Chamber of Commerce challenges politicans to attract head offices to Manitoba

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This article was published 07/09/2011 (5138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is challenging Manitoba’s political parties to set an ambitious target for business growth.

It wants to see them commit to programs that would increase the number of businesses established in the province by 50 per cent over the next decade and the number of head offices double over that same time.

“In order to create greater business prosperity for all Manitobans, the next provincial government must create the business climate that attracts entrepreneurs and dramatically increases job opportunities,” chamber president Dave Angus said in announcing the next step in the organization’s Manitoba BOLD campaign.

The chamber said Manitoba’s “entrepreneurial intensity” (number of businesses per 1,000 population) has remained stagnant over the past decade.

To increase those numbers, the chamber recommends that the province:

• Develop an aggressive business start-up capital program;
• Commit to improving access to capital through the establishment of a new $100-million venture capital fund largely comprised of private sector capital;
• Double the size of its provincial equity tax credit program and expand provincial research tax credits;
• Create special “tax-incented enterprise zones” to attract and build high-tech companies;
• Require entrepreneurship training at both high school and post-secondary school levels; and
• Ensure Manitoba joins the three western provinces in their New West Partnership.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its latest monthly “Business Barometer” today.

The CFIB said it reveals small business optimism in Manitoba continued to drop to its lowest level in eight months. The provincial index decreased by 3.5 points in August to 65.3 from an index of 68.8 in July, but ahead of the national index of 61.7.

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Twenty per cent of Manitoba small business owners plan to increase full-time employment in the next three to four months – the second highest in Canada.

Nationally, the CFIB said confidence among Canada’s small and mid-sized businesses took a significant hit in August as owners digested a string of bad news about the world economy in the first half of the month.

CFIB’s national Business Barometer Index dropped to 61.7 last month from its July level of 68.3—the lowest reading since July 2009.

Report highlights for Manitoba:

• 41 per cent of Manitoba small business owners rated their overall state of business as good (38 per cent nationally);
• Top business constraint cited was the shortage of skilled labour (49 per cent);
• Fuel and energy costs (63 per cent), tax and regulatory costs (62 per cent) and wage costs (61 per cent) remain the top cost concerns for small businesses;
• 20 per cent of Manitoba businesses plan to increase full-time employment in the next 3-4 months (14 per cent nationally) and only five per cent plan to decrease (12 per cent nationally).

The full report is at the CFIB’s website.