• Second most affordable college and third most affordable university tuition fees in Canada. University tuition fees frozen to the rate of inflation


• 4,000 new apprenticeship spaces to meet the needs of our economy


• Nearly $800 million invested in new buildings and infrastructure at our colleges and universities


• Increasing operating funding to universities by 5% in each of the next three years


• Putting nearly $12 million back into the pockets of over 13,000 graduates with a 60% tuition fee income tax rebate


• Tripling scholarships and bursaries to nearly $20 million, establishing the largest bursary program in Manitoba history

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Approximately $200 million back in the hands of farmers, since the introduction of the Farmland School Tax Rebate in 2004


• Providing support for livestock and crop producers to recover from unprecedented flooding with the AgriRecovery Program totalling $194 million


• Standing up for farmers’ right to determine the fate of the Canadian Wheat Board – defending the single desk and fighting for the thousands of jobs at the CWB headquarters and for the future of the Port of Churchill


• $407 million in income stabilization payments since 2008 through Growing Forward


• Expanding and improving health care, education, child care services, and recreation facilities in rural communities


• Connecting even more rural communities with the next five year highway renewal plan

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Competitive tax rates – eliminating taxes on small businesses and increasing their basic income exemption threshold.


• Helping Manitoba businesses innovate and grow with a new Commercialization Support for Business Program


• Growing skills-training and apprenticeship programs to meet the needs of our economy and investing in post-secondary education for the 21st century: aerospace, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, new media and info technology


• Investing in local community projects to create more jobs – already amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the country


• Help for businesses in dealing with the current tighter credit and capital markets through expanded tax credits, larger loans for expanding or upgrading businesses, and more funding for innovation


• Development of CentrePort Canada, which will connect Manitoba to export markets around the globe, create jobs and attract business investment

Updated: 24 October 2011

• We have enshrined in legislation aggressive targets and have brought 2009 greenhouse gas emissions below 2000 levels


• Expanding Manitoba’s clean hydro and wind energy exports – displacing millions of tonnes of fossil fuel emissions and keeping electricity rates low for Manitobans


• We are also committed to protecting the boreal forest, the invaluable lungs of the earth, and to planting 6 million trees by 2012 through the Trees for Tomorrow program


• We are also national leaders in energy efficiency according to the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance which gave Manitoba an A+ rating


• Substantial investments in rapid transit, dedicated bicycle paths and recreational trails


• Saving electricity with our Power Smart energy efficiency programs

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Surpassing the 2010 deficit reduction targets of our Five-Year Plan, and balancing the provincial budget by 2014 – right on schedule


• The lowest net debt to GDP ratio among the provinces, decreasing from 32.9% in 1999/00 to a projected 26.3% in Budget 2011


• Debt-servicing costs reduced from 31.2 cents of every dollar of revenue in 1999 to 6 cents


• Largest payment in Manitoba’s history on the debt and pension liabilities – $944 million over the last 10 years


• Significant steps to reduce debt and address unfunded pension liabilities, including adoption of more rigorous and comprehensive accounting rules, as recommended by the auditor general


• Six credit upgrades since 1999

Updated: 24 October 2011

• A Disabilities Issues Office to give persons with disabilities more say in the programs and services which affect them


• Increased funding for the Supported Living Program for persons with intellectual disabilities


• Monthly assistance for persons with disabilities which helps support employment preparation and volunteerism, and offsets the costs associated with living in the community


• New funding for fully accessible public housing throughout Manitoba


• Persons with disabilities are eligible for up to $2,520 per year to assist them with their housing costs through the Manitoba Shelter Benefits


• Goal of having persons with disabilities hold 7% of provincial government jobs

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Stepped-up investments in health, education, water and transportation infrastructure to stimulate the economy


• Maintaining one of the strongest labour markets in Canada, having created 16,000 new jobs since January 2010, and maintaining an unemployment rate among the lowest in the country


• Building a strong public Manitoba Hydro – generating billions in new export sales that drive our economy


• Helping Manitoba businesses innovate and grow with a new Commercialization Support for Business Program, as well as growing skills-training and apprenticeship programs to meet the needs of our economy


• Strongest population growth in 38 years, as thousands of skilled immigrants make Manitoba their home


• The only province in Canada to eliminate the small business tax, helping Manitoba businesses grow

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Creating 6,500 new child care spaces and 1,000 enhanced nursery spaces by 2013 and building new child care facilities – 54 total sites by 2013


• Building more affordable housing to meet the needs of families


• Protecting renters against massive rent increases with fair rent controls


• Since 2000 there are 11,000 fewer children living in poverty in Manitoba and 9,000 fewer single parents living in poverty


• Since its launch in 2007, Rewarding Work has helped more than 5,500 people get off welfare and in to employment

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Setting aside of over 150,000 acres annually for First Nations as part of their treaty land entitlement


• $5 million fund for Aboriginal communities for consultations whenever any proposed provincial law, decision or action may interfere with Aboriginal rights


• Supporting East Side communities in getting recognition for the largest Boreal Forest of its kind in the world, as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO


• East Side Road Authority – Community Benefits Agreements signed with several First Nations ensuring that they are able to directly promote local employment, as well as legislation ensuring that jobs and training opportunities are available for the residents of the East Side as work proceeds on the construction of an all-season road


• Working with First Nations to improve winter roads so that they remain open longer


• Northern Healthy Foods Initiative continues to take on new partners – currently over 300 northern gardens

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Supporting development of key northern industries, and amending Communities Economic Development Fund Act to give it wider powers to spur economic development in the North


• Investing in all levels of education to increase high school graduation rates and ensure young people can pursue college, university and training opportunities


• Working with the federal government and northern communities to make better health care available to northern families closer to home


• Working with northern communities on improvements to northern housing


• Building reliable, all-weather roads, and investing in provincially owned and operated airports to better provide northern communities with essential health services, food and supplies


• Supporting and growing the Port of Churchill through direct investment and by standing up for Manitoba farmers and the Canadian Wheat Board

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Expanding protected areas – Our government has continually added to our network of protected areas and is supporting the First Nations-led bid to establish a UNESCO World Heritage site on the East Side. Since 1999 we have added 11 parks.


• Improving our provincial parks – We have taken logging out of parks and are helping to get more Manitobans in them through free park entry for a third year. We are also making historic investments into our provincial parks so that Manitoba families will be able to enjoy expanded services and upgraded facilities.


• Protecting our water –We have taken aggressive action to improve drinking water quality and safety, and to protect and improve the health of our lakes and rivers. In spring 2011 we adopted a 50% phosphorous reduction target for Lake Winnipeg and passed legislation restricting hog barn expansions and winter spreading of manure. Our legislation also requires the North End sewage plant in Winnipeg, one of the biggest water polluters in the country, be upgraded to the highest standards.


• Protecting our resources - We are also helping reduce our dependence on fossil fuels through partnerships with industry to move forward with all-electric vehicles and other innovative ideas that are good for the environment and the pocket book.

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Nearly 500 more doctors in Manitoba, including 241 family doctors. Committed to ensuring that all Manitobans can access a family doctor by 2015 through a 60% increase to medical school spaces and newly offered study and relocation grants


• 3,000 more nurses on the job, new financial grants and nearly double the training spots for new nursing students


• New skill sets for our health-care teams – midwives, physician assistants and nurse practitioners


• Expansion and modernization of over 100 health facilities throughout the province


• Access to high-quality health care close to home in rural and northern Manitoba, with 609 doctors, over 1,000 filled nurse vacancies and new and renovated facilities


• Shortest wait times in Canada for cardiac bypass surgery and radiation therapy. MRI and ultrasound wait times have been cut in half – and there is no wait for urgent cases for any of these procedures

Updated: 24 October 2011

• A ten-year plan, $4 billion plan for highway renewal to improve road safety and help stimulate the economy by 2017


• During the last decade, more than tripled highways investments with a 215% increase in funding


• Building or improving over 6,000km of roads – that’s like driving from Winnipeg to Phoenix and back


