It was another fun and successful year for events in Winnipeg, while our business development team also made some big splashes across the globe.
We held some massive sports events and citywides to much acclaim, and our team in general attended 22 national and international shows, racking up 682 meetings to keep Winnipeg top of mind.
On the creative front, we launched our newest Winnipeg+ “show” –– The DMO –– which we premiered at CSAE 2025 in October to huge laughs. Stream it in that link above, then look below to see our 2025 highlights along with what’s in the mix for 2026 on Winnipeg’s business events scene.
And of course, happy holidays from all of us here at Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism.
Sweet citywides that saw the RBC Convention Centre and Winnipeg star
In spring, Winnipeg welcomed the world for Rendez-vous Canada (RVC) as several hundred buyers, sellers and media descended upon the city for “the Super Bowl of the tourism industry” from May 27-30. With the RBC Convention Centre playing host, and nearly every tourism destination being used in and outside of Winnipeg, RVC 2025 proved to be a smash hit for both attendees and the city as a whole.
For RVC, the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg’s marquee Ozhaawashko-Giizhig room (formerly the City View Room) was transformed into an incredible trade show floor, with vendors representing every corner of this country. This included 500 Canadian tourism businesses and more than 400 international and domestic buyers from 22 global markets. In total, there were over 55,000 B2B meetings held during the conference!
With an estimated economic impact of $4.6 million for the city, RVC also showed what Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism can do for the city, and indeed what the city can do for the world. During RVC, we worked alongside Travel Manitoba and more than 100 local industry partners, signed up over 125 volunteers and booked 4,000+ hotel room nights for this massive trade show. Learn more here.
And of course, that’s just one citywide!
As a sampling, citywides featuring more than 1,000 attendees included: the 2025 College of Family Physicians Family Medicine Forum, which just brought 3,500 delegates from November 5-9; the Assembly of First Nations General Assembly (more on that below) that saw 2,000 delegates and 11,000 room nights to the city from September 3-5; and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, featuring 1,000 delegates from April 24-26.
With citywides like these alone, not including sports and special events (which we’ll cover below), Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism generated more than $24.5 million in 2025 for the local economy by facilitating these events via our Special Events Tourism Fund (SETF).
Sports and special events that brought Canadians to the centre of it all
It’s always game time in Winnipeg, and 2025 was no exception as Winnipeg hosted countless sporting events.
The biggest of them all just took place, with the Grey Cup and its subsequent week of festivities generating an estimated $90 million. The Princess Auto Stadium was rocking for the big game and tailgate parties, and every single event at RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg had sold out before the estimated 33,000 fans had even entered the city.
August saw Canada Life Centre and True North Square host the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Championship weekend, featuring street parties, sold-out games and much fanfare throughout downtown for Canada’s pro basketball league.
Our own professional soccer player, Desiree Scott, received a beautiful send off at Princess Auto Stadium in May, when Canada beat Haiti in a friendly match in front of 9,211 fans.
More sporting events included the 2025 Archery Canada World Archery Youth Championships; the 2025 Football Manitoba U18 Indigenous Cup; and the 2025 Football Manitoba U16 Western Challenge – all brilliant showcases for young athletes across Canada.
For big concerts and live performances we supported, the 2025 Breakout West Canadian Music Festival & Conference (September 24-28) ensured our always robust live music scene was even busier to ring in autumn. During the four-day period, 600+ attendees checked out shows featuring some of Western Canada’s most promising artists at venues across downtown, along with taking part in workshops and seminars to continue to make Canada’s music scene shine.
For more Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism supported concerts, Princess Auto Stadium played host to some of the biggest names in country and classic rock – along with thousands of fans –– for the Thunder Concert Series in July.
Plus, in Assiniboine Park, the Great Outdoor Comedy Festival returned in July with around 10,000 in attendance for headliners like John Mulaney and Martin Short. The Great Outdoor Comedy Festival has already been booked for 2026, 2027 and 2028 too, while the Thunder Concert Series will also return in summer 2026.
Business events are reconciliation in action
Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism was honoured to facilitate the hosting of the 2025 Assembly of First Nations General Assembly in September, here on Treaty 1 Territory at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.
AFN’s AGM brought hundreds of First Nations chiefs and leaders to the city, representing 600 First Nations. This is just one of many ways our organization is making a conscious effort to work with local Indigenous communities and organizations to make Winnipeg an international hub for Indigenous business events.
We're also thrilled to announce that the World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) will be coming to Winnipeg in 2026. This landmark achievement didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of years of relationship-building, planning, and a shared vision among local leaders, Indigenous organizations and government officials. We were thrilled to make the announcement in Albuquerque, New Mexico alongside the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute Inc., the Southern Chiefs' Organization and The Long Plain First Nation, all of whom have been making huge waves here on Treaty 1 Territory.
With more than 1,000 delegates from 20 countries expected to gather here, the forum isn’t just about the $3.1-plus million in economic impact — it’s about trumpeting Winnipeg as a global hub for Indigenous business events, reconciliation and collaboration.
In the mix for 2026
And finally, 2026 is already shaping up to be another banner year for Winnipeg.
From the 2026 National Black Canadians Summit, to the 2026 Canadian Women in Medicine Conference; the 2026 Canadian Quilters Association; the 2026 Canadian Labour Congress Triennial Convention; the 2026 Canadian Association Emergency Physicians Annual Scientific Conference; and 2026 Transportation Association of Canada Conference; 2026 PWM Summit & IG Exchange; 2026 Science Fiction Literacy Convention (Keycon); 2026 International Association for Great Lakes Research Conference; we’ll once again be bringing in thousands of delegates to the city to contribute millions to the local economy.
