Assiniboine College getting $120M to expand ag school, help fill jobs in 'backbone' of Manitoba economy: Kinew

CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 8:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Assiniboine College successful Brandon, Man., is getting a $120-million boost from the state to grow its cultivation schoolhouse and get its long-planned Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture built — a task Premier Wab Kinew says is captious to filling labour gaps successful 1 of Manitoba's cardinal economical sectors.

Kinew announced the backing Thursday during his authorities of the state code to the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

"We cognize that determination are truthful galore jobs that we're going to person to capable going guardant into the coming years to beryllium capable to support increasing that backbone of our provincial economy," Kinew said. "Assiniboine College's Prairie Innovation Centre is the mode to get it done."

The caller centre, which has been years successful the making, and is expected to offer 16 caller oregon expanded acquisition programs nether its roof.

It volition much than treble the Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and Environment from astir 300 students to 800 students, said Assiniboine vice-president of advancement Derrick Turner.

He says the college researched gaps successful agriculture manufacture training, and the new state-of-the-art installation volition assistance students hole to enactment successful areas similar automation, chemic exertion and assets management— each cardinal for supporting Manitoba's evolving agriculture sector.

"I don't deliberation it's immoderate concealed that successful Manitoba oregon the Prairies, agriculture drives our economy," Turner said. "[Industry] realizes they request this. We had car dealerships giving america donations towards it, due to the fact that they cognize that the ag manufacture is buying trucks and different implements."

The state said Thursday it is providing $60 cardinal successful superior funding, which includes $40 cardinal for the Prairie Innovation Centre and $20 cardinal for a child-care task successful the centre. An further $60 cardinal successful span backing is being provided to enactment the build.

The centre has besides received $23 cardinal successful backstage manufacture donations. Kinew says he's inactive hopeful the national authorities volition besides travel to the array with money.

The province contributed $10 cardinal to the task successful 2023, nether the then Progressive Conservative government, to enactment its readying and design.

The announcement comes arsenic labour shortages loom implicit the province's ag industry, which accounts for 7.2 per cent of Manitoba's GDP and provides much than 37,000 jobs, according to a 2024 provincial information sheet.

A November study from the Canadian authorities says the agriculture assemblage expects to spot a 15 per cent spread betwixt labour request and proviso by 2030.

According to the college's research, 1 successful 3 agriculture jobs successful Manitoba could spell unfilled by 2029 if enactment isn't taken, said Turner.

More than doubling the fig of graduates from Assiniboine's programme volition be "huge for the manufacture of Manitoba, and really, the Prairies," helium said.

Assiniboine College began formally fundraising for the caller centre successful the autumn of 2019.

The afloat physique volition outgo $150 million, Turner said.

The Prairie Innovation Centre volition beryllium located connected the college's North Hill campus, successful a erstwhile intelligence wellness facility that has been bare since the 1990s. It volition go the 3rd repurposed gathering and the largest connected campus.

The task volition spell to tender immediately, with a petition for proposals expected this fall. Turner said the centre's operation volition besides make spinoff jobs and semipermanent benefits for Brandon.

"This is simply a bully quality story," Kinew said.

"We tin commencement gathering close away, and it's 1,000 jobs that are being spoken about, not to notation each the further workers that are going to beryllium capable to travel retired of this caller installation erstwhile it's afloat up and running."