The continuing tide of economic immigration to Manitoba is being credited for the Canadian province reaching a modern-day record for population growth.

Canada's most-central province grew by 16,848 people in the past year, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.

That 1.33 per cent population increase is a modern-day record for annual growth.

As of October 1, 2014, there's 1,286,323 people who call Manitoba home, according to the Canadian government office.

The vast majority of immigrant families who move to Manitoba arrive through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) for Skilled Workers.

This free initiative of the Government of Manitoba is an ongoing program; for 2015, the MPNP can "nominate" up to 5,500 skilled-worker immigrants (plus spouses and children) to receive Canadian permanent residence to settle in Manitoba.

Other highlights from the December 2014 Stats Can report include:

• Manitoba's 1.3 per cent annual population increase was the third-highest in all of Canada, behind Alberta and Saskatchewan.
• Manitoba's annual population growth rate has exceeded one per cent in each of the past six years.
• For the past four years, Manitoba's annual population growth rate has far exceeded that of Canada overall.
• Manitoba's population increase has exceeded 14,000 individuals in each of the past three years.
• Manitoba's population growth during the past 10 years tops out at 111,661 people – breaking yet another record.
• In the past four years, Manitoba has experienced its largest modern-day immigration inflow, welcoming 58,584 people.
• About 75 per cent of Manitoba's immigrants who arrived in the 12 months sending in October 2014 were Provincial Nominees. The rest arrived through federal immigration programs administered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada: family class (11%); refugees (9%); federal skilled workers and other economic class (4%).
• As well as the steady influx of international immigrants, Manitobans gave birth to 16,317 babies in the 12 months ending in October 2014 – the highest number since 1994/95.