On January 27th, 2025, members of the AMBM Group’s leadership team, including Mrs. Madeleine Arbez, Executive Director of the Economic Development Council for Bilingual Municipalities of Manitoba (CDEM), and Mr. Justin Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM), met with the Honourable Malaya Marcelino, Minister of Labour and Immigration and Minister responsible for The Workers Compensation Board.
This meeting aimed to strengthen the municipal-provincial partnership on Francophone and bilingual economic immigration in the province and to highlight the essential work done by the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM) in supporting and growing official language minority communities in Manitoba.
Francophone and bilingual immigration is a key factor for the economic and social prosperity of our Francophone and bilingual communities, as well as for Manitoba as a whole. Our bilingual municipalities are experiencing unprecedented growth: from 2016 to 2021, they recorded an increase of over 8%, far exceeding the provincial average of 5%. This historic growth demonstrates the attractiveness of our communities and reinforces our commitment to having the necessary resources to successfully welcome and ensure the sustainable prosperity of our Francophone and bilingual communities.
Aware of this reality, Minister Marcelino is committed to supporting our bilingual municipalities. She emphasized the Manitoba government’s commitment to fostering the growth of Manitoba’s Francophone and bilingual population, particularly through economic immigration.
This strategic direction is directly aligned with our Strategy to Support Economic Immigration in Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities and the Notice on the 16 Strategic Priorities of Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipal Leadership, published in September 2023.
To maximize our chances of success, the AMBM and the CDEM reiterated the need to strengthen settlement and integration capacities in rural areas.
To support this growth through economic immigration, the Manitoba government has recruited two bilingual immigration officers for a four-year period, supported by the Canada-Manitoba Agreement on French Language Services (CMAFLS) 2023-2028. These additional resources will accelerate the processing of applications from Francophone countries. We welcome this positive measure.
Thanks to the strong partnership between the Manitoba government and the CDEM, our subsidiary is responsible for coordinating the Francophone sub-stream Invitation au Manitoba of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP). This partnership enables the CDEM to attract qualified Francophone and bilingual talent to Manitoba that meets the needs of employers in order to provide the essential services and resources for the flourishing and sustainability of our Francophone and bilingual communities.
The CDEM plays a strategic role by deploying targeted international talent recruitment initiatives like Destination Manitoba. In December, its teams were able to meet talent in Senegal and Ivory Coast to showcase Manitoba’s advantages. Given its bilingual nature, the province is a preferred destination for Francophone immigration candidates with knowledge of both official languages.
Minister Marcelino also shares the priorities of the AMBM Group regarding the implementation of a tailored immigration initiative that matches the economic fabric and Francophone and bilingual labor needs in bilingual rural municipalities.
In this regard, we are fully mobilized to better understand the needs of local employers in order to best prepare the ground for new families. This work is essential to create an accommodating economic immigration pathway for the various stakeholders.
We discussed possible ways to prioritize Francophone candidates who wish to settle outside the capital region, emphasizing the importance of reliable data for long-term planning of essential services, such as settlement. This is crucial for regionalizing our efforts in Francophone and bilingual economic immigration, while developing employability services and programs tailored to rural environments, inspired by best practices proven in urban settings.
We are proud to count on the Manitoba government to jointly address the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by this growth. A strengthened municipal-provincial partnership and effective intergovernmental coordination are crucial to aligning our efforts and capacities to build even more prosperous, welcoming, and attractive communities.
In conclusion, we reiterated our commitment to working closely with the Manitoba government to go even further: the AMBM and the CDEM are determined to continue making a concrete difference on the ground.
The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 16 municipal governments committed to offering services in both official languages to their citizens. Together, these municipalities represent the majority of Manitoba’s population. Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership is also leads the AMBM Group, a consortium of three organizations with complementary mandates: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which specializes in the green economy. Complementing each other, these three organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) and the province as a whole.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, bcdd-oceo@ambm.ca.
