.  Imagine the benefits to downtown merchants and the city’s cultural organizations if people can travel to them quickly and cheaply.  Imagine, if we begin to consider public transit as an inherent right, like health care, and provide it for a dollar a ride?  Imagine the savings on road construction and repair with an effective, efficient and affordable transit system providing the incentive for people to leave their cars at home and take the LRT.  Let’s dream of a great city and a great province as did Manitobans a century ago.

If we want Winnipeg and Manitoba to continue to grow and prosper, we have to attract and retain immigrants, and retain our young people as well.  To do so, along with ensuring that our economy continues to create meaningful jobs, the two most important things to provide are appropriate housing and transportation.  Now is a once in a generation opportunity we must not miss.

Keywords: immigration, infrastructure, public transit, Manitoba economy

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