Manitoba’s Top Employers 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press

Canada Life Assurance Company employees celebrating Pride.

Community begins in the office at Canada Life

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

When an organization gets as big as Canada Life, with its services supporting one out of every three Canadians, it has to reflect the country it serves inside its offices.

“A big part of how we build our culture is by focusing on our purpose – to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. That’s really the driving force of what we do,” says Katrina Lee-Kwen, senior vice-president of non-participating insurance solutions at the company’s Winnipeg headquarters.

“We strive to be a company that reflects the diversity of our customers and Canada as whole, and we want our employees to be representative of that diversity.”

Diversity, equity and inclusion has become a priority since the merger that brought together three companies under the Canada Life name nearly five years ago, resulting in a workforce of nearly 13,000 full-time employees in offices in five different cities.

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Manitoba’s Top Employers: 2024 Winners

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Manitoba’s Top Employers: 2024 Winners

10 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

It’s a welcoming province – just consider that “Friendly Manitoba” is engraved right on the licence plates – where big-city culture meets small-town friendliness and curling rivals hockey for popularity. It’s also a place where well-managed businesses thrive, given its wealth of natural resources, a well-educated, multi-cultural workforce and strategic location in the heart of North America.

So it’s no surprise that Manitoba’s Top Employers 2024, selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc., are exceptional organizations, recognized for their progressive workplace initiatives and best practices. Looking at the winners, what stands out for Richard Yerema, executive editor at Mediacorp, is their remarkable stability along with a steady rate of growth.

“Year over year, it’s a very calm picture with companies evolving at a nice pace,” says Yerema. “There’s a quiet confidence that comes with that. On the employment side, you can be in any profession and find something here for you – it’s that diverse in terms of its economics.”

Manitoba’s rich diversity of industry ranges from high-tech manufacturing to finance, insurance, health care, education and its popular credit unions. Add in the perks and policies offered by this year’s winners, such as flexible work options, continuous learning and generous parental leave top-ups, and you’ll find employers that are competitive with leading companies nationwide.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

USB’s francophone mission makes employees proud

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USB’s francophone mission makes employees proud

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Université de SaintBoniface (USB) has a specific mission that unites employees and instills a sense of pride.

“The fact that we have a unique mandate within our francophone minority community makes USB a special place to work and I think this really brings us together as a group,” says president Sophie Bouffard.

USB is Western Canada’s only French-language university and, while aiming to develop the full potential of its students, the institution also works to ensure the francophone community is thriving in Manitoba.

Part of the institution’s strategic plan is to be “a driving force for change” in education, in the community and beyond, and employees are encouraged to work with local, national and international organizations that support these goals. “I feel strongly about our impact in the community,” says Bouffard.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Université de Saint-Boniface focuses on creating a supportive workplace for employees to collaborate and take personal initiatives.

Johnston Group cares about its people and society

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Johnston Group cares about its people and society

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

For Kevin Reid, the philanthropy of Johnston Group Inc. is a key part of his job satisfaction. “I feel really proud to work for a company that is so engaged in the community,” says Reid, an administration specialist at the Winnipeg-based company’s life and disability claims office. “Few local firms are as involved to the extent that we are – we work with over 100 organizations.”

Moreover, he adds, “Johnston Group really shows us how to walk the talk. It encourages employee volunteerism – sometimes during work time – and it shares the impact of all the community work we do.”

The group benefit plan administrator serves about 33,000 businesses across Canada, including 350 Indigenous organizations and communities, with more than $800 million in premiums under its administration. The community beneficiaries of its financial support and volunteerism include the United Way, UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

Johnston Group is also committed to the environment and battling climate change. A few years ago, management was quick to commit to Reid’s proposal of a staff-led environmental sustainability committee, which he still leads. “A few months after starting it, we launched an office composting program, and it’s been hugely successful,” he says.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Johnston Group employees volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to help build affordable housing.

The WCB invests in its people to help Manitobans

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The WCB invests in its people to help Manitobans

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

For more than a century, the Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) has been honing its core business – taking care of the needs of injured workers and improving workplace safety conditions in the province.

