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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
\nManitoba Premier Wab Kinew <\/p>\n
In November, the government\u2019s throne speech promised measures to \u201cTrump-proof\u201d Manitoba\u2019s economy, including replacing the previous government\u2019s contract with Aspira, a Texas firm, to provide provincial park passes. Passes are now sold through a provincial e-licensing portal run by Canadian global technology services firm CGI that in December acquired Winnipeg-based Online Business Systems.<\/p>\n
In June 2025, the government proclaimed the Buy Canadian Act that amends the Government Purchases Act so that preferential treatment \u201cmay\u201d be given to Canadian suppliers in government purchasing.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the province said Friday that when Manitoba launched the EngageMB platform in 2019, it was hosted by a Canadian company called Bang the Table. Granicus acquired Bang the Table and assumed Manitoba\u2019s contract, which is held by Granicus Canada Holdings.<\/p>\n
It acts as the current host of the EngageMB platform, and its presence in Canada supports the Manitoba government\u2019s use of the platform, he said in an email.<\/p>\n
The spokesman did not disclose the value of that contract, saying that information would require submission of a freedom of information application.<\/p>\n
Granicus owns and operates the technology that powers the EngageMB website while the province controls its use, according to its terms of use.<\/p>\n
The platform had three open engagement surveys online Friday \u2014 on whether to end the seasonal time change, one dubbed \u201clistening to health care workers\u201d and another about a proposed plan to protect the Seal River Watershed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to note the distinction between Granicus, or EngageMB, and independent research and public opinion firms,\u201d the spokesman for the province said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngageMB is the Manitoba government\u2019s secure, cloud-based platform for public engagement, designed to facilitate meaningful citizen participation in policy and legislative development. The surveys and polls hosted on the EngageMB platform can be informed by work done by local independent research and public opinion firms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Granicus has more than 2,000 employees \u201csupporting\u201d more than 7,000 public-sector organizations, the company\u2019s website says.<\/p>\n
It is a \u201ctrusted partner for governments to make meaningful connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Granicus Canada employs more than 50 staff across the country and \u201csupports\u201d over 300 Canadian public-sector customers, a spokesperson said Friday.<\/p>\n
Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said using an American-based firm to run its online surveys is an example of the \u201chypocrisy\u201d of the Kinew government.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
He said the NDP would\u2019ve known the Canadian company had been sold to an American outfit and should\u2019ve acted sooner to find a replacement headquartered in this country.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Kinew government really cared, they would\u2019ve done their due diligence and kept that money here,\u201d said Khan.<\/p>\n He accused Premier Wab Kinew of \u201cwrapping himself in the Canadian flag\u201d but doing nothing to back up \u201chis so-called patriotism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course there would be a company in Canada that can do this,\u201d the PC leader said about conducting the EngageMB surveys.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t It wouldn\u2019t be the first time the NDP government used American-based companies rather than local firms, Khan said.<\/p>\n The province awarded Aramark Canada \u2014 the Canadian division of a company headquartered in the United States \u2014 a three-year, $36-million contract last year to provide bakery products to hospitals and correctional facilities. That contract should\u2019ve been awarded to Manitoba companies \u201ccreating jobs and keeping that $36 million here,\u201d the PC leader said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to make a big, flashy announcement and they haven\u2019t done the work to make sure they\u2019re actually supporting Manitobans,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important. This is real money, real jobs that could\u2019ve been based in Manitoba if the Kinew government did its due diligence but they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Carol Sanders Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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\nProgressive Conservative leader Obby Khan<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Legislature reporter
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