Start a construction company in Manitoba: register the business, register with the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, and get building permits from the authority having jurisdiction.
Applies in: Manitoba
Register the business, register with the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, then get the building permits. Construction is a mandatory industry under Manitoba's workers compensation rules, so coverage is not optional once you have workers. Building permits come from the municipality, the planning district, or Inspection and Technical Services, depending on where the project is.
This guide covers only the Manitoba mechanics. It does not re-cover Ontario's WSIB and constructor rules or British Columbia's WorkSafeBC rules — those belong to the Ontario and British Columbia guides, and Manitoba's bodies, forms, and thresholds are different.
Pick a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation, register the business name or incorporate with the Manitoba Companies Office, and get a Canada Revenue Agency business number. The full steps are in our How to Register a Business in Manitoba guide — this guide does not repeat them.
Construction is listed as a mandatory industry by the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. If you are in a mandatory industry, everyone who works for your business is considered a worker and is entitled to coverage regardless of the number of hours they work, the structure of their pay, and the nature of their work. This includes contract workers, domestic service workers, family members, and apprentices.
To apply for coverage, complete the Online Employer Registration application. The board states it takes less than ten minutes to complete and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you finish, your information is sent to the Assessment Services Department for review. If you prefer to register by phone, call 204-954-4505 or toll-free at 1-855-954-4321.
If you have no workers in Manitoba, you are not required to have coverage, but business owners and self-employed individuals can choose to buy Personal Coverage.
Before a subcontractor starts work, check their standing with the board. A clearance letter tells you whether a business, contractor, or subcontractor has complied with the board's requirements. If you hire a contractor who is not in good standing, you will be responsible for including the labour portion of their earnings in your reported assessable payroll and for reporting any workplace injuries that occur while the contractor is working for you.
Use the board's Online Clearance Request System to search by account number or business name and request clearance status documents. General contractors and any firm hiring for construction should get clearance information on subcontractors before work commences and before any payment is made.
In Manitoba, building, plumbing, and occupancy permits are issued by one of three authorities having jurisdiction: the municipality, the planning district, or Inspection and Technical Services. Which one applies is determined by the geographic location of the building and whether it must comply with Part 2 and Part 9, or Part 3, of the Manitoba Building Code. Confirm which authority covers the project address before you apply, and get the permit application from that authority's local building department.
Building and plumbing permits are required for new construction of all buildings under the Manitoba Building Code Regulation, with the exception of small farm buildings under 600 square metres and three storeys in height. Permits are also required for building additions, alterations, and renovations. Most municipal building bylaws do not normally require a building permit for renovations that do not exceed $5,000 in construction value, but confirm that threshold with the local building department, because it is a bylaw matter, not a provincial figure.
An occupancy permit is required before occupying any newly constructed, renovated, or repaired building where a building permit has been issued. Do not let a client occupy the building until the occupancy permit is in hand.
Where the work is a compulsory trade, the worker must hold the Manitoba trade certification or be a registered apprentice. Trade certification in Manitoba runs through Apprenticeship Manitoba. Check the trade's certification requirement before assigning the work, and keep the certification records with the project file.
The board does not publish a single construction rate, so do not budget from one flat figure. The board's average rate — the baseline every employer's rate is built from — is $0.95 per $100 of payroll, one of the lowest average rates in Canada. Your own rate is set from your industry classification and your claims costs over three full calendar years, and it cannot move up or down more than 15% from year to year. A new employer with no claims history pays a new-employer rate assigned to its industry classification, for up to three years. In early January the board asks for your annual payroll information, which is due by the last calendar day of February; your premium is calculated from your rate and that payroll. For 2026 rates the board applied a balancing adjustment of −1.03%.
The opened Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba pages do not publish a single construction assessment rate, so this guide states no construction-specific rate — only the $0.95 average rate and how individual rates are set (see "What the coverage costs" above). The opened pages also do not publish a fixed processing time for employer registration, so this guide states none.
Yes. Construction is a mandatory industry in Manitoba, so everyone who works for the business is considered a worker and is entitled to coverage, regardless of hours worked, pay structure, or the nature of the work. This includes contract workers, family members, and apprentices.
Complete the Online Employer Registration application on the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba website. It takes less than ten minutes, is available 24 hours a day, and the information goes to the Assessment Services Department for review. You can also register by phone at 204-954-4505 or toll-free at 1-855-954-4321.
Yes, check clearances before work starts. If you hire a contractor who is not in good standing, you will be responsible for including the labour portion of their earnings in your reported assessable payroll and for reporting any workplace injuries while they work for you. Use the Online Clearance Request System to check.
One of three authorities having jurisdiction issues the permits, depending on the project: the municipality, a planning district, or Inspection and Technical Services. Which one applies depends on the geographic location of the building and which part of the Manitoba Building Code it must comply with.
Building permits are required for new construction of all buildings under the Manitoba Building Code, apart from small farm buildings under 600 square metres and three storeys in height. Permits are also required for building additions, alterations, and renovations. An occupancy permit is required before occupying a newly constructed, renovated, or repaired building where a building permit was issued.
A business with no workers in Manitoba is not required to have coverage, but business owners and self-employed individuals can choose to buy Personal Coverage. Once you employ workers in Manitoba, registration applies, and construction is a mandatory industry.