This focus takes dedication and hard work, says Sarah Wallace, director of communications and public relations. It starts with attracting, developing and retaining people.

“Not only does investing in staff provide employees with new opportunities for training, learning and growth, but these opportunities also lead to better customer service experiences for stakeholders,” she says. “Having a plan in place to ensure the correct people receive the proper training to grow and develop puts the WCB in a position to ensure the organization’s continued success in the future.”

Attending professional development courses and conferences is a key part of the mix, says Wallace. “Fostering professional growth and development is not just a goal but a strategic commitment to our employees. Developing leadership skills is a top priority for us. New methodologies and assessment tools, cross-departmental training, access to formal training and university courses and other professional development are all important.”

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba leaders participating in the Executive Education Advanced Program in Management, Leadership and Strategy at the Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba.

For Assiniboine, business is a force for good

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For Assiniboine, business is a force for good

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Vatsal Shah was an international student working part-time as a cashier at a grocery store when he met the chief people & brand officer, Kim Champion Taylor, of Assiniboine Credit Union Ltd. Their conversation was just the beginning of Shah’s experience with the encouragement that the company gives to people – even if, as in his case, they’re not yet on staff.

“She gave me her card, and I was in touch with her for a year and a half,” says Shah, now a financial account manager trainee. “Even though I didn’t know her, she kept up that communication with me, and once the opportunity came up, she helped me out.”

That kind of support, Shah says, is the norm at Assiniboine – something Shah has experienced again and again at the company. “We take the development of our very critical resource extremely seriously,” says CEO Kevin Sitka. “We spend a lot of time mapping out where employees are today, where they want to get to and what it’s going to take to help move them along. It’s a very intentional effort to ensure that happens.”

For Assiniboine, it all begins – as it did for Shah – with conversation, active listening and observational coaching. Employees are encouraged to participate in the company’s Emerging Leaders Committee, as well as the Credit Union Young Leaders of Manitoba. “It’s strengthening and building connections, deepening networks, developing leadership skills, ensuring knowledge and experience outside of the walls of our organization and obviously bringing those learnings back,” Sitka explains.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Kevin Sitka (third from the left), CEO at Assiniboine Credit Union, accepting a Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Winnipeg award.

Diversity is head of the line at Westoba Credit Union

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Diversity is head of the line at Westoba Credit Union

4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Jackie Shoemaker has successfully put herself through the paces to become a branch manager with Westoba Credit Union Ltd. (WCU). She is also a proud Métis.

“I am a Métis citizen and member of the Pembina River local with roots to the Anishnaabeg Treaty 1 territory,” says Shoemaker. “I started my career as a member service representative.”

She moved through the financial consultant path and became a member services supervisor, then an assistant branch manager. Shoemaker is now manager of both the Pilot Mound and Swan Lake branches.

“I feel fortunate to have been able to learn all roles before starting in a leadership position because that experience has helped me be a better coach for my team,” Shoemaker says.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Westoba Credit Union employees celebrating Westoba Family Day.

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SJR embraces further education for its educators

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SJR embraces further education for its educators

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Tanis Brown-Birch has never worked with such a dedicated group of people as she’s found in her three years at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School (SJR).

“The commitment, from the senior administration to the educational assistants, is fantastic; everyone is here to give their best,” says Brown-Birch, who is a kindergarten teacher and the lead teacher for kindergarten and Grade 1 classes at the K-12 independent school.

“Everyone is excited to be here every day, and it makes such a difference in the culture and the environment. You know everyone is going to step up and impressive things will happen.”

Three groups of people work together to make the school a standout, says head of school Jim Keefe.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

St. John's-Ravenscourt School supports professional development by encouraging the pursuit of master's degrees and helping to cover its costs.

Calm Air brings staff and communities together

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Calm Air brings staff and communities together

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

When 20-year Calm Air International LP customer service agent Maria Amaral was recently faced with the bureaucratic hurdles involved in renewing the five-year pass that allows her access to restricted parts of airports, she paused to consider whether the trouble was worth it. “Am I really going to be doing this for another five years?” she recalls asking herself. “Darn right, I am,” came the instant answer.

