RRC Polytech President and CEO, Fred Meier, and the Honourable Renée Cable, Minister of Advanced Education and Training had the opportunity to speak with Canada’s Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne yesterday afternoon ahead of an event organized by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce to facilitate a conversation with the Minister regarding Canada’s Spring Economic Update 2026.

President Meier spoke with Minister Champagne about the recent $6B in investment to recruit, train, and retain upward of 100,000 new Red Seal trades workers over the next five years, and the need to ensure post-secondary institutions, like RRC Polytech, are supported to increase seat capacity in skilled trades programs where demand is high in order to deliver on this bold, national vision.

RRC Polytech looks forward to working with our partners at the federal and provincial government levels to ensure Manitoba’s contributions to this ambitious undertaking occur at the appropriate capacity and pace.

Over the last two years, RRC Polytech – and post-secondary institutions across Canada – has experienced the impact of immigration changes from the federal government resulting in ongoing reduction of international student enrolment and reduced English language training funding. These changes, along with shifting domestic enrolment trends in some programs and increased program delivery costs, have had direct impacts on operations and financial stability at RRC Polytech. These impacts have both immediate and long-term financial implications that we must responsibly address.  

RRC Polytech undertook a comprehensive Academic Planning Process for the 2026–27 academic year to prioritize our program delivery efforts and ensure we can continue to deliver the training Manitobans rely on. This data‑informed review considered application and enrolment trends, labour market needs, and the cost of delivering programs.   

As a result of this process, and concurrent budget planning, RRC Polytech has made difficult decisions affecting program delivery. 

Programs permanently ceasing: 

• Professional Sales and Strategic Marketing (Certificate) 

• Applied Accounting (Certificate) 

• Hospitality Business Management (Diploma) 

• CNC Machining and Advanced Technology (Diploma) 

• Professional Photography (Certificate) 

• Full Stack Web Development (Diploma) 

• Full Stack Web Development (Certificate) 

Programs temporarily ceasing: 

• Applied Commerce Education – Integrated (Degree) 

• Applied Commerce Education – After‑Degree (Degree) 

• Applied Commerce Education – Accelerated (Diploma) 

• Pharmaceutical and Food Manufacturing (Certificate) 

Programs with reduced seat capacity or sections: 

• Application Development and Delivery (Diploma) 

• Creative Communications (Diploma) 

• English for Academic and Professional Purposes (non‑credential) 

All current students in these programs will be supported in completing their programs with no interruption to their studies. 

The RRC Polytech community was informed of these decisions earlier and are being supported through this process. RRC Polytech is focused on supporting affected students, providing clear information about program pathways, and working closely with partners as these changes are implemented. 

While the 2026 provincial budget includes welcomed investments in areas such as healthcare training and apprenticeships, broader financial pressures remain across the post‑secondary sector. These decisions are part of RRC Polytech’s responsibility to remain sustainable and aligned with Manitoba’s workforce needs. 

Our focus as an institution continues to be alignment with Manitoba’s workforce needs and training learners who can begin to make an immediate impact in their industries and communities upon graduation.  

Guests at RRC Polytech’s Manitou a bi Bii daziigae may think the Polytech has opened a stunning new art gallery, should they take a stroll through the building from May 5 – 7, 2026. 

In fact, it’s the annual iteration of the Schroeder Institute Grad Showcase – a vibrant culmination of months (and often years) of students’ hard work. The showcase highlights the talents of graduating students across design, media, film, photography, and game development disciplines, offering RRC Polytech staff and students a chance to experience their impressive output.  

The Showcase brings together graduating students from seven programs: 

• Communication Design 

• Digital Film and Media Production 

• Digital Media Design (DMD): Interaction Design and Development 

• Digital Media Design (DMD): Video and Motion Graphics 

• Game Development: Art & Programming 

• Graphic Design 

• Photography 

Participating students have each focused on a project that highlights what they’ve learned throughout their programs: 

• Communication Design students present “Rolodex,” their term-long, largely self-directed design projects. These works tend to be exploratory and experimental in nature, showcasing creative problem-solving, concept development, and personal design voice. 

• Digital Film and Media Production students will be sharing screenings of their short films, which they wrote, acted in, produced and edited all on their own. 

• The DMD: Interaction Design program is showcasing a mix of prototyped design work and larger scaled projects designed by students, with the content ranging from a zoo display, to a sliding game, to a cocktail menu. 

• The DMD: Video and Motion Graphics graduates are presenting demo reels that capture their versatility and technical skills. These reels feature a range of 2D and 3D motion graphics, videography projects, and compositing work that reflect both creative vision and industry-ready execution. 

• From the Game Development: Art & Programming program, visitors can play fully developed video games created collaboratively by art and programming students. These projects demonstrate creativity, technical complexity, user experience design, and teamwork. 

• Graphic Design students are exhibiting a wide spectrum of creative work, including branding systems, campaign concepts, packaging, web and app design, and illustration. Adding an interactive dimension to their showcase, these students also operate the Gift Shop, featuring products that they have designed, branded, and produced themselves. 

• The Professional Photography program presents a year-end collection that highlights their creativity and technical expertise. The work spans a range of styles and subjects from portraiture to landscapes, offering visitors a compelling visual narrative of each photographer’s approach and perspective. 

Open to RRC Polytech staff and students, the Schroeder Institute Grad Showcase is an opportunity to support graduates, explore emerging talent, and experience firsthand the innovation and dedication that define the Schroeder Institute. 

For more information about the Schroeder Institute of Entertainment & Media Arts, please click here. 

RRC Polytech hosted the 28th Annual Skills Manitoba Competition on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at its Notre Dame Campus. An amazing display of hands-on expertise, talent and determination, the event showcases the diversity of skilled trades and technology across all sectors along with the many promising futures to be found in these occupations.  

Secondary, post-secondary, and apprentice level students from across the province competed against their peers in over 40 different contests designed with industry partners to measure job-specific competencies. The Olympic-style theme encourages sportsmanship, collaboration, and a competitive spirit. The event is supported by over 300 volunteers representing education, industry and labour.  

Many gold medal winners will advance to form Team Manitoba and compete against the best in the country at the Skills Canada National Competition in Toronto, Ontario on May 27 – May 30, 2026. 

“The demand for talented workers continues to grow, creating opportunities across all sectors for positions with great pay, job security and flexibility,” said Maria Pacella, Executive Director of Skills Canada Manitoba. “This competition spotlights the merits of pursuing post-secondary training in trades and technologies while providing a fun and supportive environment. It inspires students to explore their options and discover new passions that can lead to a rewarding career.” 

Over 140 competitors across a wide range of programs represented RRC Polytech this year – almost half of them reached the podium and twenty-five gold medalists are planning to attend Skills Canada Nationals. Recognized as the province’s largest institute of applied learning and research with deep connections to industry, RRC Polytech offers over 150 full- and part-time degree, diploma, and certificate programs, including apprenticeship training. 

“The annual Skills Manitoba Competition is an energizing and entertaining showcase of the talent, focus, and creativity powering Manitoba’s workforce of today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Christine Watson, Vice President, Academic at RRC Polytech. “In addition to proudly cheering on our own students, we’re thrilled to demonstrate the value of practical training and collaboration to the next generation of skilled, passionate learners – and share tangible examples of how RRC Polytech’s wide variety of trades and technologies programming helps to drive the economy and strengthen communities across the province.”  

Here is a consolidated list of all medalists from RRC Polytech with their contest and rank. 

Things are getting unreal at RRC Polytech. 

Students in the Game Development – Programming and Game Development – Art programs can now add an epic badge of honour to their credentials, as the program has officially been recognized as an Epic Games Unreal Academic Partner. 

Epic Games is one of the largest game and technology developers on the planet – even non-gamers are likely familiar with their output, which includes the global phenomenon Fortnite and the high-octane Rocket League. Beyond their own games, Epic’s technology powers massive hits across the video games industry. 

While RRC Polytech students have a long history of mastering their craft within Unreal Engine, the program’s quality is further validated by Epic Games. Through a formal review process, Epic recognizes institutions that meet their high curricular standards by awarding them the Unreal Academic Partner badge. 

The badge confirms that the program is genuinely recognized as a valid and proven Education & Training Partner for Unreal Engine. Meaning? Achievement unlocked for students at RRC Polytech.   

Unreal Engine is not exclusive to game development – it’s used across a range of creative industries, like film and television, animation, architecture, automotive, and fashion design – so students receive training that sets the stage for a well-rounded career. 

For more information about Game Development, please click here. 

New scenario trial highlights the realities the impact of racism has on patients and provides nursing students the opportunity to cultivate professional, compassionate responses to racialized patients.

Experience has a huge impact on learning. That’s why students in the Bachelor of Nursing program walk through different scenarios at RRC Polytech’s Simulation Centre to cultivate both their practical medical skills and their interpersonal communication skills.

In Community Health, a course taken in the final term of Nursing education before going on to practicum and clinical rotations, students put their medical knowledge and patient communication skills to work in a high-stress scenario that challenges them to bridge a gap created by distrust in the healthcare system and institutional racism.

“We all have assumptions and biases – how our families raised us, what we see in the world, what people say to us, what we see in the media – and it’s up to us to question that. Am I thinking logically? Where’s the evidence? What does proof look like? Are these assumptions valid or something that was ingrained in me by someone else?” says Brikena Dibra, one of the RRC Polytech instructors who designs scenarios to help students train in a safe environment.

Dibra was an Indigenous nursing officer for northern Manitoba communities before she became an instructor at RRC Polytech. She brings the lived experience, knowledge and education needed to inform the content Nursing students are learning in the classroom and applying in the simulated scenarios. She says that while it’s important to understand the past and how our histories have created the kinds of structural environments that cultivate racism, it’s just as important for students to know what to do in the moment when presented with these situations.

Scenarios like this one confront students with difficult questions that will be answered during their careers.  With the theory and preparation, documented definitions, and knowledge of history and institutional designs – the question of, “Do students recognize racism?” becomes: Are they going to be advocates? Are they going to use this knowledge to build trust with the people to whom they’re providing services? Are they going to say something when they witness other healthcare professionals engaging in racist behaviour?”

“You have to be brave,” says Diane Ammeter, another RRC Polytech instructor and scenario designer. “That’s the only way we create change. We want more nurses being those advocates against racism – but first, they have to recognize it and know what they’re going to do about it.”

Terri-Lynn Anderson, Chair, Continuing Education and Micro-credentials, was consulted during her time as Truth and Reconciliation Coordinator with the questions for the simulation. She helped shape the simulation to nurture the learning outcomes and ensure the students’ psychological safety while providing input to make the actors’ scripts realistic.

“The students must feel a little discomfort, but we found that the discomfort was a bit too much – discomfort can help create behavioral changes in the way that nurses conduct their work, but that discomfort cannot impede the students’ ability to learn and take away actual learning,” says Ammeter.

“The discomfort here is what they’ll experience in their careers in real life situations, but it can be helpful to be able to experience it first in a controlled environment where they can ask questions, apply different strategies, and learn what might be the best approach for a high-stress situation – these simulated environments also mean that the way the students respond don’t have high stakes like they might in life-or-death situations.”

Dibra and Ammeter acknowledge that cultural competence and safety don’t happen overnight and not everyone will always know what to do or say in all situations. With this simulation, students experience the biases seen every day in healthcare environments firsthand. A debrief following the simulation provides students with a safe space to share their thoughts and reactions with guiding questions to help students understand their responses during a high-stress situation.

