A federal immigration program in Manitoba that faced significant cuts earlier this year subsequently received a boost of over 30 per cent from Ottawa.

Manitoba is receiving an additional 1,489 slots through the provincial nominee program this year -- bringing the total spots allotted from the federal government to 6,239, up from 4,750 in January.

Each province receives an annual allocation of nominations from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for those looking to relocate from other countries.

Early this year, the federal government announced it was reducing the provincial nominee allotment nationwide by half, from about 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025.

It was seen as one of several moves by the Liberals to stabilize population growth and relieve pressure facing the housing market, and mainly crafted with big cities in mind.

In January, Manitoba Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said Manitoba shouldn't suffer due to a housing crunch in big cities. She said the decision would "hurt Manitoba businesses and worsen labour shortages."

Marcelino had asked for 12,000 nomination slots, which would've represented a 26 per cent increase from last year and double the nominees Manitoba had in 2022.

The province lobbied against the cuts because Manitoba has heavily relied on the nominee program for the past couple decades to grow the local economy.

Marcelino was out of province on Tuesday and was unavailable to comment.

CBC News has requested comment from the federal government regarding the recent increase.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara credited Marcelino for pushing for more provincial nominee slots in the face of cuts.

"This is something the provinces did not have the opportunity to contribute [to] before that decision was made by Canada" to reduce provincial nominee program allotments, said Asagwara.

"We are not all the same, we do need a unique approach, a tailored approach, and our minister of immigration has been doing a great job advocating ... to prioritize Manitoba's voice."

On Tuesday morning, the province put out a news release stating it had invited 328 temporary foreign workers working in health care in Manitoba to apply to the provincial nominee program.

That included 187 health-care aides, 21 physicians, 11 registered nurses and workers in other professions supporting patient care, according to the release.

Asagwara said their department has been working with Marcelino's to help people here through the temporary foreign worker program find a pathway to keep practising in Manitoba.

Under then-premier Heather Stefanson in 2023, the Progressive Conservatives lobbied Ottawa to up the number of nominees to 9,500 as an answer to serious labour shortages in Manitoba. The PCs approved 7,348 nominations that year after failing to process 2,152 applications in time.

Nearly three-quarters of Manitoba's immigration last year came through the provincial nominee program, according to Statistics Canada.

The province receives $500 per applicant through the program.