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This article was published 12/3/2009 (4219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA -- Manitoba Immigration Minister Nancy Allan is back from a whirlwind working visit to Iceland and several hundred Icelanders might not be far behind her.

Allan spent several days in the capital of Reykjavik last week putting the final touches on a special immigration initiative to connect unemployed Icelanders with jobs in Manitoba.

The program was conceived after a significant number of inquiries were made via the Icelandic embassy and consulate in Ottawa and Winnipeg, and directly to businesses and officials in Gimli, the unofficial Icelandic capital of Canada.

Over 30,000 people of Icelandic descent now live in Manitoba, the largest population of Icelanders outside of Iceland itself.

Allan said there was so much interest generated by her visit, the Canadian embassy was overwhelmed.

"They already added extra staff to handle the inquiries," she said.

The embassy is hosting a seminar for interested applicants today which will be broadcast live on the Internet via the website sjonvarp.khi. It is at 9 a.m. Winnipeg time, 3 p.m. Iceland time.

Between 200 and 300 people are expected at the seminar. Allan said there will be a much better understanding of how many people are truly interested after it takes place.

Iceland's department of labour will help screen the applicants, who, if approved, will be admitted to Canada as temporary foreign workers. If they choose to stay in Manitoba, they can eventually apply for permanent immigration status through the Manitoba provincial nominee program.

Allan said she was charmed by both the city architecture and the landscape in Iceland but said it's clear the country is going through a rough patch. Unemployment has soared, banks are failing and the government itself was forced to declare bankruptcy in October. Economists predict the Icelandic economy will shrink by 10 per cent this year and unemployment will top 10 per cent. In the fall, Iceland's jobless rate was below two per cent.

It's led to vast social and political instability, including widespread protests that saw thousands of Icelanders descend on the national parliament buildings, resulting in clashes with police and the resignation of the president.

Allan said the parliament buildings -- the oldest in the world -- still bear scars from the protests, with broken windows and boarded-up doorways. There are vacant storefronts and idle construction cranes all over Reykjavik.

Construction is one of the industries Manitoba is targeting, along with information technology and finance, said Allan.

Manitoba Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen praised the initiative, saying it will help grow the Manitoba population for the long term.

"This can be nothing but good news," said McFadyen.

Allan has received some criticism for going after foreign workers when Canadians are being laid off all over the place. She said there is no specific program to connect unemployed workers from other provinces with Manitoba, but noted they do not need to go through an immigration process.

"We encourage people from outside of Manitoba, if they want to come here, to come," she said.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca