Uncertainty weighs on Manitoba’s short-term growth: Conference Board – Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba’s economic growth will nearly flatline this year, according to a new Conference Board of Canada report.

The research organization expects better growth in the coming years — but only if global trade uncertainty subsides.

“The worst thing that could happen is the uncertainty of not knowing what’s going to happen with tariffs keeps dragging on,” said Richard Forbes, principal economist with the Conference Board of Canada.

U.S. trade measures and Chinese tariffs have hampered Manitoba’s economy in 2025, the Conference Board said in a five-year outlook released Monday.

It projects Manitoba’s GDP to increase by 0.8 per cent this year — falling just short of the 1.1 per cent estimated for Canada — and rising another 1.4 per cent in 2026.

The Conference Board has assumed, for the re