Clarity, ‘competitiveness’ key to name change

In some ways, the entity that helped draw the 2023 World Police and Fire Games, a studio for video game publisher Ubisoft and the 2025 Grey Cup to Winnipeg isn’t changing.

Yet it is: today marks the first day of Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism. On Wednesday, it was called Economic Development Winnipeg.

“In an increasingly competitive world, we need to cut through the noise and be as clear and as focused as we can be,” said Ryan Kuffner, the non-profit’s president. “This name change is part of that competitiveness.”

The city’s economic development agency umbrellaed Tourism Winnipeg and Yes! Winnipeg, which focused on attracting and retaining businesses.

The agency has operated with three names for the past 15 years. It’s led to confusion among local businesses and stakeholders, Kuffner relayed.

Some didn’t know Economic Development Winnipeg handled tourism; others didn’t realize Tourism Winnipeg was attached to an economic development agency, Kuffner explained.

Over nine years, the organization has drawn more than $1.5 billion in capital investment to Winnipeg, it shared in a news release. It’s played a role in the establishment or expansion of at least 60 companies and 500 events.

It’s also the only economic development agency in a major Canadian city with a tourism arm, Kuffner said. However, other jurisdictions are trying to merge their economic development operations with tourism, he added.

“We have a head start in a world where we need every advantage we can get.”

And so, for clarity, Economic Development Winnipeg has become Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism.

Tourism is “dramatically” evolving, Kuffner said.

“Tourism is being recognized increasingly as a really powerful lever for economic development,” he said. “We’re leaning into it in a way that I don’t know if we have as much, historically.”

Work now goes beyond attracting tourists and conferences. It’s about building the city as a destination, ensuring the proper staff and infrastructure are in place, Kuffner explained.

Booking business events and attractions has seemingly become more competitive since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Michael Juce, president of the Manitoba Hotel Association.

He referenced Calgary, which unveiled its expanded convention centre — now the largest in Western Canada — last year.

“We always have to be competitive and cognizant of what other jurisdictions are doing,” Juce said.

The Manitoba Hotel Association liaises with Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism weekly. The MHA relays information from a hotel perspective; the latter organization might tell Juce and colleagues about incoming events.

The name change highlights “just how integral tourism is to economic development,” Juce said.

Tourism Winnipeg’s estimated economic impact was $53.3 million in 2024.

Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism plans to release a multi-year strategy on Nov. 4. It’s the first of its kind in more than a decade, Kuffner said.

He stayed mum on details, but said the document would focus on how people “live, work, invest and visit” in Winnipeg. “We know that this is a critical time for Winnipeg and Manitoba’s economy.”

None of Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism’s 56 full-time equivalent staff will be cut during the rebrand and operations will largely remain the same, Kuffner said. The change has cost approximately $25,000, said Kathy Tarrant, vice-president of marketing, communications and corporate partnerships.

Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism is a good, clarifying name for stakeholders and leisure travellers, said John Gunter, board chair for the Tourism Industry Association of Manitoba.

Economic Development Winnipeg received funding from all three levels of government, and other investors, in 2024.

It’s added an estimated $5.3 billion to Winnipeg’s economy and helped create nearly 16,000 jobs since 2016, a news release reads.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com