Winnipeg’s construction industry gears up for 17 Wing expansion
Posted June 25, 2026 5:27 pm.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham held an information forum with the city’s construction industry about their preparedness for the expansion of the 17 Wing airbase announced by the federal government.
Gillingham held a closed event with military personnel and construction industry leaders so they can be prepared to take advantage of a major increase in defence spending.
The 17 Wing expansion will install a federally-owned substation, providing reliable electrical capacity to be able to support an influx of new projects.
“There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity associated with this work, but it also requires a lot of planning as well and requires the appropriate work force,” said Darryl Harrison, president and CEO, Winnipeg Construction Association.
Harrison estimates that the substation will be followed by a total of 33 projects at 17 Wing with an investment between $400-600 million creating up to 1,400 jobs.
“That is going to be one of the major issues, perhaps challenges associated with these projects is making sure that we have the workforce, and that’s what these contractors will be looking to plan for with the information we get today,” he added.
“When department of national defence puts out a contract, not everybody can bid, you have to be qualified, and there’s processes to get companies qualified, what I envision through this process is having more companies prepared to participate in that work,” Mayor Gillingham said.
While the media was not invited to the panel discussion, dozens of construction stakeholders, business owners and members of the provincial government were in attendance.
“What we’re doing is we’re really raising the bar for companies and making sure that our community is better prepared to fully partner and participate in the investment the federal government is making in defence,” Gillingham said.
