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Unknown
No.

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Unknown
Welcome to the Move Royal Canada podcast, where every week we showcase incredible businesses and rural Northern Canada businesses that are not only growing but are looking to hire. We're here to show you companies and communities outside of the big cities that are building stronger and more inclusive workplaces, workplaces that want and are encouraging newcomers, immigrants and refugees to work with them.

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Unknown
Let us be your guides to help you find the best places in Canada to not only immigrate, but build a career in Seattle. I'm your host, Leah Mitchell, and I am your co-host, Lindsey Rene. Join us as you learn about all of the amazing career opportunities in places that you may not have ever thought of moving. Let's get started.

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Unknown
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Move Rural Canada podcast. Today we are in Morden, Manitoba and we have with us Jason Dick. He is the economic development officer for the City of Morden. Welcome, Jason or Jay. We'll call you Elliot. Pleasure to be here. We always like to get a little bit of a background. So how did you end up in Morton?

00:01:15:22 - 00:01:34:10
Unknown
How did you grow up in rural Manitoba, or what is your. Can you give us a little bit of, your story of how you ended up where you are? Yeah, absolutely. I did grow up here. Yeah. Graduated from high school here. I grew up on a farm just south of town, small to Lakeridge, and, that loved high school of the community.

00:01:34:12 - 00:02:00:18
Unknown
Right from the start. But, to get an education, we had to move away. We don't have a university locally here, so. Spent, five years in Winnipeg getting myself educated. And, had a great career there in Winnipeg. Traveled the world, did research. Grad, did my master's degree. And so, there's a lot of thesis research for doing abroad and Indian, South America and, got some great, gigs in Winnipeg.

00:02:00:23 - 00:02:32:04
Unknown
Following up on that work on the economic development front. Got married and had a couple of kids. And as much as I loved Winnipeg, the opportunity to practice my skill sets in my home town, was too much to turn out. So when the economic development job for the city came up, I was thrilled to be the successful candidate, because with, at the time, I had a three year old, and one on the way and the prospect of living in a safe and peaceful, and, enjoyable community.

00:02:32:06 - 00:02:50:22
Unknown
I was born and raised my kids there. Was a real awesome opportunity. So my wife, who isn't from here. Didn't think twice. She's been out plenty visit and grandparents and stuff, and really thought that this would be the best opportunity for our kids, to have, a safe and peaceful childhood. I think you can't underrate that.

00:02:50:23 - 00:03:03:20
Unknown
I mean, that's one of the reasons we I mean, I grew up in rural, outside of Perry, but same thing. We moved to a small town. You know, I love the fact that my kids can bike to school. They can walk around town, and I'm. I'm not worried. I mean, we don't even have traffic lights in our town, so.

00:03:03:20 - 00:03:20:20
Unknown
Yeah, I totally agree with you on that part. Exactly. And the, like the the people always, considered a trade off or it's like, oh, yeah, you can go out to live in the middle of nowhere, and of course it's going to be safe. But, in a place like Morton, you know, we really do have all the amenities of the big city.

00:03:20:22 - 00:03:39:06
Unknown
Right close by. There's a few things that you can't get, within our, shopping districts. And there's a cluster of communities that was pretty close together here within about 20 minutes. Half an hour. And so what, one kid doesn't have the other typically. Does that compliment each other? Pretty nice. So we haven't felt disconnected, at all.

00:03:39:08 - 00:03:56:16
Unknown
From from our urban living previously. I'll always love Winnipeg, but, we're pretty happy with our choice to return to rural. And you're only sorry. One more question. You're only one hour from Winnipeg, correct? Like, it's not really even that far to what's right. Yeah. You got to go to the airport or something like that. Or, Christmas shopping.

00:03:56:16 - 00:04:29:21
Unknown
Sometimes I like to go to the big toy stores, but, the for the events that do happen, an hour is a pretty short drive. I remember when I was in Winnipeg on a 45 minute commute to my work downtown. By the time I actually get in my car to land in my office. And so that travel time, it may seem, like the distance makes a big difference, but so you compare it to some of the urban commutes and, you know, the people that we work with on a daily basis that are coming from some of the international cities, larger cities around the world, Delhi or Tehran or, Rio de Janeiro or

00:04:29:21 - 00:04:48:03
Unknown
something like that. And it's two hours of you're in traffic. And so my commute, used to be three minutes, to my office, and then, we just moved to a small acreage, me and my family, and, and so now it's a seven minute drive. That's just fine with me. So let's talk a little bit more about your community in depth.

00:04:48:03 - 00:05:07:06
Unknown
And actually what's front of mind when you're talking about your community was education. And so your secondary high school is, is pretty good. I've been there. And so can you talk a little bit about the educational part of, you know, Morden and what it has to offer like K to 12? I think that's really neat to highlight. For the community of Morton.

