TomorrowNow Manitoba: Dialogues toward strengthening Manitoba’s bioeconomy

The document details a stakeholder consultation held on December 3, 2013, focusing on Manitoba's transition to a green economy through its bioeconomy. It identifies the province's abundance of biomass—including agricultural residue, forestry residue, cattails, and prairie grass—as a key advantage. However, the report notes significant barriers such as competition from low-priced fossil fuels, high transportation costs (representing 35 to 50 per cent of biofuel production costs), and a lack of skilled labour. Proposed solutions include regulatory streamlining, the creation of a green fund, carbon and phosphorus pricing, and the establishment of energy procurement targets for the Government of Manitoba.

• Manitoba possesses significant biomass resources that offer opportunities for sustainable economic development, specifically through agricultural residue, forestry residue, cattails, and prairie grass. The province produces approximately 5.8 million tonnes of cellulosic biomass annually from agriculture, with an additional 8.3 million tonnes potentially available from cattail and wetland grass harvests.
• The Canadian bioeconomy is a rapidly growing sector, valued at approximately CAD$80 billion and ranking as the second largest bioeconomy in the world per capita, with a growth rate of 12 per cent between 2007 and 2011.
• Several systemic barriers hinder the expansion of Manitoba's bioeconomy, including static regulations, limited access to capital, a shortage of skilled labour, and a 'commercialization gap' where biomass industries struggle to bring products to market.
• Economic competition from fossil fuels and natural gas is a major obstacle because these commodities do not integrate externalities into their pricing, making renewable alternatives less appealing to consumers.
• Transportation costs significantly impact the marketability of biofuels in Manitoba, accounting for 35 to 50 per cent of total production costs.
• To stimulate the sector, the report suggests government actions such as implementing carbon or phosphorus pricing, creating a green fund for research and development, and establishing energy procurement targets that require a percentage of government energy supply to come from biomass.
• The report recommends a comprehensive Manitoba-wide biomass inventory covering agriculture, forestry, and cattails to help businesses identify market opportunities in biofuels, biomaterials, and biochemicals.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2014). TomorrowNow Manitoba: Dialogues toward strengthening Manitoba’s bioeconomy. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tomorrow_now_bioeconomy.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. TomorrowNow Manitoba: Dialogues toward strengthening Manitoba’s bioeconomy. 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tomorrow_now_bioeconomy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=TomorrowNow Manitoba: Dialogues toward strengthening Manitoba’s bioeconomy |date=January 2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tomorrow_now_bioeconomy.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2014tomorrownow, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{TomorrowNow Manitoba: Dialogues toward strengthening Manitoba’s bioeconomy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tomorrow_now_bioeconomy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }