The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) released new guidelines on July 14 for employers seeking provincial Letters of Support that allow certain temporary foreign workers to extend status while awaiting permanent-residence decisions. The procedure replaces ad-hoc endorsement letters and introduces uniform eligibility criteria tied to residence, work history and Expression-of-Interest (EOI) status. To qualify, workers must have held a valid MPNP EOI on May 10, reside continuously in the province and remain employed by a Manitoba-based company willing to issue an updated Letter of Employment. The measure chiefly targets candidates caught in processing backlogs after the federal cap on high-wage LMIA applications was reinstated earlier this year. For Manitoba businesses—especially in food production and advanced manufacturing—the standardised letters promise fewer last-minute departures and less disruption to production schedules. Employers should compile payroll records, tax slips and job descriptions before submitting the online request to Manitoba’s Immigration Portal; processing is expected to take 10 business days. Immigration lawyers call the move a "bridge-permit workaround" that buys time for candidates waiting on MPNP nomination or federal finalisation. They caution, however, that letters do not override federal admissibility requirements and that workers must still file an employer-specific work-permit extension with IRCC. The province estimates that up to 3,000 foreign workers could benefit over the next 12 months, helping rural communities maintain staffing levels ahead of the 2026 harvest season.
Source: Immigration.ca
