Issue link: http://tourismwpg.uberflip.com/i/1305277
Manitoba's manufacturing industry was on the cutting edge of health and safety protocols and policies that could be emulated across private and public sectors as the economy reopened. Optimism & opportunity for growth Our unemployment rate in Manitoba is leading the charge across the country. Manitoba is seeing a faster economic rebound from the pandemic than many other Canadian provinces. According to BMO forecasters, Manitoba is expected to produce the lowest unemployment rate in the country in 2020. While the unemployment rate has risen sharply, it should remain below the national average at 7.9 per cent for all of 2020, versus 9.5 per cent for Canada. Winnipeg was chosen as of one of Canada's best locations for the third year in a row by Site Selection magazine. Locations across the nation were assessed on corporate end-user facility investment and related job creation activity analyzed on a cumulative and per-capita basis. Leader in a global pandemic Winnipeg, Manitoba was one of the first jurisdictions in Canada to reopen its economy and we used this opportunity to our advantage in a number of ways: RBC Convention Centre was the first convention centre in Canada to host an event after COVID-19 brought the hospitality industry to a standstill. Thermëa Spa worked closely with provincial health officials on protocols and was one of the first spas in the country to reopen. Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport continued to operate 24 hours a day and its strategic location in the centre of the continent meant goods kept travelling anywhere in the world easily within 48 hours. It continues to be well-positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth of e-commerce and is already seeing a rise in cargo. Read the story on page 13 Winnipeg has always had advantages over other Canadian cities. As the geographic centre of the country and continent, our city has always offered a strong trimodal transportation hub (rail, air and ground), business-friendly time zones and an affordable location for companies to start and expand, supported by a highly-connected business community. The COVID-19 pandemic has served to amplify those advantages and highlight new ones. 8 TH E WINNIPEG INVE STOR