00:05:07:07 - 00:05:29:05
Unknown
Yeah, absolutely. I'll even go a little bit earlier, on that with the daycare, because Morton's been, pretty advanced with, daycare supportive services. We just added, 178 new spaces, in the last two years. So that's a think it might be a record, in, rural Manitoba for a number of new spaces added in, a two year period.

00:05:29:05 - 00:05:50:20
Unknown
And so that's something that we, recognized as an important start, to the educational process, especially for working families. And so there is a bunch of additional daycare spaces here. It's still a challenge, getting a spot, but, we have a great service provider and a bunch of new facilities, so. But, we also opened a brand new, primary, middle, school, I called Discovery Trails.

00:05:50:20 - 00:06:10:17
Unknown
So it's a French immersion focused school that also has some English classes as well. And they're already filling up pretty fast, I think. What was I going to be? An additional 500 or 600, school capacity or student capacity there. But a beautiful new facility. We got a rubberized running track that's competition ready. It's a first in, southern Manitoba.

00:06:10:21 - 00:06:44:17
Unknown
We're in the plans for a new high school, because the community has been growing, pretty strong over the last 15, 20 years. And, growth has shown itself, in the school, which continues to, expand and add new programs. And the rest of the it's one of the, it's a well equipped, educational system, around here, with Western School division, they, partner in a pretty unique partnership with a number of other school divisions, local in central south Manitoba here, to create, what's called the Red River Technical Vocational Area.

00:06:44:18 - 00:07:08:21
Unknown
It's one of the, best, vocational training programs offered anywhere in Manitoba, even Western Canada. I'd be willing to argue, allow kids in high school to get apprenticeship training hours, even while they're attending high school. So you could do, carpet for electrical or automotive training. And then, the cat town around here has a focus and, specialty.

00:07:08:21 - 00:07:36:07
Unknown
We have welding and pipe fitting here. They have electrical and automotive next door. And there's also expedition, help carrying, you know, list, is quite a long one. But, we have programs such that, folks can get into advanced, even college credits and apprenticeship levels, upon graduation. So that's a pretty unique, feature, of our educational system that, other parts of, Manitoba Academy, have.

00:07:36:07 - 00:07:55:00
Unknown
And so we're quite proud of that. It's helped. So the demand for trades, which is growing, year by year. Then beyond that, we do have some post-secondary, options as well. The Red River College, is a ten minutes away. And Winkler, and, we've, recently got a, licensed practical nursing program here in Morgan.

00:07:55:01 - 00:08:19:05
Unknown
So it's a two year, there's lots of supports in place to, to promote that, recruitment for that. And then we just, two weeks ago started off a network systems administrator. It diploma course, hosted by the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology. And so that's a new post-secondary program that we're offering here. There's also things like early childhood educator, and health care aid that are offered locally.

00:08:19:09 - 00:08:40:02
Unknown
So as you can see, actually, that's, you know, that kind of fits into our question about jobs and so on and so forth. Because when you open space for, you know, 178 capacity, daycare and then you're expanding your school and so on, so forth, even into post-secondary, there will be, jobs available, although there, you know, regulated.

00:08:40:04 - 00:08:59:11
Unknown
You do have to have your ECP, like early childhood educator, you know, your teaching designation and so on and so forth. But, there, you know, there's prospective jobs. And in that area. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Meaningful careers in a number of different sectors around here. And, and, just tons of great employers too. And what is the size of Morton right now?

00:08:59:16 - 00:09:33:03
Unknown
Like population wise? Yeah. We're kind of sitting between 11 and 12,000, in the community proper. And then the neighboring rural municipality has about 12,000, and then the next or, close the city just ten minutes away, has about 13 or 14,000. And, then there's a couple of communities of about 3000 within a half hour or so of the total catchment area, within 60km, population is about 60 to 70,000.

00:09:33:05 - 00:09:58:04
Unknown
And so it's kind of like the population of Brandon, but spread out over a little bit of a bigger distance. So that's where, you know, Morton South presents a unique rural proposition, because, the population density is actually pretty strong. And so that comes because there has been lots of, strong employers and economic activity down here, where people have been moving for jobs.

00:09:58:08 - 00:10:14:21
Unknown
And, the business has been booming. So the population stats are that would make us, if we combined everyone in our catchment area, would make this the second largest city. Well, and I think that's important because it gives a lot of people options for where they want to live, you know, and they're only within maybe a half hour of their work.

