Bringing manufacturing home

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2024 (951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From our foundation in the fur trade, to our agricultural roots, to our contemporary status as a leader in clean energy, Manitoba has long been powered by rich natural resources and a robust manufacturing sector.

This heritage has fuelled our economic prosperity for over a century and a half. The same enduring strengths position Manitoba to be a leader in the transition to a green economy; a transformation that may prove to be as significant as the Industrial Revolution. Global demand for clean technology is surging, and with strategic investments, Manitoba manufacturers can seize this opportunity to generate good jobs and shared prosperity.

Manufacturing is the backbone of the provincial economy. The sector’s 2,400 manufacturing firms generate nearly 10 per cent of the province’s GDP, two-thirds of merchandise exports, and employs more than 70,000 Manitobans. These are high skilled, well-paying jobs that capitalize on our human ingenuity, technological capabilities and innovative spirit.

And yet, the question arises: with such an incredible endowment of resources, a skilled and available pool of talent, high labour standards and access to low-cost, green hydroelectricity, are we destined, like the Old Testament curse, to remain hewers of wood and drawers of water?

This question has taken centre stage in our national conversation as we ask, “Can Canada (and Manitoba) re-shore manufacturing production?” With some of the strongest environmental protections in the world, a geographically desirable location at the heart of the North America, many producers, extractors and processors with decades-long commitments to sustainability and more, what will it take to remove any limits from the province’s ambition and make Manitoba the manufacturing hub for the continent it has the potential to be?

If we cannot create the conditions to fulfil this potential, Manitoba’s manufacturing sector risks falling behind. CME estimates that Canadian investment must be 30 per cent higher than at current levels to meet net-zero targets. At the same time the re-shoring of manufacturing, prompted by global disruptions such as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions, offers a unique opportunity to bolster our manufacturing base.

Since the introduction of U.S. President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a little over a year ago, the U.S. has been in the grips of a factory-building boom. Manufacturing investment in Canada has not yet followed the same upward trajectory, but in recent months, the federal and provincial governments have partnered to attract significant clean energy investments in Canada, including EV battery plants in Quebec and Southern Ontario. These same programs can fund generational manufacturing projects in the Prairies, ensuring investment flows north of the border as much as south.

Manitoba, with its considerable advantages, stands ready to claim its fair share of these opportunities.

Projects like the Canadian Premium Sands (CPS) initiative in Selkirk exemplify our potential.

Today, nearly all of North America’s solar glass comes from overseas, primarily from China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. The Manitoba government has endorsed the company’s plans for a silica sand extraction project at Wanipigow and a solar glass manufacturing facility in Selkirk that will create 270 direct jobs for Manitobans.

CPS will also be a key employer for the communities of Hollow Water First Nation, Seymourville, Manigotagan and the city of Selkirk, forming further business opportunities. Not only will this project be North America’s only low-carbon patterned solar glass manufacturing facility, it will help Manitoba achieve net-zero targets and appeal directly to countries like the United States that are looking to onshore manufacturing inputs.

Manitoba’s story is not one of biblical curse, but rather, it is a narrative of transformation and opportunity. With strategic investments and policy support, Manitoba can lead in the production of traditional resources and in the burgeoning clean technology sector, propelling the province toward a sustainable and prosperous future, while allowing companies to market products that appeal to an increasingly environmental, social and governance (ESG)-conscious global audience.

Not just Canada’s “middle province” — Manitoba is an economic sleeping giant, waiting to awaken.

Ron Koslowsky is vice-president of CME Manitoba. Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is Canada’s oldest and largest industry-based trade association.