Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 15, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba B5 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2025 ● BUSINESS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM BUSINESS ‘Great news for Manitoba’: major northern project’s building phase expected to employ 600, mine operations 450 Alamos Gold starts clock on Lynn Lake mines I T’S official: Alamos Gold Inc. has announced it will build the prov- ince’s first new mine in a decade with the redevelopment of two old gold mines east of the town of Lynn Lake. Construction is to start this year, with plans to go into production in 2028. It is the first major resource develop- ment in northern Manitoba since Hud- Bay Minerals opened the Lalor mine (gold, copper, zinc) near Snow Lake in 2014. Alamos expects the bill to build the two open pit mines to be close to the $1 billion mark, factoring in inflation over the next three years. On Tuesday, John McCluskey, CEO of Toronto-based Alamos, the third-lar- gest gold producer in the country, said the company is also expanding its other Canadian gold mines. “This investment in growth is ex- pected to drive our production 24 per cent higher over the next three years,” said McCluskey. “We are pleased to an- nounce the start of construction on Lynn Lake, another attractive project that will provide additional growth into 2028.” The company already operates three successful gold mines in Ontario: one in the Kirkland Lake area and two others northeast of Wawa. It also operates a gold mine in the Mexican state of Sonora. The company is forecasting the Lynn Lake project will produce about 176,000 ounces of gold per year in the first 10 years of an expected 17-year life span. The construction phase is expected to employ 600 people and the with another 450 workers needed for the operation of the mines. Alamos has been working in Lynn Lake (population roughly 600) since 2016, and already has about 40 people on the ground. In 2023, it signed an agreement with the nearby Marcel Colomb First Na- tion. The deal includes commitments for jobs and training, heightened en- vironmental protections and revenue sharing, including a milestone payment to the band when construction begins. “Alamos will continue to prioritize the participation of Indigenous and local cit- izens including with new employment and training opportunities,” company spokesperson Rebecca Thompson said. The current NDP government (and the previous PC one) has gone out of its way to encourage more exploration and investment from the mining industry. Jamie Moses, minister of economic development, investment, trade and natural resources, said his government is excited about the development and is still working on finalizing its participa- tion in the project. “This is a really good signal,” Moses said. “When we say Manitoba is a trust- ed partner, this is what it means. When we say we can deliver better results for industry and the business community, this is what it means.” It will be the first jolt of economic development in that portion of the prov- ince in many years. The influx of construction workers, followed by miners will enliven a town that has been in decline ever since mines in Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids closed more than 30 years ago. Lynn Lake is located at the end of Highway 391, about 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg. John Morris, co-director of the Min- ing Association of Manitoba, said the organization and its members were “de- lighted.” “It’s great news for Manitoba,” he said. “They have a fantastic relation- ship with Indigenous communities. Alamos is a great company and we’re happy to support their initiative.” Alamos says it will use electric shov- els and drilling equipment in the open pit mining operation, making its emis- sion per ounce of gold produced 58 per lower than the industry average. It’s also keen on a couple of explor- ation projects within its 145,00-acre land package. An internal study will be completed and published in 2025 on two of the most advanced of the opportun- ities: the Burnt Timber and Linkwood deposits. “Alamos Gold believes there is great potential in this large and under-ex- plored greenstone belt that has yet to be realized,” Thompson said. Construction activities in 2025 will be focused on access road upgrades, camp construction, bulk earthworks and orders for long lead-time items. Thompson said contracts for certain activities, such as the camp installa- tion, have been issued and the company is in the process of tendering more for upgrades to access roads and site prep- aration. “These opportunities are extended to Indigenous participants,” she said. “The province will continue to bolster the critical minerals sector and ensure that as a province we are meeting the needs of not only communities for good jobs, not only for industry in terms of what they need to be successful but in terms of all Manitobans when it comes to our responsibility to ensure that we do these projects the right way,” Moses said. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca MARTIN CASH SUPPLIED More than half of Prairie residents to cut back on spending this year: survey CONSUMERS across the Prairies are starting the new year by making chan- ges to their budgets and buying habits, according to a new survey from TD Bank Group. More than half (54 per cent) of Prai- rie residents plan to cut back their spending this year. Of those who aren’t reducing their spending, 50 per cent say they have already cut back as much as they can. TD is releasing the nationwide re- sults of the survey today. When asked how they will be de- creasing their spending, 66 per cent of Prairie residents said they will eat out or order food less often, 60 percent will shop around more to save on purchas- es and 39 per cent are switching from name brand to store brand products. Other strategies include spending less on entertainment (44 per cent), postponing or cancelling travel plans (33 per cent) and cancelling some or all subscription services (28 per cent). The survey found one in three Prairie residents are feeling less positive about their finances in 2025 compared to last year, with more than half (54 per cent) foreseeing inflation and the cost of living being their biggest financial challenge. For 61 per cent of