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Manitoba is a land of uncommon riches, with wide-open spaces, abundant resources and untapped opportunity. It embraces great variety in its geography, people and diverse economy, which makes it a more attractive place to develop a business and raise a family. Set at the heart of North America, Canada’s central province covers a vast expanse larger than California, France or Japan. Within its borders are thousands of crystal-clear lakes, two shallow "inland seas," acre after acre of rich Prairie farm land deciduous forest and the raw beauty of northern tundra. Each region continues to play a vital role in building prosperity – supporting such natural sectors as tourism, agri-food, forests products, manufacturing, energy and mining. You get more for your dollar in Manitoba. For centuries, Winnipeg, the capital, has been a meeting place for trade and commerce. From the days of birch-bark canoes and oxcarts to diesel trucks and jumbo jets, untold generations of travelers have experience this picturesque junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. In fact, people from almost every corner of the world have put down roots in communities across Manitoba: as farmers, business people, professionals, and skilled artisans and tradespeople. Common
Values Shape a Modern Society As Canada’s most ethnically diverse province, Manitoba cherishes a heritage of many cultures and the fact that over 100 languages are spoken here. This offers advantages to the business community, as well as many opportunities to celebrate the differences in community festivals across the province. The dedication of Manitobans to community spirit, shared family values and democratic citizenship has transformed a rugged, untamed land into a modern, prosperous and harmonious society. The location, geography and people have helped shape Manitoba’s balanced economy and prepare for the challenges of the 21st century. Diverse
Economy Economic forecasters estimate that Manitoba’s economy grew by 3.0% in real terms in 1998, ranking among the three fastest growing provinces for the third year in a row. The most important economic achievement of the year was the large increase in jobs, which dropped the annual unemployment rate to 5.7 per cent - the lowest rate since 1981. Manitoba's economy was built on resource sectors such as agriculture, forestry and mining, as well as Winnipeg's traditional role as the transportation gateway to Western Canada and later the American Midwest. However, the city also has the most diversified manufacturing center in Western Canada, with a strong presence in such industries as farm equipment and machinery, apparel, food processing, bus manufacturing, health products, and aerospace. The result is a mature and balanced economy, shielded from cyclical forces affecting less diversified regions. Innovative
Spirit Sweeps Economy
Meanwhile,
Manitoba businesses are pursuing opportunities in such knowledge-driven
fields as: Combined with Manitoba's longtime strength in financial services and insurance, the province is heading into the 21st century as a diversified, full-spectrum economy. Moreover, it has clusters of globally competitive companies at every stage: resource-extraction, primary processing, manufacturing and value-added services. The province's evident success has attracted many companies from other parts of continent, including Monsanto Canada Ltd., 3M Canada Company, Pillsbury Canada Ltd. and AT&T Transtech Canada. Education:
Investing in the Future Each year, more than 45,000 Manitobans attend the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, Brandon University and College Universitaire de Saint-Boniface. The province's three vocational community colleges - Red River, Assiniboine and Keewatin - work with industry to produce skilled workers in various trades and professions, as do a dozen or more private training colleges. In addition, business utilizes government training programs to upgrade the skills of employees, especially in high-technology areas. Incentives,
Partnerships Spark Research and Development Investment
Fuels Global Trade Manitoba has enjoyed three successive years of strong growth in private sector investment: 8.4 per cent in 1998. The 1998 figure represented the third time in four years that Manitoba has bettered Canada’s national performance. A
variety of new investment vehicles have been set up in recent years
to help provide a local pool of capital for Manitoba-based companies.
