Adult education in an urban context

More and more people are on the move today and migration is recognized as one of the defining global issues of the twenty-first century. Available information suggests that there are about 194 million people living outside their place of birth (International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2010). There is growing recognition that migration is an essential and inevitable component for the economic and social life of every state (Annan 2004). The number of immigrants and refugees is on the rise in Canada and Manitoba is in the forefront of this trend and is the destination for a growing number of international migrants (Table One). In 2007, immigration to Manitoba increased by 9 percent, reaching 10,955 immigrants, the highest level in fifty years, and by the year 2016 Manitoba is aiming to increase this number to 20,000 (Table Two). Since 1999, Manitoba has accepted 6,500 refugees. Manitoba's population growth of 2.6 percent is largely attributable to immigration. The colour and source countries of the immigrants are changing (Government of Manitoba 2007). The top three countries of birth of immigrants to Winnipeg prior to 1986 were the UK, the Philippines and Germany; today the majority of immigrants destined for Manitoba arrives from non-Western European countries and settle in Winnipeg (Figure One).