respondents, man- aging day-to-day expenses ranked as the top financial priority this year. Saving/investing for the future (43 per cent) and paying down debt (35 per cent) rounded out the top three. The survey shows while 61 per cent of Canadians have a financial new year’s resolution, that same percentage of people say they don’t have a financial plan in place, according to Emily Ross, vice-president, Everyday Advice Jour- ney at TD. “A fantastic way to be able to achieve that resolution is to have a financial plan,” she said. “It’s a great first step potentially for Canadians looking to achieve their goals.” The most dangerous thing people can do, according to Ross, is to look the other way and hope their situation im- proves without fully understanding the circumstances they are in. Budgeting, automating savings, look- ing for sales and understanding month- ly cash flow are all steps Canadians can take if they want to better manage their finances in 2025, Ross said. Making a plan and working with a professional — or using digital tools like spreadsheets and apps — is also helpful. “Any of these approaches and resour- ces… are great ways to get started and for customers to start feeling they are in control of their financial health,” Ross said. The online poll of 1,143 adults aged 25 and older was conducted in early November by Maru Public Opinion on behalf of TD. aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca AARON EPP Stability, slowing construction in 2025 Winnipeg forecast: CBRE MORE investment and stability — yet less building — are on Winnipeg’s hori- zon, a Canada-wide commercial real es- tate firm forecasts. For now, anyways. It’s hard to know how Canada’s looming federal election — and Donald Trump’s incoming U.S. presidency — might affect the local real estate market, noted Paul Kornel- sen, CBRE Winnipeg’s managing dir- ector. CBRE Canada released a report Tuesday peering into what’s to come this year. An uptick in downtown Winnipeg office-goers likely isn’t in the cards, according to the report. It predicts the core’s office vacancy rate will sit at 18.7 per cent, the record high it held through last year. Meanwhile, suburban office vacancy may decrease slightly, dropping from 10.3 per cent in 2024 to 9.5 per cent in 2025. “We’re seeing this all across the world,” Kornelsen said. Meaning, there isn’t much change in office vacancy. Companies aren’t ne- cessarily leaving downtown; new ones, however, seem to open in the suburbs, Kornelsen explained. He listed safety, proximity to home, free parking and fewer shared spaces like elevators as reasons Winnipeg’s sub- urban offices tend to be more popular. “The matter of offices downtown is a reflection, perhaps, more on the evolv- ing nature of the workplace today,” added Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. “Hybrid is becoming more of an indus- try standard.” CBRE Canada doesn’t expect any new Winnipeg office builds in 2025. It’s projecting more supply of both retail and industrial spaces to come to market, albeit at a lesser extent than past years. Retail saw “remarkable growth” in 2024, the report describes. Securing a shop in a desired location — for example, Polo Park or a growing neighbourhood like Bridgwater — is hard to do. There’s a lack of availability, Kornelsen explained. Retailers wanting to enter Winnipeg are battling established companies for space, he continued. The building of retail units came to a “grinding halt” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There was just a lot of trepidation in the early parts of the pandemic that retail would be gone forever and every- one would shop online.” Since then, rising construction and labour costs have been prohibitive to expansion, Kornelsen said. He’s noticed more retail-focused con- struction happening. Kildonan Crossing, the Refinery District near Abinojii Mi- kanah and an area north of McPhillips Street are all recipients of new retail, Kornelsen noted. Winnipeg’s retail va- cancy rate hovers around 3.5 per cent. Still, CBRE Canada is predicting less new supply of retail space in 2025 than the past two years — 20,000 square feet, as opposed to 90,000 sq. ft. in 2023 and 30,000 sq. ft. in 2024. “Sometimes, the rents we’d need to achieve to make building a retail centre financially viable, those aren’t general- ly rates that we see historically in Win- nipeg,” Kornelsen said. “It limits our ability for construction.” Lowered interest rates have helped developers, he noted. The Bank of Can- ada cut its key policy rate 1.75 per cent last year after hiking the rate to five per cent between 2022 and 2023. With lending rates dropping and in- flation cooling, economic confidence from investors should rise, CBRE Can- ada anticipates. “Winnipeg is still a great value buy,” said Remillard, comparing major cities like Toronto and Vancouver. CBRE Canada foresees a decrease of new industrial builds in Winnipeg this year following higher construction costs and less absorption. City permitting and uncertainty around energy and sewer hook-ups are among the challenges developers face, Remillard noted. Completing the north end sewage treatment plant expansion is “vital” to economic growth, he added. CentrePort Canada, Manitoba’s in- land port spanning the Rural Municiap- ality of Rosser and Winnipeg, has seen builds totalling 3.2 million sq. ft. from 2018 through 2024. Building has occurred on Rosser’s side. Shovels could enter the ground on Winnipeg’s land by the end of 2025 or early 2026, said Carly Edmundson, CentrePort Canada chief executive. The city is currently working on water and wastewater infrastructure. “Absorption continues to be strong,” Edmundson said. “The speed of con- struction has slowed down a bit — I think that’s due to increased construc- tion costs, both for building and finan- cing.” CBRE tracked 570,000 sq. ft. of new industrial supply in Winnipeg in 2023. The number dropped to 520,000 sq. ft. last year and is projected at 200,000 sq. ft. this year. Nationally, CBRE Canada expects investment and leasing activity to in- crease in 2025, contingent on global bond market conditions. gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com GABRIELLE PICHÉ RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES The new Payworks headquarters opened in 2024 in the Bridgwater neighbourhood. CRBE expects no new Winnipeg office builds in 2025. ;