00:10:14:21 - 00:10:44:01
Unknown
Worst case scenario, you know, there's a lot of places they could be working, not just Morton. There's in Winkler, like you said, in lots of those other smaller communities nearby. What else would you say? Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Or just say the the between Winkler Terminal and then even the highway corridor where there's a number of businesses set up right in the rural municipality, like one of Morton's, unique features is that, almost anyone who's ever lived here long enough will have worked in one or more communities outside of Morton, in addition to Morton to.

00:10:44:01 - 00:11:06:14
Unknown
So that's the job markets within a drivable range is is kind of second to none outside of Winnipeg. Yeah. Exactly. What would you say in terms of affordability for housing and rent and things like that. Like if someone's coming in, what are housing prices looking like in the area? Hasn't prices are looking like they look around a lot of Canada.

00:11:06:14 - 00:11:29:23
Unknown
Unfortunately, we've seen, dramatic increases, over the last decade and five years. I'd say that the on average, the housing prices are lower than they are in our urban centers. But when I moved out, I was really hoping for a deep rural discount, on some stuff here. And. No, it's, it's across Canada. The affordability remains, an issue.

00:11:30:01 - 00:11:55:16
Unknown
And you just see what construction costs are rising. It's 50% more expensive to build the same home today than it was five years ago. And then that's that's just tough to, do business with, on the mortgage market and stuff. But there's, the housing prices are below the average selling price over here. So you can get, better access or a better home for the same price, in Morden.

00:11:55:18 - 00:12:14:06
Unknown
And there's a bunch of different options and different neighborhoods and stuff, and there's some vacant lots to build, new and custom. And there's development happening all the time. In different areas. And so there's also always some inventory of older stuff on the market, and we're brand new apartments and rental units, available all the time, too.

00:12:14:06 - 00:12:46:23
Unknown
Sometimes it can be a challenge to find a rental units, in rural communities. But thankfully, our, developers around here have been, really putting out units year after year. And so there's always, a couple of different rental options on the market as well. And so people are looking to rent and set it to, and I would even add to, you know, you don't have to buy right in Morden, you know, you could live outside in a smaller, smaller community and it would be even cheaper than Morden, you know, obviously depending on the community, you know, but if you're willing to drive a half hour, maybe south, you might

00:12:46:23 - 00:13:08:17
Unknown
get more affordability or. Absolutely. Yeah. That's right. If you got, if you're willing to take a 20 minute drive, there's a number of small little townships just outside of, our communities. For instance, where you are, you're much more, affordably priced, and with lots of options there, too. So, yeah, there's, there's a variety of options, out here.

00:13:08:17 - 00:13:26:04
Unknown
And then the just the cost of living can be a little bit less, too, when when you're out, living in rural, the some of the services, just like property taxes and stuff like that, are a little bit lower out here as well compared to Winnipeg. So always a few different factors to consider.

00:13:26:08 - 00:13:54:10
Unknown
Okay. So let's talk about, the industries that you guys have in your area. And so just off the top of your head, being the economic development officer, what would you say is your top three industries, that usually has positions open and so on and so forth in that, stats, kind of census data, helps us to know that the main employers in the area are in, manufacturing and service sectors.

00:13:54:12 - 00:14:19:11
Unknown
So a lot of government offices, down here and institutional offices. And so also a bit of a medical hub, for central Manitoba. And so we just had a 110, $20 million, addition to, our Bonar Charles health Center. And so it's new beds, new administrative capacity, new programing, and the significant contribution by the province, to enhancing medical services in rural Manitoba.

00:14:19:11 - 00:14:45:15
Unknown
More generally. So we got the lion's share of dentists and optometrists and physiotherapists and, that with our hospital expansion, that's a lot of new, positions that are created as well. So one of the largest employers is Southern Health, the regional health authority around here and a handful of these different sectors. But then there's number of government jobs, both Province of Manitoba, and Government of Canada, have, service center offices here.

00:14:45:20 - 00:15:06:12
Unknown
And so that's always, helpful. There's a court, here as well. The courthouse for other, and so lots of legal services around here. But then the majority of people, work, in manufacturing. And so there's, there's a nice range of jobs. And then third is, is agriculture and agriculture related products and services and value added stuff.

00:15:06:12 - 00:15:29:00
Unknown
But, you know, in terms of contribution to GDP and production and wealth creation in Manitoba, this area is really a heavy hitter, second only to Winnipeg and metro region in terms of output, exports, oriented output. And so our manufacturers, are doing a great job and they're numerous, and they're always hiring, for different shifts and stuff.

00:15:29:00 - 00:15:58:19
Unknown
And so it's one of the reasons that we have been able to attract so many newcomers, to, Morden is because there's always 1 or 2 manufacturing jobs within their skill set open, typically. And those can range from, welding to logistics to, truck driving, machine operation, are some common examples. But then behind that, there's always things like HR and sales and production management and a handful of things like that too.

