Manitoba offers corporations a dependable, secure and diversified economy, with a reasonable debt level, says Jim Rondeau, minister, Manitoba Industry, Economic Development and Mines. The province also features legislation that mandates a balanced budget.

Rondeau says that Manitoba was rated as one the top places to do business in North America, with Winnipeg rated the third best city in the Midwest, according to KPMG's 2004 “Competitive Alternatives” report. The report compares the business costs in several categories in several countries.

Manitoba also features the third best mining policy regulation regime in the world, and the best in Canada.

Rondeau says corporations will find that Manitoba has been busy the last few years, lowering the costs of conducting business in the province.

This includes a reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 17 percent in 1999 to the current 15 percent, which will be 14 percent in 2007. The R&D tax credit has been increased to 20 percent. The basic film tax credit has risen from 35 percent to 45 percent, with a 5 percent frequent filming incentive, and a 5 percent rural incentive.

In regard to small businesses tax rates, the rate was 8 percent on $200,000* of income in 1999. The current rate is 5 percent, which will be 4.5 percent by the end of 2006, and 4 percent in 2007 on $400,000 on income.

In terms of equipment investments, Rondeau says at the time of investment, companies are given a 2 percent rebate of the provincial sales tax; and they are eligible to claim the remaining 5 percent across time.

Targets

Rondeau says Manitoba's manufacturing sector is diverse, with the production of busses, windows, furniture and aerospace driving the sector. Natural resource industries are also stables of the economy, particular hydroelectricity, value added oil and gas and mineral production. Food and value-added ag processing are also leading industries in Manitoba.

The ag products tie into the biotech industry, which has grown by 40 percent in Manitoba in the past three years. Manitoba is a global leader in the development of cereal and oilseed crop varieties.

The Cereal Research Center at the University of Manitoba is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's lead center for cereal genomics. The Richardson Center for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, the National Center for Agri-Food Research in Medicine and the Food Development Center assist industry in developing and commercializing functional food ingredients and natural health products.

Another leading area of research is centered on infectious disease identification and management. Manitoba was named the home of Canada's new Public Health Agency, which is the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Manitoba's biotech sector is also the home to the only biopharmaceutical manufacturing activity in the western part of the country, which is centered on these companies: Cangene Corp., Apotex Fermentation, Biovail Corp., and Vita Health Products. Cangene is undergoing its second plant expansion in two years to meeting growing international demand for WinRho SDF, which is used to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn. Biovail Corp. is one of Canada's largest biopharmaceutical companies, and Biovail's largest manufacturing operation.

Workforce and Education

The University of Manitoba is one of Canada's major research universities. Its research reputation has earned it national and international recognition, and helped it to earn more than $100 million annually in grants and contracts.

Statistics Canada estimates that total gross expenditures on R&D in Manitoba in 2001 was $453 million, up 70 percent over four years.

The University of Manitoba is home to more than 20 research centers and affiliated institutes ranging in scope from defense and security studies to cardiovascular sciences. The university is an active participant in the national Networks of Centers of Excellence program, and researchers participate in 16 of the 21 networks created under this program.

The university is also home to Smartpark, a research and innovation park. It brings together industry and the university to promote R&D and the development of knowledge based industry. One of the key features of the park is its access to university resources and staff.

Manitoba as a whole is home to a number of major public research and development facilities, which includes the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Center, the Canadian Science Center for Human and Animal Health, the National Research Council's Institute for Biodiagnostics, the National Center for Agri-food Research in Medicine, and the Canadian International Grains Institute, among others.

Manitoba's College Expansion Initiative will increase training opportunities in the province. The initiative supports the province's four community colleges, and has funded nearly 50 programs, in areas such as aerospace, network analysis and nursing certifications.

Business Climate

Trade is a critical element in Manitoba, as it produces more than it consumes. Since 1990, Manitoba's exports to the world have more than doubled. In 2004, merchandise exports from Manitoba increased by 7.5 percent while Canada posted an 8.6 percent increase. Manitoba exports to the U.S. increased by 2.9 percent, while exports to non-U.S. markets increased 22.2 percent.

Manitoba's access to markets comes thought the Mid-Continent Corridor, which is a multimodal geographic path running through the center of the North American continent from the Arctic to Mexico.

Other market advantages include Manitoba's central location and central time zone, which allows convenient access to customers and suppliers. Winnipeg is a growing hub for rail, road and air transportation.

In terms of utility costs, Rondeau says Manitoba features one of the lowest rates for electricity in North America due to hydroelectricity, which is a constant, reliable and cheap form of electricity. In fact, Manitoba generates power in excess of the province's needs. In the 2001-02 fiscal year, sales of electricity to Ontario, Saskatchewan and the United States amounted to $588 million.

The utility scenario fits in well with the rest of the business picture of Manitoba, which features a diverse and dependable economy.

For complete details about conducting business in Manitoba, visit www.gov.mb.ca/itm.

*All figures Canadian unless otherwise specified.