Dibra and Ammeter said that when they trialed the scenario, they got fantastic feedback from participants. Students were amazed – they’d never experienced that kind of discomfort in a professional environment and said that all students should do the simulations.

In class, students work through case studies that are both real-life examples and fictional situations (to protect client information).

Dibra says understanding real case studies are exactly why dismantling racism is critical – and it starts during the education and training stage.

The pair of instructors are planning to design future simulations that take racism into account and encourage students to question what they think they know – to deconstruct their assumptions, adapt to stressful situations, and deliver the best possible outcome for their future patients.

To learn more about the Simulation Centre, visit the page on our website.

Please note: the specific details of the scenario are kept confidential so students can enter the trial without prior influence on decisions they make in the simulated environment.

This week, the halls at RRC Polytech’s Winnipeg campuses will be filled with music, laughter and colourful swaths of fabric, as a much-loved annual tradition returns to brighten the campus community. Turban Celebration Day, hosted by the Polytech and the RRC Polytech Students’ Association (RRCSA), invites staff and students to celebrate and learn about Sikh culture by donning a turban, wrapped by volunteers from RRC Polytech’s Sikh community. 

“RRC Polytech is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in our community, and Turban Celebration Day is a fun and meaningful way to reflect the learning, connection, and appreciation that grows when people share their cultures and traditions,” said Dusty Ritchie, Executive Director, Student Services and Global Partnerships, RRC Polytech. 

The Polytech first observed Turban Celebration Day, previously known as Turban Pride Day, in 2014, when business administration student Sukhjot Singh – who is now a member of RRC Polytech staff – launched the event to create a safe and open space for those who might have questions about the turban but felt hesitant to ask. 

The turban holds deep meaning for many Sikh Canadians, symbolizing individual sovereignty, self-respect, courage, and equality. These core values align with RRC Polytech’s commitment to embedding equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in all aspects of operation. 

During the event, all attendees can experience being wrapped in a turban and engage in meaningful conversations with Sikh staff and students. 

“Turban Celebration Day is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate identity, educate others, and promote inclusivity within our community. For Sikhs, the turban is not just an article of faith but a symbol of equality, dignity, and commitment to serving others. It is closely connected to the values of the Khalsa- a collective established by Guru Gobind Singh Ji that represents courage, unity, and standing up for justice,” said Japsharan Kaur, Vice President Academic for the RRC Polytech Students’ Association.

“Through this event, we create space for dialogue, learning, and mutual respect and encourage everyone to participate, ask questions, and embrace the chance to better understand Sikh traditions. Events like Turban Celebration remind us that diversity strengthens our campus and brings us closer together.” 

Turban Celebration Day coincides with Sikh Heritage Month, observed every April. In 2023, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to officially recognize Turban Day, which takes place annually on April 13.

Event Details: 

Notre Dame Campus – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue
Monday, April 13 
12:30–2:30 PM  
Library Hallway 
  
Exchange District Campus – 160 Princess Street
Thursday, April 16  
12:30–2:30 PM  
Atrium 

New online courses support Manitoba’s transition to higher energy performance tiers

RRC Polytech is set to support professionals across the building design, construction, and code compliance sectors take their practice to the next level – while fostering a greener future for all. 

The Polytech’s Corporate Solutions department has partnered with the Province of Manitoba to provide online Energy Code courses, fully funded through the Government of Canada’s Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF). There are currently seven courses available, with more to come in the future. 

The free courses provide practical, industry-focused training to help professionals interpret, apply and comply with evolving energy code requirements. 

“Energy performance requirements continue to evolve, and industry needs training that supports consistent interpretation and application of energy codes,” said Emmanuel Abba, Manager of Business Development at RRC Polytech. “These courses are designed to support the adoption of higher‑performance building and energy codes, strengthen compliance, and help build market readiness across Manitoba as requirements continue to advance.” 

