Loney: Making Winnipeg More Welcoming to

International Newcomers


Released Oct 15, 2022

Shaun Loney announced today that when elected Mayor he will work with newcomer organizations, City Council, the civic Administration and other stakeholders to make Winnipeg more welcoming to international newcomers. Loney noted that while Winnipeg has shown strong population growth over the previous decade, much of this growth has been reliant on international migration of permanent and non-permanent residents to the City which has also offset significant losses from interprovincial outmigration.  “I’m particularly concerned,” said Loney, “that Winnipeg’s estimated population actually declined slightly in 2021 for the first time since 1997. We need a more inclusive Winnipeg to attract and retain newcomers.”

Highlights of Loney’s ‘Newcomer Welcome and Inclusion Plan’ 

Jobs for Newcomers

  • Loney’s previously announced plan to add 1,000 social enterprise jobs will include training and employment for newcomers who don’t have access to the labour market.

A More Welcoming Civic Administration

  • Loney’s plan will be incorporated into the City of Winnipeg’s Newcomer Welcome and Inclusion Policy passed in 2020.  Two new staff positions will be hired to assist in implementation. 

Fiscal Impact: $150K per year from 2023 to 2026.

  • The City of Winnipeg will work with non-profit organizations providing services to newcomers to facilitate creation of a social enterprise that hires refugees to provide interpreting and translating services. This will be based on a successful model from Scotland called Voiceover Interpreting Service to ensure better access to jobs and government services 

Fiscal Impact: $50K for start-up support in 2024 plus City of Winnipeg to purchase services worth $50K per year starting mid-2024.

Welcome Pass

  • A one-year  ‘Welcome Pass’ will be offered to provide newcomers free or low-cost access to civic programs and services (e.g., Winnipeg Transit, recreation fees, library programs, etc.).

Voting Rights

  • As Mayor, Loney will champion a motion at City Council to ask the Province of Manitoba to change The Elections Act to allow permanent residents to vote.

Modernize Hiring, Training and Policing Practices

  • Loney will advocate for members of the Winnipeg Police Service to receive additional training in bias-free policing on a five-year rotational basis.

  • Loney’s plan to tackle homelessness with a systemic solution that will free-up police to enable them to put more focus on hate crimes.

  • Loney’s ‘Newcomer Welcome and Inclusion Policy’ will ensure that the composition of civic employees, including frontline service providers. reflects the diversity of our community. This will require progressive training and hiring practices which ensure newcomers have the credentials to be eligible for recruitment into City positions.

Education and Reconciliation

  • An Access Without Fear Policy will ensure people with precarious or temporary immigration status, have access to civic services without fear of being reported to Canada Border Services Agency. Access Without Fear Policies exist in Toronto, Hamilton, Vancouver and Montreal.

  • There will be advocacy for more Indigenous history taught as part of becoming Canadian citizens. Events, such as the Multicultural Teafest and Reconciliation Circles, will be promoted where newcomers and Indigenous people can develop new relationships.

  • Partnerships will be created with community groups for a city-wide anti-racism campaign to combat negative attitudes and discrimination towards newcomers, racialized communities and Indigenous residents

Fiscal Impact: $250K per year with invitation to the other two levels of government to match this contribution.

  • A Newcomer Youth Employment Strategy will give newcomer youth from low-income families positive employment opportunities connecting to their culture and Winnipeg’s cultural communities while also promoting literacy and recreational opportunities.

Fiscal Impact:  $250K per year with an invitation for the federal and provincial governments to match this civic contribution.

Backgrounder

  1. Source: Winnipeg Population Estimates and Projections - June 2022 Update. City of Wpg

  2. Source: Community Trends and Performance Report – Volume 1 for 2022 Budget.
    July 2021. City of Winnipeg.

  3. Loney’s Fully-Costed Platform includes room to incorporate this additional $700K annual investment to make Winnipeg a more welcoming city to international newcomers.

4. Extending Voting Rights to Permanent Residents

  • About 80,500 non-citizens (just over 10% of Winnipeg’s population) are ineligible to vote in this month’s civic election. These are tax paying citizens who use civic services on a regular basis. Extending voting rights to permanent residents would promote inclusion. 

  • There are other Canadian cities (Toronto, Halifax, Saint John and North Bay) that have called upon their provincial governments to extend voting rights to include permanent residents.