How construction contracts became the blueprint for social change in Manitoba

For decades, Sean Hogan has been proving that one contract can do two jobs at once. 

Through his Indigenous social enterprise in Winnipeg, Build Inc., affordable housing units are renovated while people facing barriers to employment get paid work experience. 

“We don’t use social procurement or social enterprise as an excuse for not delivering on excellence,” said Hogan, executive director of Build Inc.

“We’re not only price-wise, but service-wise and delivery-wise, very competitive and very professional.” 

His organization’s long-standing contract with Manitoba Housing is one of the earliest examples of the province’s social procurement strategy.

In 2015, the provincial government released its Social Enterprise Strategy, which included recommendations to advance social procurement. 

The strategy pointed to Buy Social Canada’s certification process as a strong example of initiatives helping advance social enterprise and procurement. 

While Manitoba does not have a formal social procurement policy, it has built strong partnerships between Manitoba Housing and social enterprises like Hogan’s to deliver both public services and social benefits.

“Everybody across the country has looked to Manitoba on how to do social procurement. Manitoba has been the example,” Hogan said.

Build Inc.’s success eventually led Hogan to launch a second organization, Skoden Flex Staffing, a social enterprise that places people in temporary jobs when Build Inc. doesn’t have the capacity to hire them directly.

“We hire about 64 people who’ve never had a job at Build every year, but we turn between 500 and 1,000 people away at the door,” Hogan said. “People think people don’t want to work. People want to work.” 

Both of his organizations are Buy Social Canada-certified social enterprises, a designation that recognizes businesses that reinvest the majority of their profits into a social, cultural or environmental purpose.

There are currently 30 certified Buy Social Canada social enterprises in Manitoba.

The Manitoba government’s partnership between Manitoba Housing and social enterprises laid the foundation for the entire sector, according to Kalen Taylor, Manager of Impact Investment at the Winnipeg Foundation.

“Our social procurement landscape here is incredibly strong. And it’s old,” said Taylor, who is also the former executive director and co-founder of Purpose Construction.

Manitoba’s social procurement success has not happened through a single policy or organization, they said. 

Taylor describes it as a three-part ecosystem with government procurement creating demand, social enterprises building the capacity to deliver, and social finance providing the capital needed to grow.

That ecosystem is reflected in Buy Social Canada’s Built for Impact, Ready for Market Report, which found procurement, capacity, and capital are strongest when they work together, allowing that ecosystem to thrive.

It’s an approach Taylor believes sets Manitoba apart from other provinces and territories.

“Social procurement belongs in government, because the people that we are saving money for is government,” Taylor said. 

In 2022, the City of Winnipeg also adopted a Sustainable Procurement Action Plan (SPAP), creating a framework focused on environmental, ethical, social, and Indigenous considerations in its procurement practices. 

The plan followed engagement with community, industry, and internal stakeholders, with consultation support from Buy Social Canada.

Public dollars working twice as hard

The government is going to spend money on contracts regardless, but social procurement changes what those dollars can accomplish, Taylor said.

Taylor saw that impact firsthand during their time leading Purpose Construction.

When the government contracts with social enterprises, it still receives the service it paid for, but the spending also creates employment opportunities and community benefits. 

“It’s benefiting so many levels of government. We’re saving money within the justice system, we’re saving money within the child welfare system. We’re turning people into taxpayers,” said Taylor.

Hogan has seen that same impact through Build Inc.’s work, where his employees face barriers to employment and receive training to pursue meaningful careers.

“It’s the same price to hire us to do a renovation job as they would pay to any other company,” Hogan said. “But they’re saving money on emergency rooms and on time in court and time in jail and police action.”

Taylor found that every dollar the government spent buying services from Purpose Construction generated $4.25 in social value while still delivering housing renovations, the group found.

“Those dollars are working so much harder now,” said Taylor.

Setting the stage

Manitoba’s social procurement success has not only been built by the social enterprises doing the work, but it has also depended on organizations willing to rethink how they spend their money.

In 2022, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) began rethinking procurement as part of its reconciliation, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.

“Corporate procurement measures success by the way we touch the lives of people,” said Jeff Wiebe, director of corporate procurement at MBLL.

Buy Social Canada worked with MBLL to create a buyer diversity survey and provide training to staff to help identify opportunities for social procurement.

“Buy Social Canada really gave us that opportunity for my folks to be part of something bigger than themselves,” he said. “They could see what they do in the broader community actually matters.”

As MBLL expanded its social procurement, it also exceeded its own business goals.

When MBLL started measuring its progress in 2025, the organization had 35 diverse suppliers and $2.8 million in annual spending with them. 

Within its first year, it had grown to 50 diverse suppliers and $8.5 million in annual spend, exceeding its three-year goal.

Those results have extended beyond MBLL’s own operations. 

One supplier told Wiebe that receiving an MBLL contract gave them confidence to open a storefront in Winnipeg, while others have hired more employees and grown their businesses because of the work.

MBLL now requires every new procurement employee to complete Buy Social Canada’s Social Procurement Professional Certificate as part of their onboarding, to make sure the momentum continues to grow in Manitoba.

Buy Social Canada is running its next Social Procurement Professional Certificate course in September. 

Designed for government leaders and private-sector executives, the virtual training shares how to create and leverage a social procurement policy while building a culture of social value within an organization.

“It’s not just about cardboard boxes and office furniture… when you hear the stories about people getting hired, businesses thriving and helping the community, I think that inspires [our employees],” said Wiebe.