Provincial subsidy fund for Winnipeg flights to L.A., Atlanta runs dry

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A Manitoba provincial fund set speech to subsidize WestJet flights between Winnipeg and 2 U.S. cities has tally retired of cash, raising questions astir the aboriginal of nonstop air connections betwixt Winnipeg's Richardson International Airport and both Los Angeles and Atlanta.

A $4.8-million formation subsidy fund created by the erstwhile Progressive Conservative authorities nether Heather Stefanson government is each utilized up, said Ryan Stelter, a spokesperson for Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

The fund, which was managed by the Winnipeg Airports Authority, volition not beryllium topped up with further nationalist wealth nether the existent NDP government, Stelter added. 

"The erstwhile authorities entered into $4.8-million statement with the Winnipeg Airport Authority successful June 2023 for flights to Los Angeles and Atlanta. That statement … was honoured and paid retired successful full," Stelter said Wednesday successful a statement.

The formation subsidy money was primitively envisioned to past until this October, Stelter said. Its demise comes at a clip erstwhile commercialized tensions, economical uncertainty and anti-U.S. sentiment person already reduced Canadian request for travel southbound of the border.

This, successful turn, has prompted WestJet, Air Canada and Porter to cut back connected some Canada-U.S. routes and muse astir suspending oregon cancelling others.

WestJet said Wednesday it is reviewing its Canada-U.S. formation docket for the summertime months "due to the changing request surrounding question to the United States."

Details astir adjustments will beryllium finalized successful the coming weeks, WestJet nationalist relations manager Jen Booth said Wednesday successful a statement.

WestJet has already announced caller flights retired of Winnipeg will start in July to service Canadians seeking to question to Europe and within Canada, said Booth.

That includes new flights betwixt Winnipeg and St. John's added "to meet accrued home and transatlantic question demand," on with accrued service between Winnipeg and Halifax, she said.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority did not comment Wednesday. It is slated to clasp its yearly wide gathering connected Thursday morning.

Economic Development Winnipeg besides declined to remark Wednesday.

Manitoba Film and Music, which speaks connected behalf of the movie manufacture successful this province, said Wednesday it has received nary connection of changes to the backing for the Winnipeg-Los Angeles formation and does not cognize what the interaction of specified a alteration would be.

The Manitoba movie manufacture spent years lobbying successive NDP and PC governments to subsidize a nonstop Winnipeg-Los Angeles aerial connection.

"We are grateful to the state for their enactment successful bringing the nonstop formation from L.A. to Winnipeg, arsenic it had a affirmative interaction connected our quality to beforehand the movie and television manufacture and bring accumulation to Manitoba," Manitoba Film and Music CEO Lynne Skromeda said Wednesday successful a statement.

Price Industries, a Winnipeg shaper whose caput bureau is located successful an Atlanta suburb, did not respond to a petition for remark Wednesday.

Price's Gateway Road installation served arsenic the mounting for the archetypal announcement by Stefanson and WestJet about the commencement of nonstop flights to Atlanta.

Stelter said helium is not alert of requests by the Winnipeg Airports Authority, WestJet oregon other entities to apical up oregon widen subsidies for the Los Angeles and Atlanta flights.

Flights betwixt Winnipeg and Los Angeles started successful 2022. Winnipeg-Atlanta flights began the pursuing year.

Former premier Stefanson joined WestJet's committee of directors successful 2024, aft she near office, and is inactive listed arsenic a subordinate of the airline's board.