Written by Gwen Black, Policy and Government Relations Manager, The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
Advocacy in Action
Downtown Revitalization, ranked as the #1 issue in The Chamber’s member survey last year, was front and centre during the Big City Mayors’ Caucus meeting at this year’s Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference. Loren Remillard, President & CEO of The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, attended in his role as Chair of the Canadian Global Cities Council (CGCC), a coalition of CEOs from eight of Canada’s largest urban Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, serving as a strong national policy voice since 2015.
Downtown revitalization and trade, along with economic security, were at the top of this year’s agenda. A reminder that the pressing concerns here in Winnipeg resonate in cities across the country.
Recent Meetings
- Quarterly meeting with Mayor Gillingham
- The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Premier Kinew
- Quarterly meeting with Minister Moses
What We're Watching: Key Trends and Emerging Issues
City of Winnipeg
The City of Winnipeg has, in recent years, used fees on vacant buildings as a deterrent to keeping them vacant, but this approach has lacked sufficient incentives. This month Council is considering a one-time Vacant Building Grant through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), set to launch in summer 2026, if approved. The grant would support the acquisition and/or rehabilitation of buildings vacant or underutilized for at least two years, including conversions of non-residential buildings into housing. This incentivization is something our members want to see and was included in our Community Safety Policy Position — read our letter of support here.
Province of Manitoba
Back in March, the province launched consultations proposing to raise the rent exemption threshold to $2,000/month and reduce by 50% the capital expenditures eligible for recovery through above-guideline increases. Our members have raised concerns about the impacts these changes could have on housing investment in Winnipeg, which contributed to a new addition in our Affordable Housing Policy Position. The Chamber continues to monitor this issue alongside the additional reporting requirements proposed in Bill 13, which would require operators to file information for each rental unit with the Director of Residential Tenancies, adding administrative burden and additional costs on operators of all sizes.
We have written to Minister Sandhu to express our concerns with many of the proposed changes — read that letter here.
Government of Canada
This spring, The Chamber joined members at a roundtable with Minister Diab to discuss how recent national immigration changes have had an acute impact in Manitoba.
Building on that conversation, and other meetings held in Ottawa this spring, we have submitted feedback to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as they prepare to release their 2027–2029 Immigration Plan levels this fall — read our submission here and share your own feedback before the IRCC survey closes June 30.
Help shape the voice of your Winnipeg Chamber – one of Canada’s eight largest Chambers and Manitoba’s leading business organization for six consecutive years and counting (Manitoba Business Leaders Index, Probe Research (Canada)).
Contact Gwen Black, Policy and Government Relations Manager, at [email protected] to learn how.
