The President of the AMBM and Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Mr. Ivan Normandeau, issued the following statement regarding the announcement of a $1.2 million investment to support the economic growth of Manitoba’s Francophone and bilingual rural communities. This initiative aims to identify job market needs to strengthen the local and regional economies of Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities by aligning economic demand and prospects with qualified bilingual talent:
On March 5th, 2025, as part of Francophonie Month, the Honourable Terry Duguid, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCAN) and Minister of Sport, issued a news release about a $1.2 million investment to support the economic growth of Manitoba’s Francophone and bilingual communities under the Community Economic Development and Diversification (CEDD) Program.
The AMBM extends its gratitude to Minister Duguid and PrairiesCAN for their collaboration and unwavering support in strategic initiatives aimed at maximizing leveraging power, enhancing the economic impact of Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities, and fostering sustainable and adaptable growth. The Government of Canada and Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership share a unified objective: addressing the shortage of qualified bilingual labour. This investment is a direct response to this challenge, ensuring the continued prosperity of our Francophone and bilingual rural communities.
With federal support, the AMBM, in partnership with our subsidiary, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, CDEM), is jointly leading the Strengthening the Job Market in Manitoba’s Bilingual Rural Municipalities project. The objective of this initiative is to foster economic development and create sustainable job opportunities in AMBM member municipalities by mitigating the shortage of qualified bilingual labour.
Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities play a predominant role in local economic development, directly impacting the vitality of their official language minority population. Our report, Labor Market Outlook in Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities 2022-2028, forecasts steady employment growth in the province, with a total of 114,300 jobs created over these years.
Since June 2024, a microeconomic and macroeconomic study has been underway to identify the needs for qualified bilingual labour in Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities. This first phase has identified over 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To date, nearly 300 employers are participating in the labour market trends analysis to understand the challenges of the bilingual labour shortage and guide strategic actions for a more inclusive and dynamic job market. This initiative also addresses one of the 16 strategic priorities defined by Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership.
This in-depth analysis and data compilation work aims to shape a job market more adapted to local realities. In a second phase, each municipality will know its needs through individualized reports that will be presented to them. In parallel, workshops will be offered to employers to enhance their cultural capacities and promote workplace diversity.
By leading the Strengthening the Job Market in Manitoba’s Bilingual Rural Municipalities initiative, the AMBM aims to leverage the full potential of the economic advantage of both official languages as a development driver for Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities.
The French language represents a strategic asset, promoting inclusion in the job market and serving as a lever for market diversification. Businesses established within Francophone and bilingual communities play a key role in the local economy, contributing to the vitality of the entrepreneurial fabric and sustainable economic growth.
This bilingual asset promotes the economic integration of newcomers while stimulating the job market. By facilitating talent-employer matching, it enhances business competitiveness and contributes to a prosperous and inclusive future for Francophone and bilingual communities. This aligns with the Strategy to Support Economic Immigration in Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities.
With its field expertise, the CDEM plays a key role in economic development and talent integration. Through its know-how and commitment, it promotes such promising initiatives that energize the job market and strengthen business competitiveness. Recognized leadership makes the CDEM an essential player in the prosperity of Francophone and bilingual communities.
In this regard, the CDEM also received $200,000 under the Tourism Growth Program (TGP) with its initiative to Create Economic Growth for Manitoba’s Francophone Tourism Entrepreneurs. Tourism is a priority sector for Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities, and the support for Francophone tourism entrepreneurs is based on the idea of creating synergy that will promote employability, job creation, tourism promotion, and strengthening the local economy in Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities.
These two initiatives complement each other to generate beneficial effects on regional economic development while supporting Manitoba’s Francophone and bilingual communities.
The AMBM Group’s strike force, a leader in Francophone and bilingual economic development, is fully mobilized. We are ready to collaborate continuously with PrairiesCAN to build a prosperous and sustainable future. PrairiesCAN, as a key partner, can count on our expertise to strengthen Manitoba’s Francophone and bilingual economic fabric.
The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 16 municipal governments committed to offering services in both official languages to their citizens. Together, these municipalities represent the majority of Manitoba’s population. Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership also leads the AMBM Group, a consortium of three organizations with complementary mandates: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which specializes in the green economy. Complementing each other, these three organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) and the province as a whole.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, [email protected].
