Manitoba adopts pro-union legislation

Manitoba has adopted legislation that makes it easier for workers to unionize and shifts the balance of power in work stoppages toward unions and away from employers.

A more union-friendly Manitoba

Manitoba’s Bill 37: The Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, 2024¹ received royal assent on November 8, 2024, and came into force as of that date. 

Bill 37’s amendments to Manitoba’s The Labour Relations Act (the Act) include: 

• Card-check jurisdiction: Manitoba is now a “card-check” jurisdiction, as opposed to a “mandatory vote” jurisdiction. In practice, this means a union may be certified as bargaining agent for a group of workers simply by collecting membership evidence (e.g. signed membership cards) from a majority of workers in the group. There is no need for a secret ballot vote, and the union’s organizing efforts may go undetected until the union presents its application for certification as a fait accompli.

In a “mandatory vote” jurisdiction a union must first collect a threshold percentage of membership evidence and then succeed on a secret ballot vote among all workers in a proposed bargaining unit. This allows all workers to weigh in, it allows workers who have signed a membership card to change their minds, and affords employers a brief period to express their views on unionization. Manitoba unions will not face this hurdle.

• Replacement worker ban: Manitoba employers are now prohibited from using replacement workers during a lawful strike or lockout, subject to narrow exceptions. Using replacement workers is now generally a contravention of the Act and classified as an unfair labour practice (a ULP). This change deprives some employers of significant leverage in the collective bargaining process. In some industries, employers may choose to weather work stoppages by engaging replacement workers to maintain operations. With this option off the table, employers face the prospect of unavoidable reductions in operations during a work stoppage, increasing pressure to reach a collective agreement prior to a strike or lockout.
• Mandatory essential services agreements: Manitoba employers and unions are now required to enter into “essential services” agreements at the end of each collective agreement. Employers, unions and bargaining unit employees engaged in a strike or lockout must maintain services, operations of facilities or production of goods to the extent necessary to prevent threats to health, safety, public welfare, or the environment, and to maintain the administration of justice. Essential services agreements represent the consensus of the parties on how they will achieve these outcomes in the face of a work stoppage. If an agreement is not reached the Manitoba Labour Board is empowered to determine which services must be maintained.

The future of labour legislation amidst ongoing labour disruptions

The Bill 37 amendments are part of larger, cross-Canada trends in labour legislation. 

Changes to union certification laws often follow the leanings of government. After an election, business-friendly governments may change card-check laws to mandatory vote laws. Union-friendly governments may do the opposite. The most recent such change occurred in British Columbia in 2022, when that province moved to a card-check model. Manitoba itself moved away from a card-check model to a mandatory vote model in 2016.

Replacement worker bans may be an emerging trend in Canadian labour laws. For decades, only Quebec and British Columbia had such rules in place. Now, in 2024, both the federal government and now Manitoba have passed legislation adopting such bans. The federal replacement worker ban comes into effect on June 20, 2025. Whether other jurisdictions follow suit remains to be seen.

It also remains to be seen whether the appetite for union-empowering legislation will survive in the face of prominent labour disruptions. Recent work stoppages, including those at Canadian ports, have highlighted the economic risk brought on by labour disputes. These risks may give legislators pause in advancing changes to labour legislation.

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada publishes frequent updates on changes to labour laws in Canada. See the following legal updates for more information on similar legislative changes across Canada:

• The long reach of British Columbia’s replacement worker ban
• June 2024 brings many changes to federal employment laws
• Federal bill on replacement workers moves forward, making its way to the Senate