Manitoba rally seeks permit extensions

More than 100 people rallied at Manitoba’s legislature on April 14, asking Ottawa to extend work permits they said are set to expire this year. (cbc.ca) CBC reported the protest drew temporary residents who said an expired permit could force them to stop working and leave Canada. One of them, Wuhan-born Winnipeg resident Li, 38, said she came to Manitoba two years ago and graduated from a culinary arts program at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology. (cbc.ca) In Canada, a work permit is the document that lets a non-citizen keep working legally, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says workers who apply before it expires can usually stay under “maintained status” while a decision is pending. That protection depends on filing an extension application on time and meeting the rules for the permit category involved. (canada.ca) Manitoba has been pressing Ottawa for special relief because many of the workers at risk are already in the province’s immigration pipeline. The federal government announced in May 2024 a temporary measure for skilled temporary workers in Manitoba who were in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program expression-of-interest pool. (canada.ca) The province expanded that push on April 15, 2025, when Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino announced a two-year Manitoba-specific work permit extension for prospective Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program candidates. Manitoba said the measure would help workers whose permits had expired in 2024 or 2025, or would expire within 45 days, apply for a two-year extension. (news.gov.mb.ca) (immigratemanitoba.com) That earlier Manitoba program was large enough to affect thousands of people. CBC reported in 2024 that more than 6,700 newcomers in Manitoba with federal work permits expiring that year would be able to stay at least two more years after Ottawa approved the province’s request. (cbc.ca) The pressure is not limited to Manitoba. CBC reported in January 2026 that Ottawa expected about 2.1 million temporary residents across Canada to have expired or expiring permits during the year, part of a broader federal effort to reduce the temporary resident population. (cbc.ca) Manitoba has also been reshaping its nominee program around workers already in the province after federal limits tightened. CBC reported in early 2026 that the province planned to devote more nomination spots to temporary residents already living and working there rather than recruiting more people from abroad. (cbc.ca) Ottawa’s standing guidance says workers can apply to extend or change the conditions of a permit from inside Canada, but the approval still depends on the program rules and supporting documents. At the legislature in Winnipeg this week, protesters were asking for that window to stay open long enough for them to keep working while their permanent-residence plans catch up. (canada.ca) (cbc.ca)