00:15:58:19 - 00:16:23:09
Unknown
So, with these 95 trading, places comes a lot of really interesting careers and opportunities for people to do more than, or work sort of a production floor. And if they want to expand their career opportunities, there's lots of options and potential to do that around here. There's dozens of manufacturers that employ over 50 people and a handful that employ over 500.

00:16:23:11 - 00:16:46:04
Unknown
And so it's a major cabinet makers as major, luxury, what they call it, like RVs or, these, camper van things, but the fancy versions of them. And so these things have been some, pretty good recently, and so that that production facility. So that's a, ready to move home, production facilities.

00:16:46:06 - 00:17:10:10
Unknown
We have the cream production plant for medical devices, here. And they've changed their name to Solid Bantam, still under the 3 a.m. umbrella. But so like some of the manufacturing, it's pretty technical. They make, things for, like, heart monitoring. And, what's the thing where you, pacemaker. Yeah, that's a, so they there's a few examples.

00:17:10:10 - 00:17:29:18
Unknown
We could go on and on and make farm equipment and grain bins and, a million different things around here. So, but making stuff is what we do, best. And so there's, always jobs available in those sectors one way or the other. So I have a question just to touch on that. So, you know, a lot of manufacturing, there's usually a lot of sort of more entry level jobs.

00:17:29:18 - 00:17:53:17
Unknown
Right. Which, which work out if you're a newcomer, maybe you have lower level English. How is that or how are you? Maybe. I know regional connections is sort of the main, group that works with newcomers in your area. Are you finding are employers maybe taking on extra things to support their newcomer workforce, or is it more so through regional connections if someone needed to get English or or things like that?

00:17:53:22 - 00:18:21:09
Unknown
Yeah, that's a great question there. I think it's done a little bit differently in every community. And with every employer. Regional connections, is an exceptional partner, to work with, around here, they're really. No, their clients needs, and, that are a major employer themselves. So they've been doing such good business and they've gotten a great support from the government, but they offer a lot of programs like, employable skill set training and especially the English language training.

00:18:21:11 - 00:18:43:01
Unknown
So they, they are, our first choice, to recommend, folks who are new to town in the country and to go check out their services and learn how they can be of assistance. Employers often work directly with them, to coordinate and even offer custom, English language skills. If there's a technical knowledge and language that's needed within the workplace.

00:18:43:06 - 00:19:04:01
Unknown
But, a lot of our employers, around here, you know, they're not all corporately owned and there's a majority, I would say, or kind of family owned businesses. And I think, probably one of the best examples, I'll give two examples quickly. One is decor cabinets, one of our largest employers in town here, and one with a real international presence.

00:19:04:03 - 00:19:43:08
Unknown
Philanthropically, as well as, shop floor presence. So they, works with an international development and fundraise, for causes overseas. And so, they're, they're a little global minded, business, approach. And, their workforce is quite diverse as well. And so they, so support community events and, and sponsor different, newcomer groups, to do things in the community as well as support different things like English language in the workforce and, additional training, to support, skill acquisition while you're on staff.

00:19:43:08 - 00:20:04:00
Unknown
And so to start in one position and then work your way up into the, career of your dreams, is, something that's quite possible with some of these employers that really invest in their, in their staff, and recognize the value of, they wouldn't have been able to grow, to the extent that they have without the skilled worker immigration program.

00:20:04:00 - 00:20:27:16
Unknown
And so they really appreciate their potential to, do what they do, and recognize where that opportunity comes from. And it's through some of these immigration programs. Another good example is reasons, they're not a modern employer, but they're all of Altona. And they're one of the biggest employers, period. In southern Manitoba, they're, major commercial printing operations.

00:20:27:18 - 00:21:10:08
Unknown
And we're one of the first private industries to really take, the immigration opportunity seriously and invest in it. And so they I think they invest in their own transition departments early on in the game. They're doing airport pickups, and really making connections overseas to cultivate, a workforce that would be sustainable, durable, and their print shop because they couldn't expand and Altona is, city of both their town of about 3000 people and so much less opportunity to garner a large workforce, there and, so they, they really pioneered a lot of this stuff to, for reasons and with English language and, employable skills training while on the

00:21:10:08 - 00:21:35:19
Unknown
job. So I think I find that, it's a bit of a team effort around here. Our office also helps with some coordination and context. We have some professional staff, who can help guide people in the right way to make sure that they're making the connections that they need to to succeed. Well, and I think to all those things that you talked about with decor cabinets and freezers, that's very much what happens in a lot of rural places, you know, and I think that's another advantage for moving rural.

