The flow of immigrants into the Pembina Valley region continues unabated, and it's quite likely we'll see current numbers expanded in the near future, according to the Executive Director for Regional Connections based in Winkler.

Steve Reynolds says the federal government realizes more skilled workers are needed to help expand Canada's economy.

"Some of the immigration requirements and federal programs have changed, but overall their target numbers for the coming years have increased. They are looking to offset the loss of retiring baby boomers who are leaving the work force in the next few years, and one of the strategies is to increase immigration."

In 2017 about 700 new arrivals accessed the services offered by Regional Connections with about half of those settling in Winkler and surrounding communities like Reinfeld and Schanzenfeld. About 200 of those also found homes in Morden and others into communities like Altona, Carman and Morris.

"Anywhere from 700 up to 1,000 newcomers has been fairly typical for us over the past ten years or so. Roughly half of all our clients have a German or Russian background. However, the diverstiy of the remaining half is increasing as we've worked with people from 130 couintries now."

Some of the other countries that immigrants are coming from include the Philippine islands, Ukraine, India, South American and Arabic speaking countries as well.

Businesses in the region have been expanding their markets for the past number of years creating new jobs and a need for workers. That situation is the driving force behind most of the immigration that is taking pace here.

"Some employers are directly recruiting overseas, which is good if they want to grow their businesses here locally. That's one solution in filling the need for labour ... and as long as there are jobs we generally see immigration sustained at a healthy level."