‘Our best chance of securing talent’

It’s time for the kids to come home — at least, that’s what Economic Development Winnipeg is hoping.

The organization showcased its latest campaign Thursday, during its largest investor breakfast (filled with nearly 300 businesspeople from some of the city’s largest companies).

The “Live in Winnipeg” campaign advertises a family-friendly, affordable metro, recently topping the Globe and Mail’s most livable Canadian cities list.

Its videos and messaging are set to reach audiences in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Hamilton and Vancouver on May 15.

“We know that there’s movement of people across Canada,” Amanda Macdonald, Economic Development Winnipeg vice-president of business development and market intelligence, said after the Thursday event.

“(This is) to remind them of why it’s so wonderful to live and work in Winnipeg.”

“Them” being all Canadians, but specifically, previous residents who’ve left Manitoba’s capital. A number of Manitoba businesses — including those in the transportation sector — still face labour gaps, Macdonald noted.

Recruiting former Manitobans is likely “our best chance of securing talent,” she added.

Manny Atwal, People Corporation chief operating officer, echoed Macdonald during a panel at the investor breakfast.

“We’ve got to sort of break through some of the misconceptions or preconceptions people have,” Atwal told the crowd, specifying Ontario workers’ views of downtown Winnipeg.

He and other panelists spoke about the benefits — for both companies and the city — of being headquartered in Winnipeg.

Economic Development Winnipeg is pushing foreign investment attraction, but the landscape is “an incredibly challenging and competitive space,” Macdonald noted.

Winnipeg businesses who invest in the city continue to reinvest; it’s where most opportunities come from, she said.

So, alongside attracting Canadian talent to Manitoba, Economic Development Winnipeg chose to spotlight the importance of keeping local businesses in the province.

Keira Young, MacDon Industries executive vice-president and a panelist Thursday, noted the manufacturing giant spends about 40 per cent of its external money at other Manitoba companies.

It keeps “huge ties” with local universities, Young said, adding that’s where talent is nurtured.

EQ3 Furniture also works closely with Manitoba post-secondaries, said Peter Tielmann, company president.

“We don’t compete for talent in the same way as our competitors,” he remarked.

Still, not every position can be filled in the keystone province, Tielmann said. (He’d like to see Manitoba’s payroll tax axed; the comment received applause from the business crowd.)

Economic Development Winnipeg told attendees it’s eyeing the agriculture sector, hoping to both draw and retain companies.

It’s aiming to build an agricultural campus in downtown Winnipeg — two buildings housing unique facilities and research spaces, Macdonald said.

“(Agribusinesses) do get asked and pulled to other locations, so we are at risk of losing them,” she stated after the breakfast.

Macdonald used terms like “very early stages” and “not set in stone” when describing the campus. Economic Development Winnipeg is bringing a group of stakeholders together to build out the vision, she added.

Recently, the organization has had 94 investment attraction “opportunities” in the works, including a major game developer thinking of planting roots in Winnipeg, Macdonald hinted.

EDW recruiters went on three missions last year, with a total 34 businesses, covering Austria, Vienna, Germany, France, Morocco and Los Angeles. They made 102 job offers, Macdonald said in her speech.

From 2021 through 2025, Economic Development Winnipeg set a target to assist the creation of 10,000 jobs and to attract $350 million in capital investment and $900 million in GDP growth.

By 2023, the organization counted 7,473 jobs created, $917 million in capital investment attracted and $744 million in GDP growth.

Manitoba Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Couns. Jeff Browaty, Markus Chambers and Shawn Dobson were in attendance Thursday.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com