Exploring Motivations of SMEs in hiring newcomers

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ more than 90% of Canadians and account for 98% of businesses, while also creating the most jobs in Canada. One of the highest priorities of immigrants is working, and employed newcomers mean a successful immigration policy and prosperity, locally and nationally. With persistent labour shortages in rural areas, immigrants are vital to businesses and communities. At the centre of this success are motivations of SME owners in hiring newcomers.
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Excess Moisture Management

This applied research is examining individual investment options to assess farm-level and regional-level impacts of farmers’ technical choices during periods of insufficient and excess (i.e., extreme) moisture using a cost-benefit framework. The RDI project team is joined with experts from the Universities of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Funding from the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association and the Manitoba Agricultural Partnership is making this two year project a possibility.                                                                         Read more about this project

The Integration of Newcomers on the Canadian Prairies

The Integration of Newcomers on the Canadian Prairies project builds on fourteen years of immigration and integration work by the Rural Development Institute (RDI) from 2005’s Manitoba Rural Immigration Community Case Studies to 2019’s Exploring Employers’ Motivations to Hire Newcomers on the Canadian Prairies.Immigrants to Canada diversify Canadian society and grow the economy, and so it is no surprise that key government policies aim to increase and control immigration. But it is not enough just to have newcomers arriving in Canada, with no plan for helping them to settle in their new home.

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Assessing the Aurora Business Leadership Program

This report offers important insights for stakeholders involved in business development. This research establishes that entrepreneurs starting a business are advantaged by also planning and organizing for their enterprise’s growth over the long term. This study shows that business advisors and coaches need to inform their clients of the importance of ongoing risk assessments both prior to and after launching a business. It also suggests that governments need to have employment and industry sector data updated regularly to aid entrepreneurs in their business planning and operations.
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Look North Indigenous Economy Report

With 67% of Manitoba’s land area and 6% of its population, northern Manitoba has been a long-term net contributor to the economic prosperity of all Manitoba, as the source of some of the province’s richest natural resources and tourism icons. In northern Manitoba, 73% of the population self-identifies as Indigenous and 52% of the population lives on a First Nation. And yet, little is known about how and how much Indigenous people are contributing to the economy of the North and to all of Manitoba. This report quantifies spending amounts by Indigenous people in northern Manitoba in order to calculate their contributions to the provincial economy and the economy of the North, and it calculates the GDP of northern Manitoba for the first time.
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Indigenous Contributions to the Manitoba Economy

$9.3 billion. That’s the amount that Indigenous people in Manitoba spend each year—through Indigenous businesses, governments, household spending, and spending on infrastructure. The bulk of that spending is by the over 700 Indigenous businesses in the province. How does all this spending impact the economy? The economic impact of Indigenous people in Manitoba can be measured in four ways: they create and maintain over 35,700 jobs, contribute $2.3 billion to Manitoba’s GDP, provide $1.1 billion in wages and salaries to workers, and contribute $231 million in taxes to the federal and provincial governments. The Indigenous contribution to Manitoba’s GDP is more than either manufacturing, accommodations and food services, or mining and oil and gas extraction.
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Watch a short video of the report launch

International Comparative Rural Policies Studies (ICRPS)

The ICRPS program aims to create a high-level, international, inter-disciplinary, and research-based learning environment for future leaders in rural policy development, research, teaching, and practice. The program provides a post-graduate program in comparative rural policy studies at post-secondary educational institutions in North America and the European Union. ICRPS hosts an intensive two-week summer program attended by graduate students, faculty, and policy analysts.
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