Manitoba Government Establishes Innovation and Productivity Task Force

Press Release

May 22, 2025

The Manitoba government is establishing an Innovation and Productivity (IP) Task Force to provide strategic advice regarding the safe and secure implementation of new and emerging technologies to support the economy and promote data-driven decision-making, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz, co-chair of the task force, announced today.

“Our province, and indeed our country, has a tremendous opportunity to invest and articulate a vision in the future of the innovation economy and I’m so excited that Mr. Balsillie and the other members of the team have agreed to take on this work,” said Moroz. “With smarter government and homegrown solutions to the problems we face and a strategy to advance Manitobans ownership of IP and data, our province can play a leading role in helping move our country forward and growing the innovation and research ecosystem here in Manitoba.”

Co-chaired by entrepreneur and philanthropist Jim Balsillie, co-founder and chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, founder of the Centre for International Governance and Innovation, and former co-chief executive officer of BlackBerry, the IP Task Force will engage with government agencies, industry experts, researchers and Indigenous communities to ensure best practices are followed.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Manitoba to turbocharge its economic resilience and prosperity by designing and implementing value-added, sovereign strategies across all sectors and industries,” said Jim Balsillie, co-chair of the Innovation and Productivity Task Force. “I look forward to supporting the development of a framework that reflects the changed nature of the global economy and leads to the strengthening of Manitoba’s prosperity and security.”

The Department of Innovation and New Technology is currently considering the implementation of technologies like artificial intelligence, the development of intellectual property policy, as well as sovereign cloud strategies to ensure data storage and processing are governed and handled securely without the need to travel through jurisdictions that may not have the same protections or safety requirements in place, noted the minister.

By developing new data strategies, intellectual property commercialization and sovereign cloud initiatives, this effort will position Manitoba as a leader in 21st-century digital governance and economic competitiveness, added Moroz.

Other members of the task force include:

• Adam Herstein, partner at Pitblado Law;
• Clara Buelow, director of marketing and communications, Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, previous lead on the Digital Manitoba Policy Initiative;
• Jacqueline Keena, managing director, Enterprise Machine Intelligence Learning Initiative
• Gerry Price, president, Price Industries;
• Prof. Gautam Srivastava, professor of computer science, Brandon University;
• Debra Jonasson-Young, executive director of entrepreneurship, Asper School of Business; and
• Dr. Ernest Cholakis, founder, Cholakis Dental Group.

The mandate of the IP Task Force includes the creation of a strategic plan that will guide Manitoba’s innovation and productivity initiatives as the global marketplace continues to evolve. The task force is expected to deliver the plan to the minister later this year, noted Moroz.

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For more information:

• Public information, contact Manitoba Government Inquiry: mgi@gov.mb.ca or 1-866-626-4862 or 204-945-3744.
• Media requests for general information, contact Communications and Engagement: newsroom@gov.mb.ca.
• Media requests for ministerial comment, contact Cabinet Communications: cabcom@manitoba.ca.

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