00:21:35:19 - 00:22:00:09
Unknown
You often will get a lot more supports through the workplace than you would in the city. So I think that's really that something to think about. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great point. Is the you're kind of left to your own devices if you're in, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary or something like that. But the in rural places, the like we our businesses cannot grow if we cannot support them.

00:22:00:11 - 00:22:18:06
Unknown
With the expanded workforce or we just don't have the population, over here to do it. And and sometimes you need the 50 workers. And within a couple of months, for some of, to get the right contract for the right job or something. And what looks like it's different. You can you can do that a little bit more easily, but.

00:22:18:08 - 00:22:34:17
Unknown
Oh, here the employers appreciate the opportunity to grow so much because they haven't had it before. You know, we've been doing this for 15 years and slowly ramping up that our capacity to to support newcomer settlements in the area. And employers have taken a little while to catch on, and we really need to see it to believe it.

00:22:34:22 - 00:23:12:15
Unknown
Sometimes in the private sector. Right. But the, the volunteers and the welcoming spirit that exists. So here, it's really incredible. We have a really diverse, newcomer community here as well, from every continent and on the planet, pretty much. And, and good, groups within there to the point where they're really, supporting each other when, when a new group like from, Bangladesh or Brazil or or something like that or Nigeria comes in, through there's just a group of volunteers that are just pleased as punch to go and meet them at the airport and welcome them and give them a ride home.

00:23:12:20 - 00:23:36:06
Unknown
You can set them up in their house if they need a couple of, weeks to transition to a new place. So we see the community really stepping up, to support and welcome, folks as well as businesses, because there's a level of appreciation. Oh, here. I think that, maybe not, the larger urban centers wouldn't have, that's actually what going to, that was going to be my next question.

00:23:36:06 - 00:23:57:13
Unknown
But you kind of answered that in terms of we've heard, do you have a diverse, newcomer community? And so when I'm in my practice, a lot of people will ask me about a community and they'll say, how welcoming are they in terms of newcomers coming to their community? But you've kind of answered that in terms of saying, you know, you have you have multiple, different cultures in your community already.

00:23:57:15 - 00:24:14:19
Unknown
So taking that as a step further, where do you, where does your community see the future of immigration? Because, as you said, you've done a great job with that. You were the pioneers of, immigration in rural Manitoba. So what do you think your next steps are in terms of immigration and how that should look in the future?

00:24:14:21 - 00:24:37:08
Unknown
Yeah, that's a really good question. You know, the federal government has changed, some of their approaches to things recently, and that's filtered down through the provinces, provincial nominee programs in various ways. And so we're really we're looking to, the province in the sense to provide some further guidance on, on where, they would like to see some focus.

00:24:37:08 - 00:25:03:03
Unknown
But the one of the beautiful things about the arrangement that we have with them, with the province, and the Mcap program, is that the reason that we have an agreement with them is to be flexible and responsive to local employers needs. And so we're learning every day, what our employers need, to be successful and how we can, support them on that with the skilled workforce and the right kinds of skill sets.

00:25:03:05 - 00:25:29:00
Unknown
And, and, you know, we we adapt our intakes year by year, depending on, where demand is in the industry, it's going to be, well, there's one year of machine operators the next year for the handful of, different other, specialties like that. Right now we're focused on, medical workers and so on, folks with a medical experience, particular nurses and doctors and health care aides, encourage you to check out, our website.

00:25:29:05 - 00:25:52:18
Unknown
We're still, receiving applications with folks that have some experience in education in those. And, and next year will be a little bit different to, you know, it's, it's a, it's a moving target. As the economy grows and shifts and ebbs and flows and stuff, you know, the one manufacturing center will ramp up, to hire 20 people to something, and then they'll be good for a couple of years.

00:25:52:20 - 00:26:22:01
Unknown
And then all of a sudden, 3 a.m., the international, mega brand, does, rebranding on the medical devices, and now we have a solvent, that's doing tens of, or, millions of dollars, in renovations to accommodate a new production line. And it's also and all the trades are, doing some of the most sophisticated Hvac systems and, and electrical systems in southern Manitoba that supports advanced production.

00:26:22:03 - 00:26:40:21
Unknown
And now they need things like engineers, and, they're just getting, ready to go here themselves, but they're still hiring. Right now, I would encourage you to check out their, website for some of the, good paying jobs that they got and more, professional, jobs that, you don't see come up every single day.

00:26:40:21 - 00:27:03:06
Unknown
You don't see a number of engineering jobs all of a sudden on the market at a given time in a, in a rural community. And so, we're happy to see that kind of stuff, come through as well as it means that we get to continue to build that diversity that we take pride in. Because it really is incredible to see the change over 15 years that we have people from every corner of the globe here.

