Stefanie Dunn, executive director of the Portage la Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce, says Manitoba’s recent trade agreements with four provinces are “long overdue” and will bring real benefits to local businesses and workers.
The Manitoba government signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island to reduce trade barriers, improve labour mobility, and open new markets.
“We’re thrilled,” Dunn says. “This is something we have been advocating for a few months. This is long overdue. I do think it's commendable that Manitoba is leading this movement.”
Cutting red tape and supporting local
Dunn notes the agreements help reduce regulatory obstacles and increase consumer choice, especially through allowing direct-to-consumer alcohol sales from Manitoba producers.
“We see any opportunity to cut red tape and offer more consumer choice and convenience as a win,” she says. “Mostly what we're seeing that result for Portage and district is that you know this will eventually allow residents to order cross products directly from Manitoba producers. Which again just keeps our dollars in Manitoba. It's improving access. It continues that line that we always push which is supporting local.”
Although Portage doesn’t yet have local breweries or distilleries, Dunn suggests the agreements could inspire entrepreneurs in the region.
“Perhaps this would spark and fuel something in an entrepreneur who is always maybe being curious about that,” she remarks.
Labour mobility addresses workforce shortages
A key benefit, Dunn says, is the impact on labour mobility at a time of workforce shortages in healthcare and skilled trades in the region.
“This is a game changer,” she notes. “This is something that has been that's a huge issue, especially when we have workforce shortages and skilled labor shortages right here in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. This memorandum of understanding will allow skilled workers to move more freely and quickly into available roles, especially in those high demand areas like healthcare trades and professional services. We have a new hospital opening soon. It's going to be exponentially bigger than our current hospital and we need to fill those roles, right? We need to bring skilled healthcare workers. This is certainly a move in the right direction and a win to help us fill those gaps.”
Advocating for full implementation
While appreciative of the agreements, Dunn stresses the importance of seeing concrete results and full implementation.
“These memorandums of understanding, they're pretty heavy and fairly binding, but we do want to see this brought to fruition fully,” she says. “We want to see these strategies being actually confirmed and put into place and we want to see the results of those and we want them to get a move on.”
Dunn adds that her advocacy committee has worked with Manitoba and national chambers to keep the agreements a priority.
“This is something that myself and my advocacy committee has been advocating for. We've been working with our partners at the Manitoba Chamber and the Canadian Chambers of Commerce to continue to make sure it's on their radar, especially being such an agricultural hub right here in Portage and district,” she says. “We're really pleased that that we've been able to move the needle and that there is this agreement in place.”
Manitoba strengthens economic ties through new trade agreements
The Manitoba government has formalized new economic co-operation agreements with New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island, designed to break down internal trade barriers and enhance labour mobility across provinces.
Key elements of the memoranda of understanding include mutual recognition of professional credentials to ease workforce movement, and agreements allowing direct-to-consumer alcohol sales from Manitoba producers to expand market access.
The partner provinces have committed to ongoing discussions to increase consumer choice and create new business opportunities.
Premier Wab Kinew highlights these agreements as a significant step toward building a stronger, more integrated Canadian economy, promoting seamless movement of goods, services, and skilled workers while maintaining health and safety standards.
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