These include:
Each successive year reveals the value of Manitoba's location. Not only is it at the center of Canada and the continent - but it sits at the northern end of a trade corridor running through the Midwest U.S. to Mexico, and potentially further south. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (effective in 1994) and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (1989), Manitoba is gaining phased-in tariff-free access to the U.S. and to Mexico on virtually all products. Manitoba,
Midwest United States and Mexico Transport
Opens Door to Strategic Role Churchill, Manitoba's northern seaport, offers a unique advantage for a mid-continent location. Already a long-established export route for agricultural and mineral commodities, it has great potential as a trading port for markets in Northern and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Churchill is also pursuing alternative development as a major tourist site and center for commercial aerospace research through its rocket launching facilities. Central
Time Zone and Low Cost Attract Call Center Today, the province is home to 80 call centers, over a dozen of which have recently moved here from other parts of Canada and the United States. Manitoba recognized the increasing significance of this sector and set up the Manitoba Call Center Team to promote the province's strengths as a telecommunications center. A leading partner in this group, Manitoba Telecom Services, has some of the most advanced telecom infrastructure, equipment and services in North America, and at competitive rates. For
instance, Manitoba has over 75,000 strand kilometers (49,500 miles)
of fibre-optic cabling, and digital trunking to 100 per cent of
the province. Such infrastructure ensures reliable, efficient service
not only for call centers, but all businesses and consumers. Moreover,
Manitoba also offers a competitive telecommunications climate, with
several alternative long-distance carriers and an innovative information
technology. Traditional Manufacturing Strengths
The
Right Fit For Business You will also find that in Manitoba you can get more for less. As the accompanying charts show, from office and industrial space to taxes and labour rates, Manitoba offers lower overhead business costs than do comparable locations in Canada and the United States. Abundant, reliable, clean and low-cost hydroelectric power is a major attraction for many operations, as is the competitive pricing of natural gas and other energy sources. In terms of overall cost-competitiveness, the cities and towns consistently rank well in North American studies. Moreover, there is plenty of room to grow in this province, from Winnipeg’s office towers and high-tech factories to fully serviced industrial parks in smaller communities. Loyal
Workers Build Success As
in Manitoba’s communities, traditional values also pervade
the business relationships. Commercial deals are often sealed with
a handshake, and close working partnerships are common. Within several
sectors, companies have formed strategic consortia; most focused
on export markets. These include Manitoba-ba Friendly
Neighborhoods, Affordable Prices While average income in the province is near the national mid-point, Manitoba’s low house prices mean a significantly larger proportion of the population can buy their own home. In Winnipeg, 44 per cent of families can afford their own home, compared to Vancouver at 29 per cent, Ottawa at 38 per cent and Toronto at 34 per cent. The exceptionally low cost of housing and utilities offers Manitobans more buying power and proportionately greater expendable income than most other Canadians. From health care and education to culture and recreation, Manitobans enjoy an affordable and pleasing lifestyle. Less
on Housing, More on Fun In rural Manitoba, festivals have long invigorated smaller communities – from Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin and the Morris Stampede rodeo to the Icelandic Festival in Gimli and the Trappers’ Festival in The Pas. Winnipeggers, too, are always ready for fun, whether at Folklorama (Canada’s largest multicultural festival), the Red River Exhibition or St. Boniface ‘s Festival du Voyageur. Such celebrations stress the importance to the province of diversity and a shared heritage. Adventure
or Serenity: Manitoba has Got It In
the midst of Manitoba’s active communities and natural beauty
are relaxed, friendly neighborhoods – the quiet, tree-lined
streets where you will find a wide variety of family-oriented sports
and cultural activities. Here is the balanced lifestyle of a people
with the energy and imagination to prepare for the future and the
wisdom to enhance and celebrate the personal values that bind the
together. |
Advanced
Firms Drive Growth 
As
traditional industries continue to modernize to increase their competitiveness
and add value in their activities, they promise more sustainable
growth for Manitobans. They also offer a growing market for information
technology firms and service companies to assist them in the process
of automating and streamlining their operations.
Manitoba
companies benefit from the continuing strength of the Midwest economic
dynamo. Mexico, with its population of more than 90 million and
rapidly emerging middle-class, promises a vast market as it industrializes,
builds more infrastructure and becomes a major consumer of value-added
products. The Midwest already draws a large share of Manitoba's
growing U.S. exports ($3.6 billion or 60 per cent in 1998). Meanwhile,
the province's exports to Mexico have increased more than 100 per
cent from 1994 - 1998, and the shipments to several other countries
in Latin America continue to grow.
When
you decide to invest, relocate or start a business in Manitoba,
you have access to a unique business community and an incomparable
lifestyle. The developed, export-oriented economy has the sophisticated
services and infrastructure your operations require. Newcomers to
Manitoba remark on the ready access business people have to decision-makers
and the influence they enjoy in their communities, regardless of
their firms’ size. By the same token, business leaders are
active partners in community development, as Winnipeg’s successful
bid to host the 1999 Pan-American Games demonstrated.
sed
Agri-Tec Canada Inc. (agribusiness firms from across western Canada),
the Export Building Products Initiative, and proactive industry
associations in aerospace, apparel, health, information technology
and tourism.