“I enjoy my job,” Amaral explains, “but more, I love my colleagues and I love interacting with our customers, especially the long-term ones I’ve known for almost two decades. You can feel the mutual respect between them and us.”

The Winnipeg-based airline offers passenger, charter and cargo services to more than 20 communities in northern Manitoba and the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. It’s dedicated to understanding and supporting those Indigenous communities in more than their travel needs. Calm Air’s job postings routinely note that Inuktitut language skills are an asset, including in Winnipeg.

“We are committed to providing opportunities in the communities we serve because it is important to us that our staff are representative of those communities,” says Randi McCallum, vice president of human resources and payroll.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Calm Air International flight attendants, Joyce and Monique.

Community support is a winning goal for True North

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Community support is a winning goal for True North

4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Kory Harnum considers himself privileged to spend many working hours doing what he calls “feel-good stuff” in his capacity as manager of community relations with True North Sports + Entertainment, the organization that owns and operates the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, among other business operations.

“It doesn’t always feel like a job in this position when you’re helping to create memories, fundraising and giving back to the community to make life better for people,” says Harnum.

Apart from that, there’s a collegial atmosphere that makes working for True North seem special. “One thing I always admire about this organization is the family feel,” he says. “When we’re not working, a lot of us are hanging out together. Pulling for our teams and our community makes us even closer and we share in many of those memories along with fans.”

Although the Jets are the organization’s signature brand, True North is, in fact, a diverse organization with 10 entities within its corporate portfolio, including the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, Canada Life Centre, the Burton Cummings Theatre, retail operation Jets Gear, the four-ice-pad hockey for all centre used by the Jets for practice, the not-for-profit True North Youth Foundation (TNYF) and True North Real Estate Development.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Full-time employees at True North Sports + Entertainment kick off the 2023-24 season with a group photo at their annual TN Summit day of learning and development.

From Fusion comes an infusion of community support

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From Fusion comes an infusion of community support

4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Before he joined Fusion Credit Union, Mike Csversko was an entrepreneur. He remembers the sleepless nights, the worries about whether his business would thrive. So it was very special to him to be able to stand on stage at the Provincial Exhibition building in Brandon in October and announce $30,000 worth of funding to five promising Manitoba entrepreneurs through his employer’s Community Infusion program.

“I’ve lived that, and I know those feelings,” says Csversko, Fusion’s business development and marketing manager and the lead of Community Infusion. “Seeing those people up on stage with the joy they have, it’s worth all the work we put in.”

The Community Infusion program is an annual business ideas competition for entrepreneurs that concludes with a night of live pitches from the top five contestants. The group of employees who dreamed it up drew some inspiration from CBC’s Dragon’s Den, but unlike the cut-throat television show, all the finalists walk away winners.

“That final night is a lot of fun – we award the winners right there on the spot, and it’s a really satisfying end to the long journey they go on,” he says.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Fusion Credit Union employees volunteering at its golf tournament.

Communication creates belonging at Red River Co-op

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Communication creates belonging at Red River Co-op

4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

For Murray Dehn, vice-president of human resources at Winnipeg-based Red River Co-op, keeping the team members of the cooperative working well together comes down to one thing: communication.

“We have a really good, open communication model,” he says. “It’s just the way we do things. The senior leadership team is really in tune with what’s going on in the front lines, and we try to react as quickly as we can when there are issues that we need to address.”

The co-op consists of food stores and gas bars across the Winnipeg area and spread out as far as Gimli and Selkirk, and it has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade – from 35 team members to some 900 on the payroll and 900 more through the co-op’s gas bar operators.

“With that kind of growth comes challenges, but I feel we’re able to navigate the communication side of things really well,” Dehn says. “We’re doing newsletters, and we have huddle meetings every day in many locations. Those are good ways to get our messaging out, and if there’s something a staff member wants to bring up, we’ll include it.”

