Economic Growth Action Plan

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The co-chairs' report Growing Manitoba's Economy called on the Manitoba government to take concrete actions to advance their recommended strategic priorities. The Manitoba government is responding through its Economic Growth Action Plan launched on December 6, 2018.

Since the launch of the Economic Growth Action Plan, the government has established the structures and relationships needed to deliver effective economic development programming, including seven regional and strategic partnerships for program delivery. A government-wide review of economic programming is also underway to ensure alignment with Manitoba's economic development goals and efficient use of resources.

In addition, new economic development initiatives have been introduced including the Innovation Growth Program and the Manitoba Works Capital Incentive, which is based on a revised tax increment financing framework. The Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy, the Manitoba Provincial Tourism Strategy and the Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy have also been launched.

These 'Phase 1' actions were initiated as a response to consultations with business, industry and stakeholders that indicated government needed to prioritize:

  • a transparent, consistent and timely decision-making framework;
  • a co-ordinating body with a 'how can we help' attitude;
  • better alignment across departments and agencies; and
  • programs that respond to the needs of business and industry.

 

Partnerships

Mandates have been set for seven regional and strategic partnerships in both rural and northern Manitoba through mandate letters from Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen.

Four regional partner organizations will deliver programs and services in northern Manitoba, rural Manitoba, the Winnipeg capital region and the city of Winnipeg. These partners are:

  • Northern Manitoba
    Partner: The Communities Economic Development Fund
    Mandate Letter
  • City of Winnipeg
    Partner: Economic Development Winnipeg (EDW)
    Mandate Letter
  • Rural Manitoba
    A new regional organization is being established to focus on rural Manitoba led by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
  • Winnipeg capital region
    A partnership agreement is being developed with Winnipeg Metropolitan Region to lead economic development delivery in the municipalities that surround Winnipeg.
    Mandate Letter

Three strategic partner organizations will deliver programming related to innovation, trade and investment, and tourism:

Additional background can be found on the Partners page.

 

Programs and Strategies

The co-chairs' report recommended a review and relaunch of current economic development programming to ensure availability to existing capital resources, as well as developing new programs to advance and encourage innovative economic development initiatives. In response, Economic Development and Training (now Economic Development, Investment and Trade) has launched new programming and strategies, including:

Innovation Growth Program (IGP)

The goal of this program is to encourage small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) private-sector investment to develop and commercialize innovative new products. The IGP will support SMEs in the development and growth stages of the business life cycle to de-risk innovative product development, accelerate growth and strengthen SMEs financial position so they can secure future funding to build their business in Manitoba. Further information on the Innovation Growth Program can be found here.

Manitoba Works Capital Incentive - Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

The Manitoba Works Capital Incentive is a new approach to tax increment financing that levers incremental education property tax rebates to stimulate economic growth and job creation. By aligning this incentive with the Economic Growth Action Plan, Economic Development, Investment and Trade can help ensure education-related property tax rebates support projects that create jobs and result in a positive return on investment for both the project proponent and the Province. Details about the incentive can be can be found here.

Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy

The Province has developed a first-of-its-kind sustainable protein strategy, ensuring Manitoba producers are well positioned to remain leaders in plant and animal protein development in the face of increased global demand. The protein strategy is the first sector-specific strategy under the Economic Growth Action Plan with the goal of fostering competitiveness, facilitating growth, identifying investment opportunities and addressing economic barriers in the province. This strategy will maintain the Manitoba government's focus on creating an environment for investment attraction while supporting research and innovation, and reducing red tape that hampers the growth and development of the agriculture industry.

More information on the Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy can be found on Manitoba Agriculture's website.

Provincial Tourism Strategy

The Provincial Tourism Strategy is the second sector strategy under the Economic Growth Action Plan which aims to increase tourist expenditures to $2.2 billion by 2022. The strategy is based on extensive consultations with industry and supported by a steering committee, a measurement and monitoring system, and regular opportunities for stakeholder feedback. Manitoba's tourism sector contributes more than three per cent to the province's GDP, and expects to see a 19 per cent increase in visitors by 2022, attracting 12.6 million local, national and international visitors, up from 10.6 million visitors in 2016. The Provincial Tourism Strategy can be found on Travel Manitoba's website.

Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy

Manitoba’s Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy provides strategic direction to publicly-funded post-secondary institutions and outlines actions needed to accelerate recovery, advance Manitoba’s economy and promote positive outcomes. The strategy includes targeted actions to strengthen alignment between post-secondary institutions, immigration, training and employment services, and labour market needs. The strategy focuses on a strong partnership and shared vision with industry and post-secondary institutions, so we can help businesses overcome workforce labour challenges, rebound from the effects of the pandemic and support economic resilience and growth, now and in the future.
For more information on the Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy, visit: www.gov.mb.ca/mbskills.

Supporting Strategies

The Growing Manitoba's Economy report recommended alignment of strategies that have implications for economic development to improve overall responsiveness and encourage a culture of entrepreneurship in Manitoba. More information can be found on our Supporting Strategies page.

 

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