This business profile is sponsored by Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism
THE RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg is welcoming more of the world in 2026 than ever before.
This year will be the busiest in its illustrious history — the downtown focal point opened in January 1975.
Drew Fisher, president and CEO, says he and his team are proud to host major conventions ranging from the federal NDP Convention and the Canadian Society for Immunology to the National Black Canadians Summit and the World Indigenous Business Forum, and they’re passionate about attracting business to the city and province.
“We’ve seen an increase in national conventions this year, with 10 more coming to the RBC Convention Centre in 2026 than 2025. We are proud to host these events and passionate about attracting business to our city and province,” he says.
In May, the 264,000-square-foot facility hosted the national convention for the Canadian Labour Congress, which saw 2,500 delegates descend upon Winnipeg for four days, the biggest event it has ever hosted.
“These events bring with them a significant number of hotel room nights and visitors dining out in restaurants, using transportation and patronizing retail and tourism attractions, which all generate valuable economic impact for Winnipeg and Manitoba,” he says. Indeed, the 40-plus conferences at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg this year will contribute many millions of dollars of local economic impact.
role is to bring a Manitoba experience to every booked event.
Once the national business starts to take shape, the convention centre works to integrate the community into the operations. This is done through many local event bookings, strong local partnerships and the use of Manitoba or Canadian products where possible.
“Our role in operations is to represent key components of Manitoba and generate a sense of place. Our teams take a ‘prairies, lakes and people’ approach and strive to showcase strong local partnerships. In addition to our increasing convention business, we work closely with our local event partners to help them achieve their goals,” he says.
More than 600 people are employed every year by the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. Many of those shifts are in food services but a significant number are also in setting up and taking down the rooms for events which hold anywhere from a few hundred people to more than 6,000.
Feeding tens of thousands of people throughout the year is a gargantuan task, an effort that’s overseen by Executive Chef Melissa Makarenko. She and her team aren’t fazed by the raw numbers because they break every event down into groups of 200. So, a dinner of 1,000 people is considered as five separate events where 200 people need to be fed.
It’s not just dinners, either. She oversees plated meals, buffets, breakfasts, brunches, lunches, snacks and receptions.
Large local events are also crucial in driving economic impact and the facility’s busiest time of year is November, when many of Winnipeg’s biggest companies hold their holiday parties. One day last year, there were 7,000 people attending six different events at the same time. Getting that many beef, chicken, pasta, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals served hot in a very short window takes highly-choreographed teamwork.
“We rely heavily on our trained sous chefs,” she says.
Caterers always build in a cushion in case a group has more people walk through the door than were expected, so Makarenko ensures four to five per cent extra meals are cooked to be on the safe side. (The worst nightmare for a host is having guests who go hungry.) At the same time, she doesn’t want a single steak or pasta dish to go to waste. So, as soon as all of the meals have been served at every event, Makarenko’s focus turns to ensuring what’s left over is put to the best use.
She connects with “our meal recovery partner Second Harvest” so the meals can be redirected to shelters throughout Winnipeg.
“It’s the right thing to do. If we can give back to the community in any way, shape or form, that’s why we feel we’re here. We want to be sustainable and we do that by redistributing food to those who are in need,” she says.
The annual food plan requires a mountain of ingredients and products and the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg does its best to use local sources whenever possible. For example, it partners with Winnipeg-based Gunn’s Bakery to provide thousands of loaves of bread every year and it also has relationships with local egg farmers and pork producers.
“Growing those businesses in those partnerships is really important to growing the city. If we can keep little businesses afloat so they can grow and develop, that’s what we’re here for,” she says.
