Winnipeg’s Competitive Advantage

Whether you're looking for a highly educated and productive workforce, a central location for distribution of your goods to market or a city that offers employees an outstanding balance between work and quality of life, Winnipeg’s competitive advantage can be yours as well.

Strategic Location

  •  CMA population of over 730,000
  •  Geographic centre of Canada and North America
  •  Central location allows effective service to all North American time zones
  •  The northern hub of the Mid-Continent Trade Corridor

Excellent Multi-Modal Transportation and Distribution Infrastructure

  • Largest distribution centre between Vancouver and Toronto
  • At the core of both of Canada’s national intermodal rail systems, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Rail System (CP), with direct connections to the U.S. via CN and CP’s American subsidiaries
  • Headquarters for many of the top inter-provincial general freight carriers in Canada
  • Worldwide freight forwarding services
  • One of the few 24-hour international airports in North America with daily flights to major Canadian and U.S. cities
  • One of the most reliable airports in the world, averaging less than two hours in downtime annually
  • Access to ocean ports through Churchill and Thunder Bay

Diverse Industry and Leading Companies

  • Many of Canada’s leading companies and entrepreneurs call Winnipeg home
  • Historical financial centre of Western Canada. Headquarters of both Great-West Life Assurance Company, Canada’s leading insurance company and Investors Group, Canada’s largest mutual fund company
  • Headquarters of Canwest Global Communications Corp., Canada’s leading international media company and Canada’s largest newspaper marketing company
  • Canada’s grain industry headquarters and Canada’s only Commodity Exchange. Major agriculture-based corporations include: Cargill Limited, the Canadian Wheat Board and James Richardson and Sons, Limited
  • Home of the Royal Canadian Mint
  • Home to a growing number of large customer contact centres including: Convergys Customer Management, CN Customer Service Centre, CP Customer Service Centre, INSPYRE Solutions Inc., Air Canada, Canada Post, Canada Revenue Agency and Royal Direct (Royal Bank)
  • One of the most diversified secondary manufacturing sectors in Canada
  • Over 50% of Canadian agricultural machinery output is manufactured in Manitoba
  • Headquarters of Palliser Furniture, one of Canada’s largest furniture manufacturers
  • Western Canada’s largest and most diversified aerospace centre. World-class companies include: Standard Aero Limited, Boeing Canada Technology and Bristol Aerospace Limited 

Competitive Combined Business Costs

  • A 2008 study by KPMG showed Winnipeg has among the lowest overall business costs of major cities
  • Winnipeg ranks third among mid-sized cities within the North American Midwest
  • Overall Winnipeg cost indexes are lower than the Canadian average

Productive and Skilled Workforce

  • Very competitive labour costs
  • Highly productive
  • Very low turnover rates providing workforce stability
  • Well educated and trained workforce
  • Among the lowest worker’s compensation board rates in North America
  • Excellent education and training institutes

Excellent Educational and Technical Training

  • Winnipeg is a university and college city with close to 70,000 students in post-secondary institutions
  • Home of three universities, the University of Manitoba and its Francophone affiliate, Collége universitaire de Saint-Boniface, The University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Mennonite University
  • Two highly respected technical training institutions, Red River College and Winnipeg Technical College

Affordable Industrial and Commercial Sites and Buildings

  • Fully serviced land available for a variety of industries
  • Ample commercial and office space available
  • Office space costs range from $10-18/square foot, among the lowest in major Canadian and North American cities

Reliable Low-Cost Energy and Communications

  • Lowest electricity costs of major cities in North America
  • Abundant supply of natural gas, oil and emissions-free hydro-generated electric power
  • Cost competitive, state-of-the-art, world-wide telecommunications infrastructure and service
  • Competitive telecommunications