• Providing over 20,000 years in hours of direct and indirect employment through highway construction projects


• Construction begun on a road to link communities on the East Side of Lake Winnipeg


• Work underway on CentrePort Canada Way, a four-lane expressway linking the truck and rail inland port to the Perimeter Highway

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Building a strong public Manitoba Hydro – generating billions in new export sales that drive our economy and keep rates low for Manitoba families and businesses


• Manitoba Hydro rates among the lowest in North America


• Saving electricity with our Power Smart energy efficiency programs


• Expanding Manitoba’s clean hydro and wind energy exports – displacing millions of tonnes of fossil fuel emissions


• Expanding our protected areas including our Boreal Forest – the largest of its kind in the world

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Over 100,000 immigrants brought to Manitoba in the last decade, more than 16,000 of them in the previous year alone—our best population growth in nearly 40 years. 85% of immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program found work within three months and three out of four nominees became homeowners in less than five years


• Attracting skilled immigrants to Manitoba, faster. Shortened the Provincial Nominee Program’s processing to six months and took the application online. Changes to the program now make it faster and easier for international students to qualify


• More investments in settlement services for newcomers, including language training and a resource guide for immigrant women, the first of its kind in Canada


• Training programs to assist internationally trained professionals such as doctors, accountants, agrologists and engineers obtain Manitoba credentials


• Newcomers to Manitoba are protected by the strongest legislation in Canada, including legislation to better protect foreign workers from unscrupulous recruiters


• Funding for Philippine, Hindu, Islamic, Sikh and Hellenic ethno-cultural organizations

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Highways – A forward-thinking government knows improving and maintaining highways requires long-term planning and a long-term investment. That is why our government announced an ambitious plan in 2007 to invest $4 billion over 10 years in Manitoba’s highway infrastructure


• Knowledge-based infrastructure – Expanding and renovating college and university campuses including: ACC Brandon, ACC Dauphin, UCN in Thompson & The Pas, Red River College, Brandon University, University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and College Universitaire de Saint-Boniface


• Social housing – the province’s largest ever investment in safe, affordable housing


• Health infrastructure – Bringing more services closer to your home, such as dialysis expansions in Gimli, Swan River, Berens River, Peguis and Russell. New or renovated hospitals in Brandon, Swan River, Thompson, The Pas, Beausejour, Pinawa, Gimli, Morden/Winkler, Ste. Anne, Steinbach and Shoal Lake, with new ones on the way in Selkirk and Notre Dame de Lourdes

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Building safer communities is about cracking down on crime but it’s also about making sure Manitoba families feel safe in their homes and in their communities


• Putting even more police officers on our streets and hiring more prosecutors to deal with criminals faster


• Innovative crime-prevention programs for young people – Turnabout, Lighthouses, Spotlight


• Investing in local recreation facilities and community centres to give kids more alternatives


• Pushing politicians in Ottawa to create tougher laws that will see mandatory sentences for knife crimes, home invasions and car-jackings, and changing the Youth Criminal Justice Act to better deal with out of control youth

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Protecting more natural areas (1.26 million hectares) as provincial forests, wildlife-management zones, ecological reserves, and parks, 11 of which have been added since 1999


• Supporting East Side communities in getting recognition of the largest Boreal Forest of its kind in the world, as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO


• Most comprehensive traditional land-use planning in Canada – 42% of our boreal forest now covered


• Endangered-species designation for polar bears, legislation restricting the export of polar bears, a threatened-species listing for woodland caribou, and a conservation closure on moose hunting in areas where the moose population is suffering


• Banning logging in 80 of Manitoba’s 81 provincial parks


• Committed to planting 6 million trees by 2012 through the Trees for Tomorrow program

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Through our long-term poverty-reduction strategy, ALL Aboard, we have invested almost $950 million to fight poverty and enhance social inclusion


• Boosted financial supports and services for low-income families by $76M per year since 1999


• Since its launch in 2007, Rewarding Work has helped more than 5,500 people get off welfare and in to employment


