Building more projects, more efficiently

Earlier this year, construction began on three schools in Winnipeg under a Manitoba Jobs Agreement (MJA), a policy introduced in last year’s provincial budget. Construction of a new school in Brandon, also under the school MJA, is set to begin soon. The government has announced that from now on, all public projects worth $50 million or more will be built pursuant to an MJA.

I congratulate Premier Wab Kinew and his colleagues for moving forward with this important initiative.

Project labour agreements have been around for decades in other regions of the country and in the United States. As noted in a study from the Ontario Construction Secretariat, some of Ontario’s “largest and most successful manufacturers — NOVA Chemicals, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, General Motors Canada, and Toyota Canada — have regularly and repeatedly relied on PLAs to oversee billions of dollars in new construction over the past 25 years.”

A report issued by the American government in 2024 states that project labour agreements “are an effective tool to ensure the efficiency, quality, and timeliness of large-scale construction projects.”

Such agreements have also been used in Manitoba for large infrastructure projects like the Red River Floodway Expansion. A similar approach was endorsed by Parliament two years ago when it adopted bill C-59, which introduced mandatory prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements in exchange for full clean economy investment tax credits for clean energy project proponents.

Contrary to what some employers assert, Manitoba Jobs Agreements do not “lock out” non-unionized workers from covered public projects; all contractors, union or non-union, can bid on those projects and bring in their own workforce. Furthermore, no worker will be forced to join a union.

What MJAs do is ensure that Manitoba workers have priority over workers from other regions of the country and that all workers on a site receive the same wages, benefits and protections, as negotiated by the relevant trade unions. They also provide opportunities for apprentices (10 per cent of hours worked), women and Indigenous workers and other equity-deserving groups (20 per cent of hours worked).

These are not “discriminatory hiring requirements,” but standards that ensure effective training for apprentices — the workforce of tomorrow — and fairness for groups that are typically discriminated against.

Whatever their billboards state, contractors opposed to MJAs are in fact arguing for lower wages and benefits for workers. This may be good for their bottom line, but it does not foster Manitoba’s prosperity.

Opponents assert that projects under MJAs will cost millions more to the public purse. There is no data supporting that claim.

Indeed, project labour agreements tend to reduce costs by preventing labour shortages, project delays and strikes or lockouts, and ensuring that all workers involved are qualified and work in safe conditions. As noted in Manitoba’s 2026 Budget, “By establishing consistent terms across participating projects, MJAs promote labour stability by preventing labour disruptions, which helps make sure projects are completed on time and on budget.”

The Ontario report notes that, according to the latest research conducted in the United States, project labour agreements “do not have a statistically significant effect on construction costs.”

Three construction associations have demanded that the province’s auditor general review the 85-cent-per-hour per worker charge collected on Manitoba Jobs Agreement-covered projects, claiming that there is no transparency on how that money will be spent by the Manitoba Building Trades. In fact, this fee is standard practice in project labour agreements. The money thereby collected will simply be used to pay compliance and administration expenses. There is nothing “hidden” about this fee, and the request for an auditor general investigation is frivolous at best.

Infrastructure projects paid for by the province’s taxpayers should benefit Manitoban workers, first and foremost. Moreover, jobs on those public projects should be compensated fairly. And a just share of those jobs should be offered to apprentices and to members of equity-deserving groups. This is what the Manitoba Jobs Agreements provide. And those are the conditions which will allow Manitoba to build more schools, hospitals and roads, for the benefit of all Manitobans.

Sean Strickland is the executive director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions.