Construction (NAICS 23): Manitoba, 2025

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Highlights

• In 2024, Manitoba’s construction sector (NAICS 23) contributed an estimated $4.2 billion in nominal GDP, representing about 6.3% of the provincial economy. While the $4.2 billion represented modest growth compared to 2023, it was lower than the annual figures recorded from 2014 to 2022.
• Employment in Manitoba’s construction sector showed significant growth from 2020 to 2024, rising from approximately 48,500 to 57,300, and representing 7.9% of provincial employment in 2024. Despite promising employment numbers, challenges persist due to an ageing workforce and a projected wave of retirements exceeding 9,500 by 2034, creating a pressing need to recruit new entrant skilled workers.
• While nominal GDP growth has slowed over recent years, the sector’s diversification towards industrial and infrastructure projects throughout the province signals resilience. However, the looming retirement wave and recruitment challenges present risks to future growth. Addressing these issues through targeted workforce development, retention strategies, and cost management will be essential for sustaining Manitoba’s construction sector performance in the years ahead.

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About the Sector

Manitoba’s construction sector (NAICS 23) remains a key driver of the provincial economy, contributing just over $4.2 billion to GDP in 2024. While this reflects modest growth compared to 2023, it represented a slowdown from annual figures recorded from 2014 to 2022.

Composition and importance of the sector

The sector is organized into four main subsectors: residential building construction (NAICS 2361), non-residential building construction (NAICS 2362), heavy and civil engineering construction (NAICS 237), and specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238).

Residential building construction focuses on housing development and renovations, generating significant direct employment and stimulating demand for materials and services.

Non-residential building construction encompasses commercial, institutional, and infrastructure projects, which require higher skill levels and generate considerable indirect economic activities related to procurement and engineering services.

Heavy and civil engineering construction includes establishments whose primary activity is the construction of entire engineering projects (including, but not limited to highways and dams, dredging and land drainage, parks and trails, and road building and utility line installation).

Specialty trade contractors provide essential skilled labor across projects in both residential and non-residential areas, contributing notably to sector productivity.

The construction sector plays a critical role in developing infrastructure, housing, and institutional facilities. Its operations are deeply influenced by immigration and demographic trends. The coexistence of both highly concentrated and fragmented subsectors allows the province to maintain stability while fostering innovation, enabling the sector to adapt effectively to economic fluctuations and seize long-term growth opportunities.

Geographical distribution of employment

Construction sector employment in Manitoba is distributed across economic regions. Regions with strong economic activity in high-skill, high-capital subsectors face the most acute shortages of certified professionals, while rural and northern areas are particularly vulnerable to demographic decline and outmigration.

Employment (NAICS 23) by Economic Region, Manitoba, 2024

Economic Regions, Manitoba	Employment (x 1,000), 2024	Sector (NAICS 23) Share (%)
Southeast, Manitoba	9.8	17.1%
South Central and North Central, Manitoba	6.4	11.2%
Southwest, Manitoba	4.9	8.6%
Winnipeg, Manitoba	29.4	51.3%
Interlake, Manitoba	5.5	9.6%
Parklands and North, Manitoba	-*	-*

-* suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

The Winnipeg economic region, which stands at the epicenter of construction activity, accounted for over 51% (29,400 workers) of employment in 2024. Winnipeg’s concentration of large-scale commercial and civil engineering projects has led to persistent demand for project managers, civil engineers, and skilled tradespeople. Winnipeg’s steady population growth over the last few years, fueled by immigration, has supported demand for both residential and non-residential projects.

The Southeast economic region ranked second in employment in 2024, with 17.10% (9,800 workers) of sector employment, and largely supported by the growth and development of Steinbach and surrounding area.

The South Central and North Central economic region ranks third in construction employment in 2024 at 11.2% (6,400 workers). This economic region gets a boost from projects incentivized due to considerations surrounding affordability and proximity to Winnipeg. However, both competition for young workers and from the Winnipeg market may exacerbate labour constraints.

The Parklands and North economic region, while smaller in total construction employment, faces unique challenges. Economic activity here is dominated by infrastructure and resource development projects. Advancement of northern Manitoba’s mining and utilities sectors, along with commitments to infrastructure upgrades, will play a large role in the region’s construction sector employment trajectory.

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Workforce

Workforce characteristics

The Manitoba construction sector employed 57,300 workers in 2024, down from 58,300 in 2023, but up 8,800 workers since 2020.

-* suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

Approximately 5,960 women were employed in the province’s construction sector. The split was almost even for women who worked at on site construction projects versus women who worked at jobs off site (primarily in administrative and management-related occupations). Women made up only 7.0% (2,940 workers) of all tradespeople working across Manitoba’s construction sectors in 2024. Among the 5,960 women workers, the top five trades and occupations were:

• Trade helpers and labourers (27%)
• Carpenters (18%)
• Construction managers (14%)
• Contractors and supervisors (11%)
• Construction estimators (4%)

Indigenous workers made up 17.7% of Manitoba’s construction workforce in 2023, higher than the share of Indigenous People represented across the provincial workforce (13.8%). Immigrants are underrepresented in the construction industry and made up 16.1% of the construction workforce in Manitoba and 24.4% of the total provincial workforce in 2023.

In 2024, men aged 25 to 54 years old represented almost 62.4% of all workers in the construction sector, while men aged 55+ represented 16.0% of workers. This aging trend, coupled with declining participation from young workers, puts future labour supply at risk and reinforces the importance of diversifying recruitment and retention strategies.

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Occupations of Interest

BuildForce Canada lists carpenters and electricians as an in-demand skilled trade in their April 2025 forecast.

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Recent History

Over the past decade, Manitoba’s construction sector has undergone major shifts that have profoundly influenced labor market outcomes and workforce dynamics.

Between 2014 and 2021, employment in the sector was bolstered by construction of the $8.7 billion Keeyask Generating Station, a project that hired over 25,000 workers at the site between 2014 and 2021. Although the project was completed in 2022, sector employment increased approximately 10.2% from 2022 to 2023, driven by new infrastructure investments such as a provincial highway network project and renovated health care facilities throughout the province.

While residential construction activity in Manitoba has declined since its peak in 2021, largely due to rising interest rates and increasing concerns around housing affordability, non-residential construction has steadily grown since 2022. This growth has been particularly strong in engineering projects and the development of industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings, with sustained demand in the healthcare and education sectors.

To help workers keep pace with inflation, the Construction Industry Wages Act was updated to increase the minimum wage for construction workers in Manitoba by 14% over three years. The first increase took effect in September 2022, followed by further increases in April 2023 and April 2024. As of September 1, 2025, the minimum wage for employees in construction was $19.95 per hour, compared to the general minimum wage of $16.00 per hour.

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Employment Outlook

Employment prospects for workers in construction are expected to be strong throughout Manitoba in the medium-term. A combination of growing residential demand, significant project investments, and a projected number of retirements in the sector support this outlook.

As interest rate pressures ease, demand for new residential housing in Manitoba is expected to rise, driven by pent-up consumer demand. BuildForce Canada forecasts strong growth in housing investment between 2025 and 2028, with single-detached and multi-unit starts pushing investment over 22% above the low levels seen in 2024. Therefore, new activity is expected to stimulate employment growth in the sector, particularly for skilled trades.

A number of upcoming major infrastructure projects will bolster employment opportunities in the construction sector in Manitoba. Significant projects include, but are not limited to:

• Continued development of the CentrePort Rail Park that will help Winnipeg become a central transportation hub in North America.
• The Manitoba government investing nearly $200 million in school capital projects for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
• The Manitoba government building 350, and renovating 3,000, social and affordable housing units, as outlined it its Your Way Home: Manitoba’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness strategy.
• Allocation of $209.8M by provincial and federal governments to improve Manitoban infrastructure related to drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste.
• Continued development of the largest urban reserve in Canada, Naawi-Oodena, in Winnipeg, which will include construction of $1 billion in housing, commercial and health care spaces over the next 20 years.
• The federal government’s new Build Canada Homes housing agency spending $13B to build 4,000 affordable modular homes in six cities across the country, including Winnipeg. Construction is expected to begin in 2026.

According to BuildForce Canada, the industry will need to recruit 19,400 additional workers from 2025 to 2034, with 9,800 workers expected to retire during this same period. Although the addition of 11,500 new entrants under the age of 30 from local recruitment efforts will help to offset these retirements, there is a potential shortfall of up to 7,900 workers unless recruitment and retention efforts improve. Addressing these issues through targeted workforce development, retention strategies, and cost management will be essential for sustaining Manitoba’s construction sector performance in the years ahead.

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Prepared by: Labour Market Information Directorate, Service Canada - Western Canada and Territories (W-T) Region

For further information, please contact the Labour Market Information Directorate here.