Question Period Note: PrairiesCan's Accomplishments and Support for Government Priorities

PrairiesCan's Accomplishments and Supports for Government Priorities

• PrairiesCan is focused on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and communities across the Prairies as Canada transforms its economy.
• Since March 2025, PrairiesCan has invested $300 million in over 60 communities across the Prairies. Overall, our investments have contributed to the creation of more than 11,000 jobs and more than $600 million in export sales growth.
• Our region’s businesses and exporters are facing profound global uncertainty. Through the one-billion-dollar Canada-wide Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI), PrairiesCan is supporting SMEs to be more productive, strengthen supply chains, and diversify markets.
o As of early March 2026, PrairiesCan has approved 35 RTRI projects, providing roughly $46.8 million in funding to SMEs in the Prairies.
• PrairiesCan’s recent funding under RTRI has supported:
o Repatriating the manufacturing of stainless-steel storage products from the U.S. back to Manitoba.
o Enhancing the steel processing capabilities in Saskatchewan through the acquisition of new equipment that improves safety, productivity, and overall competitiveness.
o Increasing the value-added agricultural processing capacity in Alberta through the implementation of advanced automation, dehydration, and pelleting systems.

• PrairiesCan continues to support the development of an expanded northern trade corridor through the Port of Churchill.
o The first $10 million of PrairiesCan’s five-year, $50 million, investment in the port supported critical wharf repairs and engineering work in 2025.
o This funding has also supported the port’s ownership group – Arctic Gateway Group – in securing new partnerships, like the recently signed agreement with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges to build a stronger North Atlantic Trade Corridor between Churchill and Europe.
o PrairiesCan is collaborating with the Major Projects Office to advance the Port of Churchill Plus transformative strategy.
o As part of this work, PrairiesCan is leading a market sounding study to gauge and understand the private sector’s interest in utilizing the port.
• PrairiesCan has launched the Prairie Partnership Initiative to advance transformative projects that strengthen the Prairie economy by providing a single, collaborative, mechanism for governments, Indigenous partners, industry, and communities.
o This includes working with 14 other federal departments and agencies through the Prairie Project Table to coordinate federal investments in impactful regional projects that create jobs, exports, and have the potential to become nation-building projects.
o For example, a recent $10 million investment through the Table is helping develop prime airside lands at the Winnipeg Richardson Airport that will support growth in the region’s aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing sectors.

• PrairiesCan is also strengthening the Prairie defence industrial base by delivering the Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII) that will invest $379.2 million across Canada to integrate businesses and regional ecosystems into defence supply chains.
o As of early March 2026, PrairiesCan has approved 6 Prairie projects for $21 million, two of which were announced with $6.5 million in RDII funding.