Winnipeg has been trying to poach our best and brightest, and now it's time to return the favour.

Mitch Tilk is the Program Coordinator for the Local Immigration Partnership and was part of the group involved with bringing a tour group to Portage la Prairie Tuesday. It was called Beyond the Perimeter: Portage.

Tilk says 21 newcomers to Canada went on a tour of the city to showcase what our community can offer.

"We have all this booming industry in Portage, and to really capitalize on growth and the upward trend that Portage has experienced right now, we're going to need people," says Tilk.

Tilk says they stopped at McCain Foods, Richardson Milling, Simplot, and Hi-Tec Industries. They either had an opportunity to tour the facility or meet with representatives on site.

"For the most part, people were really blown away by what is available in Portage," says Tilk. "You know, the services and amenities. There was a lot of talk about how unbelievable the jobs were and how many jobs are available, what the pay is like, and housing prices being lower."

Along with the stops, people learned about other employers in the city. They also stopped at Stride Place for lunch, and learned about that facility among other opportunities in Portage. Tilk says this was their first edition of the event and they plan to bring it back.

"The partner that we had in Winnipeg, New Journey Housing, she said that there was so much demand for this trip, that she could do it every month if she wanted to," says Tilk.

We will hear from one of the Canada newcomers who was on the tour tomorrow.