Latest news with #Steinbach-based
Winnipeg Free Press
22-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Local cannabis growers decry ‘unfair landscape'
Growing cannabis commercially is a venture Cynthia Fortin dove into with her husband after the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years into selling, she's frustrated — and she's formed a fledgling association calling for government action. '(It's an) unfair landscape,' said Fortin, president of the three-month-old Manitoba Cannabis Growers Association. Her Steinbach-based company, 410 Farms, is one of three businesses involved in the MCGA. The association has issued a list of requests, including policy changes and consultation meetings with provincial leadership. 'Manitoba cannabis growers are struggling,' Fortin said. 'It is incredibly tough to get a foot in the door, even into the smaller retailers — never mind the big chains that have their own brands.' Canada legalized cannabis in 2018. Since then, the commercial industry has ballooned: Manitoba counts at least 230 shops; 73 opened between April 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025. The province doesn't cap how many licences it issues to weed stores. As a result, competitors have sprouted close to one another. For example, three shops are within 600 metres of each other along Roblin Boulevard in Winnipeg. Generally, shops are seeking the cheapest products, which makes pricing extra competitive on the growers' side, Fortin and her husband Bob relayed. Roughly 30 retailers carry 410 Farms products. The business makes about 13 different items and harvests between 1,800 and 2,200 plants. Bigger entities can manufacture for a cheaper price per good, Bob Fortin asserted. 'We just can't compete, because our products are a little more craft,' he said. 'We don't do the same volume as they do.' In its list, the association underscored a desire for changes to product labelling, government procurement policies and local taxes. Highlighting Manitoba-grown cannabis — to both retailers and end customers — could generate interest, especially given a politically-charged 'buy local' movement, Cynthia Fortin said. It's already being done in Ontario for local growers, noted Jesse Lavoie, founder of TobaGrown. He oversees 1,000 plants in Manitoba. 'We would love the opportunity to put a 'Grown in Manitoba' badge on that product,' said Lavoie, who isn't part of the Manitoba Cannabis Growers Association. Twelve of more than 150 current cannabis suppliers are identified as Manitoban to retailers, per Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp., the entity that wholesales cannabis in the province. Twenty-four businesses are licensed and can act as cannabis suppliers in Manitoba, but some aren't actively in operation. Local suppliers' products account for roughly 20 per cent of catalogue listings, an MLL spokesperson wrote in a statement. 'In the last year, all but two of 233 local cannabis retailers ordered products from Manitoba suppliers,' the spokesperson continued, adding local products were in more than 99 per cent of Manitoba cannabis retailers. But allowing companies who grow outside Manitoba to sell in the province without limit is hindering local growers' success, as is banning growers' sales online, Cynthia Fortin argued. The association is calling for a repeal of MLL's 11 per cent markup on wholesale cannabis. Growers also pay a federal excise tax of $1 per gram. The Fortins said they've sent a formal request to speak to members of the provincial government. 'I would be happy to meet with members of the MCGA and listen to their concerns,' Glen Simard, minister responsible for MLL, wrote in a statement. Simard said he's 'grateful' for the feedback and encourages the association to 'cultivate relationships with retailers, promote the value of their products, and create the inventory necessary to establish a regular presence in Manitoba cannabis stores.' Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries saw $153.6 million in cannabis operation revenue last year, its latest annual report shows. To sell online, growers would need a retailer licence issued by the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba, an MLL spokesperson wrote. The wholesale cannabis markup — which is on the 'low end' of the rate across Canada — is made available to Manitoba-based suppliers' peers in other provinces, the spokesperson continued. The cash is funnelled into social responsibility and law enforcement programs. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
06-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Tariffs paused, but manufacturer that employs 700 in Steinbach now struggles with uncertainty
A 30-day pause on threatened U.S. tariffs might be a welcome reprieve for Manitoba's manufacturers, but uncertainty lingers about the potential impacts if they are implemented. Neil Fast, president and CEO of Steinbach-based Loewen Windows, says 85 per cent of its products are exported to the U.S., which makes the 25 per cent tariff threatened by President Donald Trump — currently on hold — a danger. "It instantly makes our products much more expensive in the U.S., it may make our dealers less profitable, it will certainly make Loewen less profitable," Fast said while touring Loewen's 600,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on Tuesday. "And the worst-case scenario is, of course, customers choose to buy from some other location." Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has said there is still a need to "Trump-proof" Canada's economy, including boosting productivity in Manitoba and searching for more diverse export markets. Fast agrees, saying there are other markets Loewen could export to. "We still have small businesses in the U.K. and Japan, left over from when we were shipping much more there in the '90s … and we would certainly look toward Europe as well as further possibilities," he said. His company's products are entirely manufactured in Canada, and it would be incredibly challenging to move everything from the Steinbach factory to the U.S., he said. "We think that we are at our best producing here," and relocating is "certainly not a direction we would choose to go down, very likely," Fast said. At the same time, the company is taking measures to help mitigate the impact of the tariffs, including increasing the frequency of shipments to the U.S. while there are no tariffs in place, and looking at sharing the cost of any tariffs with their dealer network and partners, he said. Loewen is also managing its expenses carefully during an uncertain period, he said. "An inconsistent trading partner … will be frustrating for our business, but we have been through worse." Loewen has an employee workforce of about 700 in Steinbach, and layoffs are a concern, which has been expressed in town halls with staff. "It's certainly possible, but there are several other actions that we're taking and that would certainly happen first, before we would look at layoffs. We have incredibly skilled employees and frankly, we would not want to lose a single one of them to layoffs if we have any other choice," Fast said. Fast said Lowen is hoping to grow its Canadian market, but trying to make up for a hit to the 85 per cent of its sales currently going to the U.S. would be a huge challenge. While there is a push to buy Canadian products, inter-provincial trade barriers are a challenge, said Fast. "We have different adoptions of energy codes in different provinces. Our tradespeople, our health-care professionals have different certifications. There are challenges shipping products like alcohol across the border," he said. "If our provincial and federal governments could work together to address all those issues, it will make buying … Canadian-made products much easier for everybody." Uncertainty has an impact: association Adrian Edge, the director of codes and regulatory affairs for Fenestration Canada — an association that represents about 150 Canadian window and door manufacturers and suppliers — says even without tariffs in place, the trade uncertainty could affect the industry. "I have heard conversations about developers that have been threatening to drop windows from Canadian manufacturers on multimillion-dollar projects," and around "uncertainty of what it means for the products to go over the border, and who owns what responsibility," Edge said. When it comes to the door and window industry, Canada doesn't have a competitive edge on the international stage, he said, and it's an industry that's particularly vulnerable to possible tariffs, since U.S. customers have a lot of options. Window and door exports from Canada to the U.S. are also heavily influenced by the exchange rate, he said. "Let's say a window and door is sold to a Canadian homeowner at $2,000 [Cdn]. That same window or door is sold at $2,000 [US] for the U.S. counterpart. And so that exchange essentially becomes whatever your margin is," said Edge. Going forward, he said Fenestration Canada has a plan for which topics it wants to focus on, which includes "what the government can do as far as improving manufacturing capabilities." "Our manufacturers, in order to capture that market loss … will need additional support," he said.
