2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba trade representative to U.S. ‘hit the ground running'
Indigenous, agriculture and labour leaders who have met Manitoba's new trade representative to the U.S. say they're optimistic Richard Madan is the right person for the job at a critical time.
'It's only his fourth day on the job, but he's a thoroughbred,' Renee Greyeyes, president and CEO of Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba, said Friday. 'The starter pistol sounded and he hit the ground running.'
Greyeyes said she met Madan at two events after he arrived in Winnipeg on June 23 for a week of meetings with Manitoba business sector leaders.
'I think he's a good choice,' said Manitoba Métis Federation president David Chartrand, who recalled being interviewed by Madan in his former role as a Washington, D.C., bureau reporter.
Chartrand said he was impressed by the provincial trade rep as Manitoba deals with tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Madan, an American-born, Alberta-raised dual citizen who covered politics in the U.S. capital for nearly a decade, shared his insight on the states that Manitoba trades with and how they're being hurt by tariffs, Chartrand added.
'For example, he said in a lot of the farming areas … there's an outcry right now and it's causing a lot of pressure on Trump,' and there's opportunity to forge alliances with those states that will benefit both sides.
It is a stance Keystone Agricultural Producers president Jill Verwey agrees with.
'It is their legislators and state representatives that are carrying that strong message on how important the relationship with Manitoba and Canada is,' she said.
Verwey and other commodity association representatives met with Madan on Wednesday at Manitoba Agriculture's Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie.
Verwey applauded Premier Wab Kinew for establishing a business and jobs council ahead of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade being renegotiated, leading a Manitoba mission to Washington in early 2024 and hiring Madan to his new role.
'He knows who to talk to … he knows what phone calls to make and has those relationships. I really did find that he was here to listen.'– Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl
She said Trump's tariff threats that change 'from hour to hour, day to day' emphasize how important it is for Manitoba to strengthen its trade ties with individual U.S. states.
'The greatest value is having that strong relationship and building on that,' said Verwey, who wants to see a co-ordinated, Prairies-wide approach to domestic and international trade for the agriculture sector.
Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl said Madan seemed knowledgeable about working with the states and the value of strengthening relationships.
'He knows who to talk to … he knows what phone calls to make and has those relationships,' said Dahl. 'I really did find that he was here to listen.'
At the Manitoba legislature, Madan heard from labour leaders about the worries and concerns caused by tariff threats.
'Different unions talked about some layoffs that they're facing, the impact some of these things are having on workers and the uncertainty that they're causing our economy,' Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said Friday.
'That's the story that needs to be told in Washington… that there's a trained, skilled workforce here that can partner and do things together.'– Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck
'We also talked about how proud we are to be Manitobans and that this is a great place to live and to work,' Rebeck said. 'That's the story that needs to be told in Washington — that there's a trained, skilled workforce here that can partner and do things together.'
Meantime, Madan will need more than a week of hearing from Manitoba stakeholders to advocate on their behalf, said trade and supply chain expert Robert Parsons.
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'My only concern is: does he get it about what is going on here?' said the Asper School of Business instructor and researcher with a PhD in engineering.
Madan worked as a reporter in Winnipeg more than 20 years ago (2000-04). Before Madan's hiring was announced, Parsons had said he hoped Manitoba's trade representative to the U.S. would be someone from the province with extensive industry or trade experience.
'You have to really be in tune with what's going on here and, if there's a challenge, I think that's the one.'
The provincial budget includes $800,000 for the Washington office, which includes funding for office space, salaries and administrative support.
Carol SandersLegislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
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