Southwest Manitoba is one of the greatest locations to be living and working in all of Canada!  You and your family will have the opportunity to be part of our kind-hearted communities. Come and experience our wonderful world of success in industry, agriculture, community, health and education.  This is where you and your family will have the opportunity to succeed in employment, lifestyle, and as a family.

The Southwest Regional Immigration Committee is comprised of eight communities and municipalities within the southwest region of Manitoba: Boissevain, Deloraine, Melita, Rivers, Rural Municipality of Pipestone, Rural Municipality of Whitewater, Souris and Virden. Our communities have all come together with the same purpose in mind; to attract and retain immigrants from around the globe.  We want to insure your success as the newest member of our community.

We offer our services at no charge. We encourage you to contact the community of your choice for more information about immigrating to the Southwest!

Click here to view a map of Southwest Manitoba.

Start Your Exploration of the Southwest

• Select Southwest -- Information about our region, its history and our people, lifestyle and economy.
• Destination Southwest -- Determine your options for immigrating to the Southwest, including the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program.
• Settle Southwest -- Find out more about working and living in the Southwest, including healthcare, education, childcare, seniors programs and important documents required.
• Indulge in Southwest -- Discover the recreation, arts, culture and leisure activities which can be part of your new life in the Southwest!

Family Success Stories

The Van der deen Family

In October of 2008 Eddy and Arenda Van der deen became immigrants for the second time in their lives.  Eddy had many years of experience farming and Arenda had many years of experience teaching preschool.  After both had carried out their occupations in Holland and Denmark, it was time for them to find the place they were meant to live.  The Van der deen's also have two grown daughters that are currently contemplating immigration, Wilma and Linda, and her husband, Joe.
Relocating to Canada was discussed after Arenda and Eddy had visited Eddy's brother in Canada.  They had a good time, and they could see themselves living in a different country then Denmark.  Eddy started looking on the internet, and found a lot of information.  The farm business in Denmark wasn't the best business at the time, and Eddy wanted to be a farmer.  After almost six months, Eddy had a good idea of what Canada was, and what new possibilities Canada had to offer his family.
Wilma wanted to see Canada too, so she visited Eddy's brother.  She also could see herself living in Canada.  Linda and Joe got married in January 2007 and they visited Canada for three weeks.  They drove from Thunder Bay to the Rocky Mountains.  They liked what they saw, and they could also see themselves living in Canada.  If everything goes as planned, Linda and Joe will immigrate to Manitoba in less than two years.
Eddy and Arenda went on another holiday to Canada, this time they visited Manitoba.  Eddy thought that the landscape looked a lot like Denmark, and they liked Denmark.  They looked at some farms, and when they came home, they knew that they wanted to immigrate to Manitoba.  They took another trip to Manitoba in October of 2007, this time they came to Southwest Manitoba.  Still they did not see the right farm, but they did meet friendly people and a found it to be a relaxed environment.
In April of 2008 Edddy, Arenda and Wilma came to Manitoba again to see a farm in Southwest Manitoba.  Their first impression of the farm was a good one.  They could see themselves living there.  After they had seen the farm a few times they were sure that this was the place they wanted to live.  They found that Southwest Manitoba has the same landscape as in Denmark and some places in Holland. This was a place Eddy could be a farmer and Arenda could relax a little more.
Arenda and Eddy found immigration a long process and it was difficult to find the right papers for the provincial application.  The people who they met in Southwest Manitoba where very friendly and assisted them.  It took them nine months to get their visas and medical examinations.
The Van der deen family think the scenery here is beautiful and the people are very friendly.  It feels like home to them, because it has a similar environment to Denmark.  There are a lot of opportunities in Southwest Manitoba.

Some things to consider:
Educate yourselves about access to water, They didn't know that they would have to haul water for their well.
To get a drivers licence, car, plates for a car you needed to have two papers with your legal address on it.
When they got their Manitoba drivers license they lost their European drivers license.  When they go back to Europe it will be harder for them to rent a car.
They had a lot of 220W electronics that they gave away, but it is really easy to make 220W in the house, and they could have kept some of there belongings that they gave away because it is 110W here.
You need to have a lot of patience for everything you want to access (car, drivers license, plates, phone, internet etc.)
There is enough space for people, nature, culture and farmers.  It feel like home to The Van Der Deen's.

Some words of advice:
Give yourself time to make connections and even if your English is good, take an introductory class, because there is a lot of information that can become handy later on.
Buy Winter clothes in the fall, and do not wait until Winter.
Remember to drink enough water, the humidity is very low.
Everybody wants to help you, so be open and ask questions and be open for advice.
Create church contacts, it is a good way to get to know new people.
We have a new goal in our life; Eddy can be a real farmer again, I can relax more , and find new hobbies.  There are a lot of opportunities here; there is room for a family like ours.  Our children want to live in Southwest Manitoba too.  Even though Denmark was a great country; they can see that there is a future for them here that they couldn't get in Denmark.

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