Investors say yes to Yes! Winnipeg

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This article was published 03/05/2022 (1245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The business community came out in force to support the efforts of Economic Development Winnipeg and its sales group called Yes! Winnipeg at its annual investor breakfast on Monday after committing to invest more than ever before.

Yes! Winnipeg was formed in 2010 with a mandate that it would beat the bushes both at home and around the world to uncover investment opportunities for the city.

The business community has seen the value in that, now, perhaps even more than in the past 12 years, by promising to invest $1 million per year for the next five years, almost 25 per cent more than had been the case in the previous five-year capital campaigns.

Ryan Kuffner, vice-president of sales and business development for Yes! Winnipeg, said last year they weren’t sure what to expect, but the organization raised $1 million in 2021 in the midst of a pandemic.

“In this city we can’t rely on others, we have to do it ourselves,” Kuffner said. “It was incredibly inspiring for us to see the way the private sector leadership stepped up. We raised more money than ever in the history of Yes! Winnipeg last year.”

Dayna Spiring, EDW’s chief executive officer, said that success shows “economic development is a team sport.” She said her organization can’t do its job without the support from government and the business community.

EDW’s peers around the world would likely sympathize with Winnipeg when Spiring said, “It has not been the easiest winter or spring to sell the advantages of Winnipeg”. But luckily for the community at large in addition to it being a team sport, economic development also requires relentless optimism.

Last year the organization played a role in securing investments from seven companies totalling $365 million in capital investment resulting in the creation of close to 1,300 direct jobs, including Maple Leaf Foods’ new pre-cooked bacon plant, another expansion at Price Industries and continuing growth at Precision ADM.

And those investments will go on to be indirectly responsible for the creation another 2,400 jobs.

Kuffner said there are a lot of leads in the pipeline including a few very large ones. He wouldn’t disclose any details, but he and Spiring both noted the importance of the development of the CentrePort Rail Park which is especially configured for very large tenants.

The developer of that project, Focus Equities, will be responsible for the servicing of the lots in that 665-acre industrial park, but other than that there is a dearth of serviced industrial land in the city.

“We are encouraged by the Rail Park development,” Spiring said. “But I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for my team to go out and sell business in Winnipeg, and win, and to have the only difficult factor being where we physically put the investment when they come here.”

But there is growing demand for industrial space across North America these days and Kuffner believes with increasing emphasis on ESG investing (environment, social considerations and governance) it puts Winnipeg in a sweet spot.

Kuffner said more than ever investors are looking for jurisdictions where there is clean and renewable energy, where the talent pool is diversified and communities where they are not priced out like many larger centres in Canada.

“The stars are aligning for us,” he said, noting Manitoba Hydro’s green energy, Winnipeg’s growing Indigenous community and the affordable real estate rates in the province.

“That’s why the industrial land piece is so important because if the stars come together in every other way but if we have no land to settle on, that’s a challenge.”

 

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca