October 18, 2018 - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Date: October 18, 2018
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Total participants

• Roundtable participants communicated the need for setting specific goals, benchmarks, and targets to measure success in economic development.
• Employers and businesses need a range that everyone can measure themselves against and which is meaningful in a global context.
• Must determine who is responsible for measuring and evaluating performance on agreed upon goals.
• Pan-Western versus regional approach discussion:
  • Goals should be pan-Western so Canada’s smaller provincial economies can compete globally.
  • WD could take a leadership position in such a pan-Western strategy.
  • A pan-Western approach creates stronger outputs for companies.
  • Pan-Western goals can be more difficult for Indigenous entrepreneurs because populations, economies, and access to resources vary by province.
• Manitoba is getting attention/global investment because of its undervalued opportunities.
• Investors are looking at Winnipeg but see very low unemployment.
• Chronically under-employed segments of labour force must be targeted for training aggressively.

Key Performance Indicators that matter most to Manitoba

• Employment levels and the number of new jobs is important – global talent stream focuses on start-ups but SMEs should have more access to skilled labour.
• An important indicator for economic success is the average salary per person as well as wage growth.
• The number of highly qualified personnel should be more important than total employment levels for measuring success.
• Export growth – including imports and exports.
• Employment is the most important metric for Indigenous Peoples.
• Increasing the number of small business owners would result in an increase in employment

Strategy Discussion – Where to begin in Manitoba’s diverse economy?

• Supporting emerging technologies would benefit many areas and spread across all sectors.
• The focus should be broad across sectors.
• It is important to maintain the base economic activities, but pursue higher risk ventures at the same time.
• Most people have become happy with 2% growth and the province’s lack of peaks and valleys.
• Manitoba’s stable, diversified economy makes businesses feel more comfortable engaging in riskier investments.
• Promote clusters that enhance areas that regions are already good at. Doing so will attract the best people to the area. Use example of Montreal’s approach to building a world-class A.I. “Silicon Valley”.
• Small Indigenous businesses survive on procurement. Strengthen Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business and include Indigenous procurement requirements for contracting.

Inclusion Discussion

• Enhance broadband infrastructure
• Increase access to capital
• Streamline procurement,
• Focus on affordable housing.
• Venture capital almost non-existent for Indigenous businesses, particularly outside of urban areas.
• Lenders are too risk-adverse in Manitoba.

Learning to Set the Bar High

• Look globally for success stories.
• Mentorship, high-quality personnel, and a skilled labour force are all required.
• Winnipeg has a closed-system that is tough for entrepreneurs to break into.
• Entrepreneurs would greatly benefit from access to typically closed networks.