00:27:03:08 - 00:27:30:05
Unknown
And enough of them that they, from each corner that they have, really support, their fellow countrymen, coming over, and, making sure that it's a nice soft landing when they arrive and that there's a big group, to support them on the other side of things. So, yeah, we we are interested in the many different shifting faces, of of immigration, you know, with medical workers right now.

00:27:30:07 - 00:28:01:15
Unknown
But one of the things that I think is an unsung, and most often talked about, immigration auction or stream is the business stream of immigration. And, there's a lot of unique ways and opportunities to come in through that. And we, have that stream that we talk with people, through when they have, maybe some, access to capital that they could invest, to at the other end of it and an entrepreneurial spirit or a business idea that they've been toying around.

00:28:01:17 - 00:28:19:21
Unknown
You know, because of the large population base, there's a lot of ways, to make a living out here. And being a self-employed and owning your own business is one of my favorite ways to support that immigration journey, because it has led to some really unique businesses in the area. And the sky's the limit, really, with, what you can offer in terms of services and products.

00:28:19:21 - 00:28:45:22
Unknown
So, be curious if you guys have seen some of that, work out in folks favor across the prairies as well. I think for, business immigration, we see it a lot, enrollment over in northern or just rural and say northern, but rural areas is more through, the farm, like the farming pathway. We see a lot of that and you know, so and smaller businesses too, such as, you know, your gas stations and your restaurants and so on and so forth.

00:28:46:00 - 00:29:10:12
Unknown
I was going to ask if somebody is listening to this right now and they're interested and have an idea for a business and is looking at rural Manitoba, would they contact you directly or is there is there someone else that we can put in our show notes that we would say, okay, so if you're interested in pitching, you know, a business idea, through and through our immigration pathway, who's the best contact for them?

00:29:10:14 - 00:29:34:16
Unknown
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity to direct, folks. To our website. More than immigration dossier is a great place to learn more about the different streams, whether it's the skilled worker pathway or business immigration pathway, all the eligibility requirements are on there, as well as our National Invitation Code, priority list, which changes all the time. So if you don't see your code on there, just check back.

00:29:34:18 - 00:29:54:11
Unknown
We update them 3 to 6 months, kind of thing based on, our input from employers. And then the business stream, is an intake or an expression of interest rate on the, the website there. So once we've gone through, the eligibility requirements and you think it might be closer, even if you're, within the ballpark, reach out to us and we will start a conversation.

00:29:54:13 - 00:30:19:13
Unknown
And there's a lot of interesting ways to, get facilitate immigration and, land with a great business, on a path to permanent residency beyond that. So, more on immigration.com or that's the, and then, the, there's expression of interest for both skilled worker and business streams then, and we'll get a chance to review it after that for people who maybe are looking to immigrate, maybe they have their PR ready or maybe they're just a Canadian citizen wanting to move rule.

00:30:19:15 - 00:30:38:19
Unknown
You know, how how would they go about like how receptive are employers for them? People just reaching out, you know, are they you know, because a lot of times people move rule, they live, they stay for a year and leave. Like, is there, is there hesitancy there sometimes? Or, you know, when people are coming from these larger cities that they're worried they're going to leave or, you know, what does that look like?

00:30:38:19 - 00:30:58:06
Unknown
Or if you heard stories or, absolutely. Right. Retention, of our, newcomer population has been the priority of our office. You know, it's it's one thing to, encourage people to come to your community. It's another thing for them to stay, you know, like, every community's the best community according to the people who are living there.

00:30:58:06 - 00:31:13:07
Unknown
Right. And so it's easy for that to be shared and not to be the sales pitch. Yeah. Time to live and you name it. Right. And it's the best place ever. And there's always going to be some reason or another to do it. And then the proof is really in the pudding with that one though. They.

00:31:13:08 - 00:31:38:14
Unknown
Yeah. People can come there. Are they going to stay there for more than 20s. Is that is the key to success. Right. And so are there jobs? Is there high quality of life? Are there the services that they're expecting and and entertainment to for the family and sports and the rest of it, you know, so we're really proud of our retention, rates, which are in the 80 to 90th percentile, which is highest rates on record that we're aware of.

00:31:38:16 - 00:31:56:00
Unknown
And we that's no accident. We, do our best to to welcome and support, the folks that come to our community, and do so through, having our own transition apartment, sets as well, so that people have a place to stay when they first arrive until they can get their feet on the ground.

00:31:56:02 - 00:32:27:08
Unknown
Don't have to stay in hotels or something. And, so we manage that transition apartment setting. Support volunteers for airport pickups and, make that happen. When volunteers aren't available, we have a number of community support programs, and, support, monthly welcome nights for folks who've arrived. It's hard to make introductions and, enhance their networks, and to make sure that they feel welcome and can make some friends upon arrival to so once a month, we host a, just a little get together, call it welcoming.

