Province slammed for using U.S.-based survey firm

WINNIPEG — An American company is conducting Manitoba’s online time-change survey despite the NDP government’s condemnation of U.S. tariffs and its call to buy local.

The government said Friday it’s looking for a Canadian company to do the work instead of Granicus LLC, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

“Transition work is already underway to establish a new process for selecting a Canadian company to host the EngageMB platform this summer,” a provincial spokesman said.

In November, the government’s throne speech promised measures to “Trump-proof” Manitoba’s economy, including replacing the previous government’s 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.

In June 2025, the government proclaimed the Buy Canadian Act that amends the Government Purchases Act so that preferential treatment “may” be given to Canadian suppliers in government purchasing.

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’s contract, which is held by Granicus Canada Holdings.

It acts as the current host of the EngageMB platform, and its presence in Canada supports the Manitoba government’s use of the platform, he said in an email.

The spokesman did not disclose the value of that contract, saying that information would require submission of a freedom of information application.

Granicus owns and operates the technology that powers the EngageMB website while the province controls its use, according to its terms of use.

The platform had three open engagement surveys online Friday — on whether to end the seasonal time change, one dubbed “listening to health care workers” and another about a proposed plan to protect the Seal River Watershed.

“It is important to note the distinction between Granicus, or EngageMB, and independent research and public opinion firms,” the spokesman for the province said.

“EngageMB is the Manitoba government’s 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.”

Granicus has more than 2,000 employees “supporting” more than 7,000 public-sector organizations, the company’s website says.

It is a “trusted partner for governments to make meaningful connections.”

Granicus Canada employs more than 50 staff across the country and “supports” over 300 Canadian public-sector customers, a spokesperson said Friday.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said using an American-based firm to run its online surveys is an example of the “hypocrisy” of the Kinew government.

He said the NDP would’ve known the Canadian company had been sold to an American outfit and should’ve acted sooner to find a replacement headquartered in this country.

“If the Kinew government really cared, they would’ve done their due diligence and kept that money here,” Khan said.

He accused Premier Wab Kinew of “wrapping himself in the Canadian flag” but doing nothing to back up “his so-called patriotism.”

“Of course there would be a company in Canada that can do this,” the PC leader said about conducting the EngageMB surveys.

It wouldn’t be the first time the NDP government used American-based companies rather than local firms, Khan said.

The province awarded Aramark Canada — the Canadian division of a company headquartered in the United States — a three-year, $36-million contract last year to provide bakery products to hospitals and correctional facilities. That contract should’ve been awarded to Manitoba companies “creating jobs and keeping that $36 million here,” the PC leader said.

» Winnipeg Free Press

“They want to make a big, flashy announcement and they haven’t done the work to make sure they’re actually supporting Manitobans,” Khan said.

“It’s important. This is real money, real jobs that could’ve been based in Manitoba if the Kinew government did its due diligence but they don’t.”

» Winnipeg Free Press