Throughout the month of February, the leadership team of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM) travelled to meet with several leaders from its member municipalities as part of its annual strategic tour. Officially launched this month, the tour consists of a series of meetings with bilingual municipalities across Manitoba and will continue over the coming months. It enables the AMBM to gather the priorities expressed by its members in order to adjust its strategic actions accordingly. This initial report presents the key findings and avenues for collaboration identified through these discussions:
The strategic tour began with three long‑standing bilingual rural municipalities: the Village of Saint‑Pierre‑Jolys, the Rural Municipality of Ellice‑Archie, and the Town of Powerview–Pine Falls. These initial meetings provided an opportunity to examine the priorities of municipal partners who play a historic and essential role within the AMBM.
This initiative takes place in a context where Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities are experiencing sustained growth, illustrating both their vitality and the need to strengthen the tools that support their development. It is in this spirit that the AMBM launched, this month, a tour closely linked to the implementation of the Municipal Maturity Model (3M), a planning and development lever designed to support the progression of Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities.
This tour reflects the AMBM’s commitment to meeting directly with municipal leaders in order to further ground its actions in the realities of its members and to consolidate a collective commitment to strong, dynamic, and prosperous bilingual communities. On this occasion, the AMBM is also presenting each municipality with a recognition plaque, highlighting their commitment to building strong and vibrant Francophone and bilingual communities. The plaque also recognizes their official membership status, based on their commitment to delivering municipal services in both official languages in accordance with the adoption of their 3M by-law.
The meetings held with the Village of Saint‑Pierre‑Jolys, the Rural Municipality of Ellice‑Archie, and the Town of Powerview–Pine Falls highlighted several shared concerns and priorities. Despite differing local contexts, these three bilingual rural municipalities face similar challenges related to essential infrastructure, municipal services, economic development, and the future of their communities, as outlined in the Prosperity Framework for Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities.
They share a common reality: bilingual municipalities play a leading role in Manitoba’s economic and social growth. Investing in their infrastructure, services, and operational capacity means building a stronger, more competitive, and more resilient Manitoba and Canada. Thanks to their proximity to on‑the‑ground realities, they are ideally positioned to design and implement solutions that support the sustainable prosperity of their communities and the country as a whole.
Aging Infrastructure
Infrastructure renewal remains a major priority for each of the municipalities visited. Whether related to drinking water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, roads, recreational facilities, or communication networks, communities are demonstrating a proactive commitment to maintaining and improving these essential assets. They manage infrastructure that is sometimes several decades old, while mobilizing their resources and partnerships to meet the growing needs of residents and attract new economic development opportunities.
Wastewater treatment infrastructure particularly illustrates this dynamic. In several municipalities, existing systems are managed rigorously and are the subject of concrete planning to ensure their upgrade. Municipalities are actively working to modernize their lagoons, improve effluent management, and plan investments that meet current environmental standards. These efforts demonstrate a commitment to anticipating future needs, protecting the environment, and supporting long‑term development.
In this context, the 3M plays a structuring role. As a municipal assessment and planning tool, it helps municipalities better guide infrastructure investments. The infrastructure‑related indicator within the 3M contributes to informed decision‑making and strengthens municipalities’ capacity to deliver the services necessary for the vitality of their bilingual communities, now and for generations to come.
However, municipalities emphasize that despite their ongoing efforts, the challenges associated with aging infrastructure often exceed their financial and human resource capacities. This is why they reaffirm the importance of strong intergovernmental partnerships based on stable, predictable funding tailored to the realities of rural communities. Enhanced collaboration among municipal, provincial, and federal governments would not only accelerate the renewal of existing infrastructure, but also lay the foundation for planned and sustainable growth that responds to the evolving needs of residents.
Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Attraction
Closely linked to aging infrastructure, the lack of housing is widely recognized as a major barrier to development for the municipalities visited. This challenge, shared by many bilingual rural communities, directly limits their ability to welcome new residents and support transformative projects.
This pressure particularly affects the attraction and retention of essential workers, notably in health care, education, seniors’ services, and public safety. Even when job opportunities are available, the absence of adequate housing often prevents candidates from settling in the municipality.
The impact, however, extends far beyond workforce issues. Housing shortages also hinder population growth, slow the establishment of new families, and restrain local economic development. Over the long term, this situation can accelerate youth out‑migration, reduce communities’ capacity to maintain certain services, and weaken local businesses that depend on a stable and active population.
Overall, municipalities clearly express that housing is a critical lever for ensuring community vitality, stimulating investment, strengthening the resilience of public services, and supporting long‑term development.
Intergovernmental Collaboration as a Lever for Prosperity
Discussions held during the tour reveal a widely shared conviction: the success of major provincial and national priorities depends fundamentally on municipalities.
As front‑line actors, municipalities are present on the ground every day, know their residents, understand local dynamics, and quickly identify emerging needs. This proximity makes them essential partners in building solutions that are adapted, realistic, and sustainable.
The municipalities visited also demonstrate a strong willingness to innovate, collaborate, and fully assume their role in Manitoba’s economic, social, linguistic, and environmental development. They rely on their practices, local expertise, and structuring tools such as the 3M, which is viewed as a reliable framework for assessing progress, guiding decision‑making, and planning strategically. The 3M serves as a guide to strengthening the delivery of municipal services in both official languages, improving municipal governance, and structuring long‑term actions, while respecting the unique realities of each community.
However, for these local efforts to fully support provincial and national objectives, municipalities emphasize the need for strengthened intergovernmental collaboration. Greater coordination among municipal, provincial, and federal levels would help to:
- accelerate the renewal and development of essential infrastructure;
- support economic growth and the attraction of skilled labour;
- reinforce the bilingual vitality of communities; and
- contribute more effectively to Manitoba’s and Canada’s climate, economic, and social objectives.
The municipalities visited demonstrate that they are ready to do their part. With appropriate tools, predictable funding, and strong intergovernmental partnerships, they would be even better positioned to build resilient, dynamic, and prosperous communities for the benefit of the entire province.
Building on this momentum, the AMBM will continue the tour over the coming months to meet with all bilingual municipalities and to pursue this essential work.
About the AMBM
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 residents. 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 for 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 (OLMC) and the province as a whole.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, bcdd-oceo@ambm.ca.
