Inflation, labour concerns top annual Manitoba business outlook survey

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Workforce shortages and inflationary pressures continue to impact Manitoba businesses, while two out of three sector leaders are concerned about trade issues with the United States.

Survey results from the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce reveal 66 per cent of local business leaders believe Donald Trump’s presidency will be bad for Manitoba’s trade with the U.S.

The chambers released its seventh annual business outlook survey results Friday. Leger conducted the survey between Nov. 7 and Dec. 9, 2024.

The anxiety the respondents were feeling has likely increased since then, according to Andrew Enns, executive vice-president, Central Canada with Leger.

“I don’t think we really foresaw how quickly and how aggressively things would unfold,” he said.

Ten per cent of respondents believed Trump’s presidency will be good for trade with Canada, 19 per cent said it’s too early to tell, three per cent were unsure and one per cent responded it will have no impact on trade with Canada.

“I think if you were to ask that question today, that 66, you could flip it upside down and it would be a 99,” said Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

It’s critical the provincial and federal governments support businesses in the face of impending tariffs, according to Davidson. “This is going to be a challenging number of months moving forward for the business community in Manitoba.”

The survey showed Manitoba’s business community continues to grapple with increased costs and labour shortages. Nearly one of five respondents (19 per cent) said attracting new staff is their No. 1 current challenge.

The most significant current labour force conditions causing hiring woes remained the same in 2024 as in the previous year: wages not meeting expectations, along with budget constraints. But now even more businesses are struggling with the issue: 34 per cent ranked it on top in 2024, compared to 30 per cent in 2023.

The ability to attract quality candidates had the next biggest impact, reported by 23 per cent of those surveyed.

Most businesses (86 per cent) agree to address workforce challenges, there should be more integration between Manitoba’s education systems — both high school and post-secondary — and industry and business, to ensure young people are aware of local career opportunities when they graduate.

“The system right now isn’t the greatest on informing young individuals what their careers could be,” said Ron Gauthier, CEO of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of Manitoba. “They’re definitely aware that they can be a doctor or lawyer or police officer, but all these other types of professions or micro-credentialing … there’s a lack of education on that.”

The survey revealed inflation continues to rank high on the list of concerns, with more than three quarters (77 per cent) saying it has impacted their business.

In response to inflation challenges, 50 per cent said they have raised prices, 47 per cent have reduced internal costs, 45 per cent have reduced profit margins and 33 per cent delayed or cancelled investments.

“It just shows how tight really things are out there for the business community,” Davidson said.

In 2024, the chambers launched the Manitoba Green Advantage program, aimed at strengthening the province’s position as a leader in the green economy.

The survey asked businesses about their intentions relating to sustainable initiatives. More than half of respondents (53 per cent) said they expected to invest in green initiatives for their organization in the next five years.

“I think that’s a good story,” said Christa Rust, director of Manitoba Green Advantage. “That relates to the fact that businesses are understanding that this can positively impact the bottom line.”

Most respondents indicated the most significant factors that could help drive this investment would be supplementary grant funding (38 per cent) and higher projected cost savings from efficiency grants (36 per cent).

More than half of respondents (56 per cent) said they felt the province is heading in the right direction, down from 61 per cent in 2023.

“Looking back to a year ago, it would have been just after the provincial election had taken place,” Davidson said. “So there was really a lot more optimism with a new government coming into place.”

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and Leger survey doesn’t have a margin of error because it didn’t use a random sample. In 2023, the survey received 288 respondents. Last year’s survey received a little more than half that number at 145.

“Obviously, it’s a little bit lower than what we’d like ideally, but it’s still a good sample, (a) good cross-section of businesses across the province,” Enns said. “And obviously we’re going to work hard with the chamber to bring that number up next year.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca