Manitoba's infrastructure investment program to boost economy by more than $6 billion over the next five years

OTTAWA, March 5, 2014 /CNW/ - Manitoba's infrastructure investment program will increase the province's real gross domestic product by an average of $1.25 billion a year from 2014 to 2018 and support almost 59,000 person-years of employment, according to an analysis published by The Conference Board of Canada.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Manitoba's core infrastructure spending program will invest a little over $1.1 billion a year from 2014 to 2018.
• Real GDP increases by $1.16 for every dollar spent.
• The investment program will support almost 59,000 person-years of employment in the province over the five-year period.

The Manitoba government has launched a core infrastructure-building plan this year with a commitment to spend a total of $5.5 billion over 5 years starting in the 2014-15 fiscal year. Core infrastructure includes the transportation network (highways, bridges and related construction), flood protections and water management (dikes, drainage and diversion channels), and municipal infrastructure (including roads and water systems).

"For each dollar spent in the core infrastructure program, real GDP is lifted by $1.16," said Pedro Antunes, Deputy Chief Economist. "In addition to the positive impact of the construction itself, Manitoba will benefit from additional economic growth that results from increased productive capacity made possible by this investment."

The Conference Board analysis was commissioned by the Government of Manitoba and is intended to inform policy-makers about the economic impact of the infrastructure investment program. The analysis indicates that the investments will:

• support almost 59,000 person-years of employment in the province over the five-year period and trim the unemployment rate by an average of 0.7 percentage points annually;
• generate $1.4 billion in retail sales and add over 2,000 housing units to the economy;
• boost exports by $5.4 billion;
• generate a cumulative $1.2 billion in federal and personal income taxes and indirect taxes; and
• generate a cumulative total of $24 million and $70 million for the provincial and federal government, respectively, from corporate income taxes.

The publication, Manitoba's Infrastructure Investment, is available at www.e-library.ca.

SOURCE: Conference Board of Canada

Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, Tel.: [phone] ext. 221
E-mail: [email protected]