• Raised the minimum wage to $10 through annual increases since 1999


• We have raised the basic personal tax exemption 7 times since 1999 for a 20% increase. In Budget 2011, we increased Basic Personal Exemption by another $1,000 over 4 years. When fully implemented an additional 22,000 Manitobans will no longer pay income taxes at all

Updated: 24 October 2011

• This year’s education funding announcement brought the total increase to $363.7 million since 1999, representing a 47.2 per cent increase in overall support


• Creating plain-language, parent-friendly report cards to help parents better understand and support their child’s progress


• Strengthening the rules to ensure educators and parents have a say when deciding if a student is held back


• Encouraging our kids to make healthy choices and stay physically active


• Keeping students in school until they’re 18 because we won’t give up on any of our kids

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Creating affordable housing that supports independence and a high quality of life for seniors


• Expanding home care and adding 930 personal care home and supportive housing beds to meet the needs of our growing number of seniors


• An Aging in Place Strategy that gives seniors more choices in the kind of care they can receive while continuing to live in the community


• Special tax relief for seniors in the form of more generous tax credits, the ability for couples to split pension income for tax purposes and a new tax credit for caregivers providing care to seniors at home


• Cracking down on elder abuse


• A SafetyAid program that provides low-income seniors with basic safety and fall-prevention devices

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Income and property tax measures save Manitobans over $700 million annually


• Reducing taxes for families as a part of our Manitoba Moves Forward economic action plan – saving a family of four $212 this year and $374 a year by 2014


• Keeping post-secondary education and training affordable through the most extensive Co-op Education and Apprenticeship Tax Credits in Canada. A 60% tuition fee income tax rebate for graduates has put back $11.8 million back into the pockets of over 13,800 graduates


• Eliminating the school tax for seniors and farmers and increased the basic Education Property Tax Credit


• Eliminating the small business tax to help Manitoba businesses grow. Increasing the small business income tax exemption threshold, saving 15,500 local small businesses $14.6 million annually

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Our government introduced a 60% tuition fee income tax rebate for graduates of any eligible college, university or apprenticeship program anywhere in the world who choose to start their careers and put down roots in Manitoba


• Freezing tuition at the rate of inflation, providing predictability for students and their parents


• Growing skills-training and apprenticeship programs to help young people graduate and enter the workforce and meet the needs of our economy


• Supporting 2,800 jobs for Manitoba youth and supporting summer programming for 21,000 children and youth across the province through Green Teams, STEP services and Manitoba Mentorship


• A youth unemployment rate that consistently ranks among the lowest in Canada

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Canada’s first and only government department devoted exclusively to water


• Implementing Framework for the Future, a blueprint for creating and maintaining healthy watersheds, and legislation to protect surface and groundwater from the impacts of phosphorus


• Preventing hog manure from entering our water through initiating a province-wide ban on any new non-green hog industry expansion and a ban on winter spreading of manure


• Committed to saving Lake Winnipeg through the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan and have already completed or taken action on 95% of the 135 recommendations in the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board’s report


• Requiring the City of Winnipeg to modernize its aging North End sewage treatment plant and investing over $100 million for water infrastructure upgrades in more than 100 Manitoba communities


• Conserving our valuable water resources through innovative programs such as WaterSmart, which has helped to save over 270 million litres of water annually

Updated: 24 October 2011

• Workers Compensation coverage extended to more industries and 37,000 new workers.


• Steady increases to the minimum wage – from $6 in 1999 to $10 by 2011.


• Strengthened the Workplace Safety and Health Act and regulations, including new administrative fines for employers that refuse to comply with the law and protections for workers against psychological harassment, intimidation, bullying and humiliation in the workplace.


• Over 40% reduction of time lost due to workplace injuries since 2000.


• More than doubled the number of Health and Safety Officers enforcing health and safety laws in Manitoba workplaces, including small workplaces.


• Improvements to the Employment Standards Code, including provisions for family responsibility/sick leave, guaranteed reporting pay and new protection for children. Included agricultural workers under the Code’s protection.

Updated: 24 October 2011