May 2, 2025, marks four years since the launch of Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corporation (RMED). Established to fill a longstanding gap in rural economic development support, RMED was created to help Manitoba’s rural communities do more than just plan. It was built to help them act.
At its core, RMED works to build economic capacity across rural Manitoba, focusing on communities located south of the 53rd parallel. Under the leadership of founding CEO Margot Cathcart, the organization has become a trusted connector and catalyst. Through investment readiness training, strategic partnerships, tailored data tools, and community-driven solutions, RMED supports municipalities, businesses, and Indigenous communities in moving forward with clarity and confidence.
As RMED marks this milestone, we are not only reflecting on the work that has been done but also looking ahead to what is possible when rural communities are equipped with the right tools, insights, and support.
A Track Record of Impact
In just four years, RMED has grown from a start-up organization into a strategic force for rural economic development. The numbers tell the story:
- RMED created the Advance Rural Manitoba site, an interactive data platform with detailed economic profiles for 137 rural Manitoba communities. More than thirty municipalities have embedded the tool into their websites, using it as a resource for investment attraction, planning, and displaying their local strengths.
- RMED developed a suite of five foundational toolkits to enhance rural economic development.These include Business Retention and Expansion, Marketing Your Community: Attracting Business Investment, Attracting Business Investment, Strategic Planning, and Measuring Economic Development Progress. These toolkits have been downloaded or distributed in print more than nine hundred times. Additional tools, including a Community Growth Strategic Assessment and Main Street Revitalization, are set to launch. RMED’s broader service offerings, which include training, advisory support, and digital platforms, have been shaped through direct engagement with rural communities and continue to evolve in response to their needs.
- RMED has become a trusted source of insight through its growing collection of reports and applied research. It has published at least three labour market reports in partnership with Workplace Education Manitoba (WEM) and worked with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce on the Manitoba Business Outlook Survey. RMED also developed Manitoba’s first Rural Business Succession Survey. In total, it has completed more than five custom reports and two major research studies focused on rural needs. These resources help municipalities, economic developers, and policymakers make better-informed decisions. RMED is also developing a new tri-annual State of Rural report to track long-term trends and provide deeper insight into rural Manitoba’s economy.
- RMED has taken the lead in producing regional economic profiles for all of Manitoba’s economic regions. Transitioned from the province’s Department of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation, these profiles provide consistent, region-wide data that supports benchmarking, investment promotion, and regional planning efforts. More than 1,250 copies have been downloaded or distributed to date.
- More than thirty webinars have been hosted, drawing over 1,500 views and 820 registrations since inception.
- RMED’s Connection Zones have brought together more than 155 participants from across rural Manitoba. Hosted in ten communities, these sessions fostered dialogue, knowledge sharing, and regional investment readiness.
- In August 2023, RMED partnered on the Invest in Canada Rural Manitoba Tour, which brought together 73 attendees from 28 municipalities across 9 host communities. The sessions provided valuable insight into how Invest in Canada pitches Manitoba to global investors and outlined what makes rural communities investment ready. Municipalities were encouraged to build clear value propositions by evaluating land availability, clean energy potential, and the flexibility of infrastructure such as hydro, wastewater, and natural gas. The tour helped rural leaders better understand how to align their assets with large-scale investment opportunities.
- In June 2024, RMED released a housing case study displaying a locally led solution to rural housing challenges. The model has since been adopted by another rural Manitoba community. Four new case studies will launch in the coming months, spotlighting innovative approaches to rural challenges by sharing best practices that are replicable.
- RMED’s rural tours have engaged more than 150 municipal and business stakeholders, creating space for practical learning and partnerships with organizations such as PrairiesCan, Futurpreneur, North Forge, Economic Development Infrastructure and Trade, Innovation Science and Economic Development and World Trade Centre Winnipeg.
- In alignment with its mandate to support investment readiness, RMED delivered the Investment Attraction Readiness Program to twenty-one economic development leaders from over a dozen rural communities. The training equipped participants with the tools and strategies needed to attract, evaluate, and manage investment.
- RMED has supported 13 Indigenous-led projects and formed an Indigenous advisory group to guide its economic reconciliation efforts. One notable initiative was the three-year Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) involving Skownan First Nation and the Municipality of Mossey River. RMED provided strategic guidance to support their joint economic development goals, with key outcomes that included a Water and Wastewater Memorandum of Understanding, emergency coordination protocols, and tourism and infrastructure planning resources. More broadly, RMED continues to collaborate with communities such as the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council, Skownan First Nation, and others in a way that is deliberate, respectful, and community driven.
- On the international stage, RMED has participated in MIPIM, the International Economic Forum of the Americas, the World Trade Centre Global Business Forum, and The International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit. These efforts have sparked investor conversations with Fortune 100 and 750 companies and have led to ongoing collaborations with global partners.
- In 2024–2025 alone, RMED supported 114 client-initiated projects, addressing priorities in workforce development, data access, and capacity building.
- More than forty direct stakeholder introductions have been facilitated, with additional partnerships emerging through events, tours, and one-on-one engagement.
- RMED has actively supported rural workforce attraction and retention through partnerships with organizations like Westman Immigrant Services Regional Connections Immigrant Services and regional job fairs.
- RMED’s digital presence continues to expand across platforms. The Advance Rural Manitoba portal recorded a 174% year-over-year increase in sessions and a 315% growth in users, attracting visitors from other provinces in Canada, the United States, and countries around the world. Meanwhile, RMED reached more than 68,500 people on Facebook, generated over 34,000 LinkedIn impressions, and maintained an engagement rate above 10%, reinforcing its role as a key voice in rural economic development.
Leadership Reflections
“One of the standout tools RMED has developed is the Advance Rural Manitoba site. The community profiles offer a level of depth and clarity that was sorely missing before. These are more than just data points. They are powerful stories of potential that help put rural Manitoba on the map.”
— Chuck Davidson, Board Chair, RMED
“What began as a bold step to amplify rural voices has become a province-wide network of collaboration and shared progress. We are proud of what we have accomplished and even more excited about what lies ahead. With the strength of our communities and partners, we are ready for the next chapter.”
— Margot Cathcart, CEO, RMED
Margot with representatives of the City of Fundão, Portugal, April 2025
Why This Moment Matters
RMED’s four-year milestone coincides with a timely opportunity for all Manitobans. The Government of Manitoba is currently conducting a public consultation on its new Economic Development Strategy. This is a critical time for rural voices to be heard.
RMED’s work, on community assessments, investment readiness, data services, and regional planning, directly supports the kind of outcomes this strategy aims to achieve. Rural Manitoba is ready to lead, and those working on the ground must be part of shaping the province’s economic future.
Have your say: Manitoba Government Public Consultation on Economic Development Strategy
The Road Ahead
Looking ahead, RMED will continue to support communities and economic leaders through a growing catalogue of services that include data tools, webinars, training, community assessments, and business advisory support. These offerings are designed to help rural Manitoba lead with clarity, capacity, and confidence:
- The release of four new case studies showcasing successful economic development strategies
- Expanded training in investment readiness and business succession.
- Ongoing development of the Advance Rural Manitoba platform and resource library
- Continued collaboration on Indigenous economic reconciliation.
- More Connection Zones, more data-driven resources, and more opportunities to build rural capacity.
To every local government, economic development leader, business owner, and partner who has collaborated with RMED over the past four years, thank you. Your trust, input, and shared vision have shaped this journey.
Whether you have worked directly with RMED or simply support rural growth, this is your moment to get involved. Participate in the provincial consultation and stay connected with us as we continue to spotlight rural leadership, action, and opportunity.