00:32:27:08 - 00:32:55:12
Unknown
Everyone who has landed in the last month or two, comes and gets to meet other newcomers or other community members who are really enthusiastic about, just immigration generally and, and love the cultural and, and, exposure and, and the novelty of it, you know, it's it is something that I've found that our, residents, lifelong, lifetime residents have really picked up on as well.

00:32:55:12 - 00:33:18:07
Unknown
And there's an enthusiasm among the local population to be encouraging and welcoming and to learn more about, the cultures that they may not have ever had a chance to meet themselves. And so that's where Morton's a unique, they've really embraced the diversity, that's, arisen in the last 15 years. And that shows and, sustainable and durable settlements that we see coming from our program.

00:33:18:07 - 00:33:41:06
Unknown
So retention is quite high and for good reason. And so would you also add, volunteerism is a key component because when I talk to people, if they're from a city, you know, within Canada and they grew up or even when they come overseas is that rural communities are built on volunteerism, and I often times tell them that it's, you know, to get a job sometimes and to move up that ladder.

00:33:41:06 - 00:34:03:07
Unknown
It's who, you know and to get to know people. You go and volunteer for a certain organization. So do you guys have a strong volunteerism base in your community? Yeah, I think that's a great point. Is, getting involved, is one of the most rewarding experiences, that I have had, in the development realm.

00:34:03:07 - 00:34:24:18
Unknown
And whether that's, volunteering or, finding the right organization or nonprofit, to work for, there's a million opportunities, you know, and year by year we see, more, newcomers participate in them and making the difference in the community, as well. And so there's things like, Corn Apple Festival, I think is a good example.

00:34:24:18 - 00:35:00:12
Unknown
You know, once a year we have, Manitoba's biggest street fair, take over our downtown and, it's tons of fun. There's countless, free events and activities and stuff, but it takes something like 500 volunteers, to pull it off. And so, there's so many opportunities for people to engage, around here and contribute to making the community a better place, that, it's really apparent, to the third weekend of August every year, during quarantine, when you see these folks in the streets and stuff, you're walking around the town in a festival or for up on the Ferris wheel or something like that, like the volunteers all have their

00:35:00:12 - 00:35:33:06
Unknown
shirts on, and you just see this army of people, making the events happen and, getting stuff done. And so it's great to see the town come together and great to see, newcomers, join that real feel good event. And then beyond that, there's even things like, at least a little a community. Called development organizations, but a lot of, like, just non-profits, like the Elks and the Lions, and a few of these, men's and women's clubs that, really did a lot of work in the 60s and 70s.

00:35:33:06 - 00:35:57:11
Unknown
80s, build a new parks, play structures. And now we're seeing even a revival in some of these organizations with, newcomers finding an opportunity and and, a need really, where there was maybe, a lot of folks who are in their 60s and 70s that were really taking the lead on these organizations, and now they're kind of retiring and putting down their volunteering mantle.

00:35:57:13 - 00:36:15:13
Unknown
And we've really seen a lot of newcomers pick up that torch, and breathe new life into some of these organizations. And so it's really encourage any of the newcomers listening to you guys right now in your audience, if that's something that ever occurred to them. But in the past, it's really making the modern a better place.

00:36:15:15 - 00:36:34:08
Unknown
And there's a really valuable opportunity to make the connections that make the community feel closer, as well as provide, yeah, meaningful opportunities within the workplace as well. It's not what, you know, to, you know, sometimes in a small town. And so getting out there making friends, and doing good work is a great way to make that happen.

00:36:34:08 - 00:36:51:08
Unknown
So thanks for bringing that up. I think as someone who works in the realm of workforce development and language, that's the number one thing you should be doing as a newcomer is getting involved in volunteering, because it's like you said, you get the connections, you meet people, you work on your language, and you understand Canadian culture and Canadian workplace culture through that as well.

00:36:51:08 - 00:37:13:22
Unknown
And those are big pieces to success in Canada. That's right. Leo, I think we're almost coming to the end here. Lindsay, did you have any any more questions? Would you say I have one more? But you go ahead. I think this is a question that Lee and I like to ask, and you kind of addressed it, but what do you think is the biggest misconception or misconceptions about living in rural Manitoba?

00:37:14:00 - 00:37:47:06
Unknown
You know, it's a good question. And, I guess it's a handful of them. Mostly it's just like, am I going to be in the middle of nowhere? Right. And, and is there going to be anyone to connect with? And is the community going to be, opening, welcoming kind of community, or is there going to be some hesitation to the presence of, of a newcomer, who may be a more visible minority in a rural location than they would otherwise be, and a more ethnically diverse urban space.

