Manitoba’s Demographic Challenge: Why Improving Aboriginal Education Outcomes Is Vital for Economic Prosperity

As a wave of babyboomers retire, the upcoming decade will see only a modest expansion in Manitoba’s available workforce, and most of this net increase will depend on job-seeking young Aboriginals. Policy reforms should encourage more Aboriginal students to finish high school. Smart reforms to financial aid for postsecondary education would demonstrate aid availability to students early in their academic careers. This would bolster student educational aspirations during secondary studies for those on the margins of accessing postsecondary education. With large numbers of Aboriginal high-school dropouts, Manitoba cannot, and should not, rely solely on expanding international immigration to boost workforce growth.