This training is designed for individuals and organizations involved in building design, construction, and code compliance, including: 

• Architects, engineers, and geoscientists 

• Technologists and technicians 

• Building officials and municipal governments 

• Trades and apprentices 

• First Nations governments 

• Educators, trainers, and industry associations 

The courses are delivered fully online, and take three to 32 hours to complete, depending on the course. They and are geared towards both new professionals and experienced practitioners. 

The initiative aims to train more than 4,000 participants across Manitoba over two years. 

For more information or to register, please click here. 

Due to snow conditions across the province, RRC Polytech’s regional campuses will be operating as follows: 

• Interlake Campus (Selkirk) will be closed, and classes will be moved online
• Peguis classes will be cancelled.
• Steinbach Campus is open however classes will be moved online

All other Campuses – including Regional and in Winnipeg – will be open with regular operations.

For those driving both inside and outside of Winnipeg, please drive with caution and adjust to weather conditions. 

If you are unable to make it to campus safely due to road conditions, please contact your supervisor or instructor. 

RRC Polytech will continue monitoring today’s changing weather. Any updates to campus operations will be shared on rrc.ca/marcom/news 

Dr. Alexei Berdnikov reviews an abdominal ultrasound with a patient

RRC Polytech will host Manitoba’s first Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Clinic at its Notre Dame Campus starting in spring 2026. Delivered in partnership with QDoc, the clinic will focus on early detection of AAAs, which often have no symptoms until they become life-threatening. 

“Everything we do with QDoc leads to something bigger and better for either RRC Polytech or the community,” says Jodi Pluchinski, Director of Safety, Health and Security Services at RRC Polytech.   “For us, saying yes was an easy decision. It’s about being a really good community partner and providing that service for people.” 

Dr. Taft Micks, Chief Medical Officer at QDoc, worked with Dr. Alexei Berdnikov, one of QDoc’s providers and a fellow family and emergency physician, to develop the clinic’s concept. He says point-of-care ultrasound has been used in emergency departments for over a decade to check for AAAs when patients come in with severe abdominal or back pain, which can be symptoms of a ruptured AAA. 

“You often don’t feel an AAA until it’s too late,” says Dr. Micks. “These things expand and expand, and eventually at some point it ruptures and that can be quite fatal. So, Dr. Berdnikov and I thought, well, why don’t we do even better than that and catch them before they even develop those symptoms?”

AAAs primarily affect men over 65, especially those with a smoking history. The risk is also higher for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of aneurysms. The Canadian Task Force for Preventive Health Care estimates that 20,000 Canadians are diagnosed with an AAA each year and that 1,244 die from an AAA. 

As the clinic has come together, Dr. Micks says he’s been hearing from more people who have lost a family member to this condition, underscoring the need for screening. 

“RRC Polytech is a partner for innovation here because what we are implementing is very novel,” says Dr. Micks. 

RRC Polytech’s role in the partnership is supplying the space for the clinic to operate. The clinic will run by appointment only. Patients can self-refer by calling 1-888-SCN-0AAA (726-0222) or be referred to the AAA Clinic by their family doctor or nurse practitioner. They can also complete a virtual intake through QDoc to review their medical history and determine eligibility. 

Eligible patients will be able to book an in-person appointment at RRC Polytech, where a physician will discuss risk-factor modifications and perform a physical exam including point-of-care ultrasound to directly visualize their abdominal aorta. Results will be available immediately, with follow-up recommendations provided as needed. 

Since 2022, RRC Polytech’s partnership with QDoc has grown through the launch of the Penicillin Allergy Clinic and student involvement in the development of its virtual care platform through the ACE Project Space. 

As QDoc expanded, it hired graduates from RRC Polytech’s Information Technology and Business Administration programs, creating career paths that students might not have known existed. RRC Polytech also offers programs in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Diagnostic Cardiac Sonography, where students can train to perform this type of imaging. 

“Each new project has strengthened the partnership and created more opportunities for our graduates.” says Pluchinski. “We didn’t expect the Penicillin Allergy Clinic to become something we do regularly, but it has, and this will be the same.”