00:37:47:08 - 00:38:10:16
Unknown
And, I think that that does change community to community. And I think that there, that. Yeah, that there's a reason that that's a concern that we have that we address that question, a lot. And I think that it is it's a risk for certain communities, for sure. As, things like isolation, things like, cultural isolation or linguistic isolation or no one speaks the language that you want to speak or something like that.

00:38:10:18 - 00:38:36:21
Unknown
More than I wouldn't say that's the case. There is, the diversity that exists here already, some 15 years of working with this program, and having a just a naturally welcoming community. I mean, it's tough to really emphasize that enough is, it's walk down the street. Doesn't matter if you know the person or not. Make eye contact, wave, say hi, and start a conversation out of the blue like it's not for everybody, but, it's it's a neat part of, what I like about this town.

00:38:36:23 - 00:39:05:11
Unknown
Is this the friendliness, general friendliness of it? So I think that that surprises a lot of people when they arrived. Just how darn friendly country folk can be. And so that's a pleasant surprise, for, for a lot of folks. And I think another one is, is really knowing, some of the, like transportation, I think is a big shocker for some folks that assume that there's, trains or transit or busses and stuff like that.

00:39:05:13 - 00:39:25:21
Unknown
But we remain challenged, here in more than by a lack of, transit options. It's, you know, it's a it's a real difficult thing to provide when everything's spaced so far apart. You don't have the population base of Brandon or Winnipeg, but some of the we're working on, but something that does shock some people when they arrive is,

00:39:26:02 - 00:39:51:08
Unknown
I can't take a bus. I've got to get a car right away, and I'm getting a driver's license and some of those additional things. Right. So there's a few surprises. We do our best to prepare, folks, when they arrive. And we do, know what typical questions come up, but you can't, anticipate them all. Just encouraging everyone to do their background research on what's, how are you going to start your day and every day and, every step along the way there, because there can be some challenges.

00:39:51:08 - 00:40:18:05
Unknown
Thankfully, you can walk anywhere in the community in about 15 minutes. So, you know, it's, a cold walk in the winter, but you come prepared, and, it's no problem to get where you need to go. It's, so hopefully that's a it's a barrier that we'll address, as time goes on here. But yeah, just to know what you're getting into in terms of getting from point A to point B sometimes is, sometimes overlooked for taking for granted.

00:40:18:07 - 00:40:32:04
Unknown
Well, and I think really in Canada, you just do have to get a license. I mean, does it matter? I mean, listen, you're going to never leave a city. I mean, you do need a license if you want to go outside. Even a city. Right? And I think that's just something. And we're so spaced out is just an important thing to have.

00:40:32:08 - 00:40:53:12
Unknown
Agreed. So we've got one more question because we always like to highlight some things sort of, you know, new and different. So is there any, I don't know, activity or restaurant or thing you sort of like that you enjoy doing in, in the morning area that someone should check out if they were coming to sort of maybe explore your community, see if it's somewhere they wanted to live.

00:40:53:13 - 00:41:17:07
Unknown
Absolutely. You know, there's a number of distinguishing features and, and restaurants and businesses around here. But, and I'm a little bit biased on this, but, our golf course is spectacular. You know, it's, it's beautiful. It's in this, little, valley, with, ancient oak trees and the beautiful view and the challenging, beautiful course.

00:41:17:07 - 00:41:34:00
Unknown
And we're just in the middle of, a major clubhouse, renovation. And we'll have one of the nicest clubhouses and, restaurants. At the other end of that, we hope that's going to be open by next season. And central, which is pizza, is open. For restaurants in there. One of my favorite pizza joints from Winnipeg.

00:41:34:02 - 00:41:52:19
Unknown
And so, that's something that we're really looking forward to seeing come to fruition. The Middle East, Golf and Country club. So it's, an old golf club, the most popular sport, internationally and necessarily, but, want to try it out? You'll want to get a membership. I guarantee you that at least will be back for the pizza.

00:41:52:19 - 00:42:08:21
Unknown
So, yeah. Thanks for opportunity. Awesome. For sure. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Well, thank you so much for coming on, everyone. If you're listening, we're going to have all this information in the show notes. If you want to check it out you know, look a bit more. See if this is a place that would be a great place to to move to.

00:42:09:03 - 00:42:22:23
Unknown
We will have all that information. So thank you once again for coming. You appreciate it. My pleasure talking to you guys, all of us for the podcast. Thank you. Okay, so until next time, Liberal Live. Well.

00:42:23:01 - 00:42:37:22
Unknown
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