Manitoba government says apprentice work hours exceeding target
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government says apprentice hours are well above target on several major construction projects in the province.
Jobs Minister Jamie Moses says early data shows apprentices worked 21 per cent of hours on four school construction projects and the Victoria Hospital emergency room build in Winnipeg — roughly double the minimum.
He says the province has also seen the highest number of new certified skilled trades members in five years, as well the highest number of apprentices in five years who are women, Indigenous or have disabilities.
Tanya Palson, who leads an umbrella group of unionized construction workers, says the 2025 Manitoba Jobs Agreement provided the numbers to better understand what’s happening on construction sites.
Palson, executive director of the Manitoba Building Trades Council, says the group originally negotiated a 10 per cent minimum for apprentice hours because there was no data on how many hours they had been working.
Industry associations have raised numerous concerns about the jobs agreement, including increased administrative and compliance burdens such as detailed workforce reporting.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.