Statistics Canada says fourth-quarter growth is third best in country
Manitoba has achieved its best population growth rate in nearly 40 years, Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade Minister Peter Bjornson announced.
“People from around the globe are clearly learning that Manitoba is a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Bjornson said.
According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba’s population reached 1,229,000 people in 2009, an increase of 16,400 people over the previous year.
Bjornson said Manitoba’s population increase last year of 1.36 per cent last year is the best since 1971 and builds on a decade-long trend of positive population growth.
In the past 10 years, Manitoba has grown by nearly 90,000 people. That is roughly equivalent to the populations of Brandon, Thompson, Dauphin, and Portage la Prairie combined and more than double the population increase over the previous decade.
In addition, Manitoba’s fourth-quarter growth rate of 0.23 per cent was the third-best provincial growth rate in the country and better than the national average of 0.17 per cent.
Much of the population increase has been driven by immigration from other countries, due in a large part to the success of Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program, the minister said.
“Our Provincial Nominee Program is ensuring that people from around the world can bring their skills to our great province and make it even better,” said Bjornson.
