Clea Schmidt
University of Manitoba
Diverse Learners and Diverse Teachers in Manitoba, Canada
Briefing Notes
Manitoba Demographics and Background Information
 Manitoba has a total provincial population of 1.2 million and a 2016 target of attracting 20,000
immigrants annually, most of whom are “visible minorities” and have first languages other than
English or French.
 Most newcomers arrive through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), a program designed to
help provinces address individual labour shortages.
 Manitoba maintains the highest child poverty rate in Canada (43,000 children living in poverty),
at three percent above the national average. (Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, 2010)
 Manitoba and Winnipeg have the greatest concentration of Aboriginal peoples in Canada
(15.5% total of the province’s population). (Manitoba Education, 2011)
 Manitoba has thirty-five school divisions, six of which are in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s largest city
with a population of 800,000.
 Education is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada.
Top Ten Source Countries for
Immigrants to Manitoba
1. Philippines
2. Germany
3. India
4. China
5. Korea
6. Ethiopia
7. Israel
8. United States
9. Afghanistan
10. England
Top Ten Languages of Immigrants
to Manitoba
1. Tagalog
2. German
3. Punjabi
4. English
5. Russian
6. Korean
7. Mandarin
8. Spanish
9. Amharic
10. Other African
Top Ten Occupations of Immigrants
to Manitoba
1. Welder
2. Engineer
3. Financial auditor &
accountant
4. Computer programmer
5. Truck Driver
6. Motor Vehicle Mechanic
7. Accounting and Related
Clerks
8. Machine Tool Operators
9. Carpenters
10. Post-Secondary Teaching
and Research Assistants
Source: The New Wave : The Immigrant Experience in Manitoba
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/immigration/topten.html, information compiled from Manitoba
Immigration Facts 2006 Statistical Report
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Student and Teacher Demographics
 Manitoba has 180,000 students and 13,400 teachers in its public schools.
 In addition to programming in English and French, Manitoba public schools offer heritage
language programming in German, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Cree, Filipino, Japanese, Mandarin,
Ojibwe, Portuguese, and Spanish. Fewer than 2000 students across Manitoba participate in
such programming (Schmidt, forthcoming).
 In 2008, approximately 500 public schools in thirty-two school divisions reported nearly 10,000
students eligible for EAL support. http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/background.html
 Approximately 225 internationally educated teachers apply for teaching certification in
Manitoba each year; on average half are denied certification outright and the remainder are
given detailed requirements to meet provisional or permanent certification. These
requirements can range from a few education courses to several years of university education
including undergraduate degrees. In a small number of cases, applicants receive Manitoba
certification with no further requirements to complete.
Programs
 In Canada, three academic and professional bridging programs exist to support internationally
educated teachers (IETs) in meeting certification requirements and resuming their careers.
Additionally, the University of Manitoba offers a non-credit Mentorship Initiative for IETs who
are certified and are transitioning to employment.
Bridging Programs for IETs
Simon Fraser University http://www.educ.sfu.ca/pdp/pqp/
University of Manitoba http://www.umanitoba.ca/education/iet/
Chinook Learning Services in partnership with the University of Calgary
http://www.chinooklearningservices.com/ContEd/ImmigrantBridgingProgram.html

Other programming integrates IETs or internationally educated teacher candidates (IETCs) into
regular Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) Programs (e.g., University of British Columbia, University
of Winnipeg, University of Toronto) and provides various academic, language and cultural
supports within the framework of those programs.
B.Ed. Programming for IETs/IETCs
University of British Columbia http://teach.educ.ubc.ca/updating/index.html
University of Winnipeg http://education.uwinnipeg.ca/future_students/international_teachers.html
University of Toronto’s Academic and Cultural Support Centre
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ss/Academic_Cultural_Support_at_OISE/index.html
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Policies
 Manitoba’s Belonging, Learning, Growing: K-12 Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity
(http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/reports/equity/belonging_learning_growing.pdf)
articulates the need for a teaching force that reflects the diversity of student populations;
however, this policy has not been well implemented at the school division level (Schmidt &
Block, 2010).
 Only one of the six Winnipeg school divisions has an employment equity policy committed to
diversifying the teaching force to reflect the cultural, linguistic, and ethnic
diversity of the community (Schmidt & Block, 2010).
 Teacher credentialing across Canada has recently been impacted by the Labour Mobility
Chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade, stipulating that a teaching certificate recognized in
one Canadian jurisdiction will automatically be recognized in other jurisdictions.
Main Issues
 In the absence of a teacher shortage across Canada (except in particular northern and rural
communities and very limited subject areas), immigrant teachers tend not to accrue political or
financial priority in labour market integration agendas. Sustained funding for programming and
supports is a major challenge.
 Government immigration agendas and education agendas are not always well aligned,
impeding recognition that diversifying the teaching force (e.g., through the integration of
immigrant teachers) is an important strategy to respond to the needs of student populations.
 While responsive teacher education programming exists to support immigrant teachers
(Schmidt, 2010a), systemic barriers to integration (e.g., employment and linguistic
discrimination) remain prohibitive (Schmidt, 2010b).
 Given most immigrant teachers initially obtain work in substitute teaching roles and term
positions, mentoring is a challenge since most mentoring services for new teachers are
available only to teachers on permanent contracts.
 Lack of employment data for IETs means we do not have a clear sense of how many immigrant
teachers are actually employed in the school system in Canada and in what capacities.
References
Research on Immigrant Teachers in Manitoba
Schmidt, C. (2010a). Towards equity for internationally educated teachers in teacher education field experiences. In T.
Falkenberg & H. Smits (Eds.), Field experiences in the context of reform of Canadian teacher education programs (2
vols., pp. 359-368). Winnipeg, MB: Faculty of Education of the University of Manitoba.
Schmidt, C. (2010b). Systemic discrimination as a barrier for immigrant teachers. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority
Education, 4(4), 235-252.
Schmidt, C., Young, J., & Mandzuk, D. (2010). The integration of immigrant teachers in Manitoba, Canada: Critical issues
and perspectives. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 11(4), 1-14.
Schmidt, C. & Block, L. (2010). Without and within: The implications of employment and ethnocultural equity policies for
internationally educated teachers. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 100, 1-23.
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Manitoba Demographics and Immigration
Aboriginal People in Manitoba
http://www.gov.mb.ca/ana/pdf/apm2006.pdf
Diversity and Employment Equity Fact Sheet: Manitoba’s Demographics
http://www.gov.mb.ca/csc/pdf/vdmbdemo.pdf
Ethnicity Series: A Demographic Portrait of Manitoba Volume 1, Foreign-Born Population
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/multi_sec/pdf/ethnicity_vol1_mar2010.pdf
Manitoba Education: English as an Additional Language Support and Statistics
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/background.html
Manitoba Education. Two Worlds: Aboriginal Education and Employment Action Plan 2008-2011
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/abedu/action_plan/abed_action_plan_0811.pdf
Social Planning Council of Winnipeg: Manitoba Child Poverty Report Card 2010
http://www.spcw.mb.ca/files/Child%20and%20Family%20Report%20Card%202010final.pdf
The New Wave : The Immigrant Experience in Manitoba http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/immigration/topten.html
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