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Red River Co-op employees joining the Pride Parade for the first time in 2023.

Employees at Manitoba Hydro take pride in service

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Employees at Manitoba Hydro take pride in service

4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Lindsay Melvin worked as a summer student at Manitoba Hydro after her first year of university. She joined the engineering-in-training (EIT) program and quickly found a permanent position as a system modelling engineer after graduate school. Nineteen years later, she is a director of integrated resource planning.

Melvin had a placement every summer during university, and then Manitoba Hydro provided a stipend while she completed her MSc in engineering on a project related to the corporation. “Working here offers such a breadth of opportunity, and people are patient and generous throughout,” says Melvin. “It’s not just how collaboratively Manitoba Hydro employees work together – we’re also passionate about the benefit we provide.”

Manitoba Hydro is a provincial Crown corporation and one of the largest integrated electricity and natural gas distribution utilities in Canada. The corporation has its head office in Winnipeg with facilities and operations throughout the province.

“It all boils down to serving Manitobans,” says director of talent Jonathan Ryman. “We provide energy to every corner of the province, and our employees are also our customers.”

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Manitoba Hydro employees working to provide integrated electricity and natural gas distribution services throughout the province.

There’s a family vibe at Manitoba Blue Cross

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There’s a family vibe at Manitoba Blue Cross

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

It didn’t take much to convince La-Toya Gibbons to come back to Manitoba Blue Cross after leaving due to a move.

Gibbons worked at the company from 2003 until 2006 before moving to Ontario. When she returned to Manitoba, she visited the office. “They said ‘Why don’t you come back?’ That’s really all it took,” says Gibbons, group service representative. “The people are one of a kind. There’s really a family vibe. It’s like home.”

One of the aspects Gibbons appreciates most is the company’s community involvement. Though she regularly volunteers on her own time, Gibbons also takes advantage of the two paid days off Manitoba Blue Cross gives employees each year to support causes of their choice.

Gibbons also enjoys volunteering with co-workers, including fundraising for HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital and United Way Winnipeg. In 2011, she started a donation drive, inviting employees to regularly donate gently used clothes, toys and small appliances. The initiative is ongoing and whenever the collection gets large enough, Manitoba Blue Cross gives Gibbons time during her work day to deliver the items to a local women’s resource centre.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Manitoba Blue Cross employees beating the heat at the Winnipeg Pride Parade.

Fun events help Vidir Solutions build community

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Fun events help Vidir Solutions build community

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, which has a metro area population of 23 million, Dimitri Caldeira now lives in Arborg, Man. – population 1,200 – where he works as director of engineering for Vidir Solutions Inc. It’s a different pace of life, but Caldeira wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Many places I lived before, I didn’t even know my neighbour,” he says. “But the feeling here is that you are part of the community and can make a difference. I love it.”

That sense of community, he adds, is very much fostered by Vidir, a family-owned manufacturer of automated material-handling solutions that’s mainly based in Arborg and the nearby town of Teulon. Vidir sells products and solutions in over 40 countries and has performed over 40,000 installations, many for Fortune 500 companies.

The company hosts at least one social event monthly, including annual multicultural potlucks, where Vidir’s diverse employee base is encouraged to share recipes and culinary creations from their native countries. Caldeira will often contribute Brazilian dishes.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

Vidir Solutions employees celebrate each other at its annual Christmas party last year.

Arctic Co-operatives does well by doing good

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Arctic Co-operatives does well by doing good

3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

A few years ago, Darlene Sass was the general manager at Issatik Co-op in Whale Cove, Nunavut, part of the Arctic Co-operatives Limited service federation. It was a busy, ever-changing job and she thrived in it.

“I looked after the hotel, the co-op and the fuel station, the gas bar,” she says. “Every day you go to work and you don’t know what to expect.”

Eventually, Sass had to move south to Winnipeg for family reasons. For a while she took a receptionist job at another firm, but jumped at the chance to rejoin Arctic Co-operatives in its Winnipeg home office.

Seven years on, she is still bubbling with enthusiasm about her job.

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Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

October 1, 2025