Latest news with #ManitobaTruckingAssociation
Winnipeg Free Press
04-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg GDP, disposable income growth to slow in 2025: Conference Board
As trucking companies shutter and manufacturers brace for layoffs, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts slower GDP growth in Winnipeg this year than upcoming years. The research body predicts Winnipeg's gross domestic product will grow 1.1 per cent in 2025 and 2.4 per cent, on average, in the following four years. 'There's a lot of uncertainty,' Walter Bolduc, a Conference Board economist, said of current times. Tariffs have flung between the United States and Canada since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Additionally, China placed tariffs on certain Canadian agricultural exports — like pork and canola — in retaliation to Canada tacking levies to its electric vehicle imports. Slower population growth in Winnipeg also contributes to the GDP prediction. Both manufacturing and transportation/warehousing sectors will likely see less output in 2025 — a 0.9 per cent contraction, a new Conference Board report says. The forecast might be conservative, said Aaron Dolyniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association. 'It is very slow in the trucking industry,' he added. 'I don't know that we've seen the worst of it yet.' He's noted a handful of small- and medium-sized businesses closing shop. There's more supply than demand in the current landscape, he added. 'Uncertainty is one of biggest challenges,' Dolyniuk said. 'I think a lot of companies and individuals have been tightening up their spending.' Winnipeg saw a boost in manufacturing jobs during the first five months of 2025, per Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters tracking. The province's sector is diverse, shielding it from massive blows, said CME chief economist Alan Arcand. However, the extra 1,500 jobs could be temporary — a result of companies ordering bulk from manufacturers ahead of tariff implementation, he said. Projecting fewer manufacturing jobs in the coming year, as the Conference Board has done, is a 'fair forecast,' Arcand said. 'Given the threat of the ongoing trade dispute … (it) wouldn't be surprising.' Manufacturing layoffs have happened nationally, though largely concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, Arcand said. The Conference Board is pegging Winnipeg's average unemployment rate at 6.1 per cent this year. The city's labour force growth could outpace employment, the report reads. The unemployment rate should lessen over the following four years due to stronger business activity and slower labour force growth, the report adds. Sectors including construction and accommodation and food services are anticipated to grow. High demand for new homes and large projects like Portage Place's redevelopment were cited as boosters, as were influxes of visitors to Winnipeg for events like wildfire evacuations and tourism draws. The Conference Board predicts household disposable income growth will weaken by 4.2 percentage points — from 6.5 per cent in 2024 to 2.3 this year. Homeowners renewing fixed-rate mortgages may see higher rates. Also, there's less demand for wage increases because inflation has cooled from recent years' highs, the report outlines. Inflation could rise to an average 2.5 per cent this year, up from 1.2 per cent in 2024, the Conference Board calculated. It pointed to retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and the end of Manitoba's gas tax holiday. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
13-03-2025
- CBC
Non-profit aims to prevent labour trafficking in Manitoba's migrant-reliant trucking industry
A Manitoba-based charity that supports survivors of human trafficking hopes to raise awareness about the issue of labour trafficking among workers in the increasingly migrant-reliant trucking industry. The Joy Smith Foundation has partnered with the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA) and local police in a campaign to better inform victims on how to report attempts to coerce them into unsafe working conditions through deceptive recruitment practices, withheld wages and threats of retaliation. The foundation said Thursday the push will include educational billboards, posters and flyers over the next few months to inform professional drivers, trucking company leaders and the public about the signs of labour trafficking. "Education truly is our greatest weapon," said CEO Janet Campbell. "If people understand the issue and they understand what to do if they're ever confronted, they then become empowered to take action and disrupt this from happening." Federal data shows Manitoba businesses in the trades, transport, equipment operation and related occupations were cleared to hire 1,467 temporary foreign workers in 2023 — an increase of nearly 1,300 per cent from 106 five years earlier. Program criticized Canada's temporary foreign workers program has been criticized as being open to abuse, including labour trafficking. A recent Amnesty International report condemned it as "inherently exploitative," arguing it violates Canada's commitments to international law. "Those individuals are coming to our country to find a better life," Campbell said. "They're not familiar with our customs, they're not familiar with our laws and the immigration process, they're really uncertain that in fact, they are even being victimized." Campbell says employers are heavily involved in workers' immigration process because they are usually the ones who help bring them to Canada, and that creates a sense of trust employers can exploit to manipulate people into doing things such as turning in their passports or convince them speaking out will get them deported. Campbell said forced labour incidents are rarely reported because victims aren't aware the authorities can protect them. 'We're trying to get ahead of the situation' A total of 43 human trafficking incidents were reported in Manitoba from 2013 to 2023, according to Statistics Canada. However, 4,543 cases were reported across the country, including 2,914 in Ontario. There was only one reported incident in Manitoba in 2023. "We're trying to get ahead of the situation," said Rachelle Baker, chair of the MTA's human resources council. "We hear stories every day and specially working with recruiting and bringing new drivers on. It's stories that you wouldn't think would happen in Manitoba or in Winnipeg, but it's happening all around us." Robert MacKenzie, board chair with Winnipeg Crime Stoppers, said the campaign is about letting know people they can come forward to the authorities without fearing retribution. "If you see something, say something," he said.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Media Alert/Photo Advisory: Joy Smith Foundation Launching Initiative to Combat Forced Labour in Manitoba
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To mark Manitoba Human Trafficking Awareness Day, The Joy Smith Foundation is holding a press conference to announce an initiative that aims to raise awareness about forced labour trafficking in Manitoba's trucking industry. Labour trafficking is a hidden and urgent issue in Manitoba, with victims often coerced into unsafe working conditions through deceptive recruitment practices, withheld wages, and threats of retaliation. While labour trafficking exists across various industries in Canada, The Joy Smith Foundation is proud to announce an initiative focused specifically on supporting the trucking industry, where vulnerabilities to trafficking have been identified. The Joy Smith Foundation, in partnership with the Manitoba Trucking Association and Crime Stoppers, is committed to addressing the systemic issues that facilitate labour trafficking in Manitoba. This new initiative builds on the foundation's previous successes, including the 2023 national 'See the Trafficking Signs' campaign, which focused on preventing youth from being lured into the sex Manitoba Trucking Association, 25 Bunting Street, Winnipeg, MB R2X 2P5When: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM – Thursday, March 13, 2025WHO: Janet Campbell, President & CEO, The Joy Smith FoundationPauline Wiebe Peters, President, Manitoba Trucking AssociationRachelle Baker, Chair, MTA Human Resource CouncilRob MacKenzie, Chair, Winnipeg Crime Stoppers RSVP and Media Contact: Janet Campbell janet@ or 204-470-8967 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in to access your portfolio
