Manitoba

GrowForce to open cannabis facility in Winnipeg

GrowForce Holdings will open what company officials call their "flagship cannabis cultivation facility" in Winnipeg, the third facility for the new Canadian firm.

120,000-square-foot plant will bring 150-200 jobs to the city

GrowForce vice-president of operations James Lowe hosts a facility tour of the company's new flagship cannabis facility in Winnipeg on May 15, 2018. (Delta Hirsch/GrowForce)

Producers are taking a pot shot in Winnipeg.

GrowForce Holdings will open what company officials are calling their "flagship cannabis cultivation facility" in Winnipeg. It will be the third facility for the new Canadian firm.

GrowForce is renovating a 120,000-square-foot building in St. Boniface to bring it into compliance with Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. 

The facility will grow cannabis in St. Boniface in Winnipeg. (Ellen Jaskol/GrowForce)

"We looked at several cities before selecting Winnipeg," said Rishi Gautam, GrowForce CEO. 

"We were looking for a large-scale facility that met a lot of our criteria as an operator, in terms of availability, of talent, of power rates, close to an urban centre," he said.

"We choose this location predominantly because of the type of building we found, but also the people in the surrounding area that have been supporting us since day one."

The move will eventually bring 150-200 jobs to the city, said Gautam.

"The jobs are very diverse," he said. "So you have hourly rate workers that do trimming and packaging, and then you have sophisticated horticultural positions that are more in the cultivation tech side. 

There will also be workers needed for lab work and biological work, he said.

GrowForce is also renovating sites in Brampton, Ont., and Dunnville, Ont.

GrowForce to open cannabis facility in Winnipeg

7 years ago
Duration 1:38
GrowForce Holdings will open what company officials are calling their "flagship cannabis cultivation facility" in Winnipeg