Manitoba back to favouring non-U.S. firms after trade deal collapse: Kinew

Manitoba’s premier says the province has returned to giving preference to non-U.S. firms for government contracts after the federal trade deal with the Americans fell through.

Wab Kinew says the province had held off on sending out tenders during negotiations because the trade deal would have forced provinces to remove clauses favouring companies that aren’t from the United States.

Since those negotiations failed late Friday, unleashing a wave of U.S. tariffs on $28 billion in Canadian goods, Kinew says the Manitoba government has sent out a new round of tenders.

He says the policy is part of using leverage, noting that Manitoba Hydro has $30 billion in construction planned for the next 20 years.

Kinew says the provincial government will also in the coming days detail help for companies and workers battling the effects of the tariffs.

He says he’s encouraged by the federal supports announced so far, and says the province will likely move in a similar direction.

“The economic impact of Trump’s tariffs is one that is going to be very jagged, in Manitoba and across Canada,” Kinew told a news conference Tuesday in Winkler, Man.

“But if there are the impacts on the actual workers and the people on the front lines, we have to make sure that we don’t leave those folks behind.”