The Manitoba government has formally launched its #RestartMB campaign as a roadmap to recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Brian Pallister announced today.
“Public health and safety is a key driver of recovery, and as we continue to safely restart our economy and reopen our communities, we must learn to live with this virus,” said Pallister. “We are committed to being ready for what lies ahead – ready to live with COVID-19, ready to return to school, ready to restart our services, create jobs and grow our economy.”
The #RestartMB campaign will focus on both public safety and economic recovery. The tagline Ready. Start. Grow. reinforces these messages:
• Manitoba is ready for what lies ahead – ready to live with COVID-19, ready to return to school, ready to restart services, create jobs and grow the economy. The government’s actions and investment in being ready include the Manitoba Gap Protection Program, wage subsidies and Restoring Safe Schools plan.
• Staying safe is the first step to growth. The province must continue to act and follow public health advice to keep COVID-19 test positivity cases low and learn to live with the virus, and continue to focus on public health through Manitoba’s COVID-19 Risk and Response System, and a focus on public health fundamentals.
• Manitoba will grow its way out of this economic challenge and take action to ensure the province is in a stronger place after COVID-19 passes. Manitobans share a collective role in growing the economy. The campaign will build confidence and awareness of public health measures and employment support programs.
“The past four months since COVID-19 arrived in Manitoba have been a period of rapid response and adaptation for programs and for public engagement,” said Pallister. “We have done well and accomplished much, adapting as we go and working rapidly to respond. Now, we are focusing our message on the importance of public health fundamentals as we drive to recovery.”
Since mid-March, more than 2.7 million unique users visited the provincial website www.manitoba.ca 7.5 million times and viewed 13.7 million pages of content. In an effort to simplify the province’s catalogue of programs and brands for Manitobans to navigate, the province has reframed www.manitoba.ca to ensure programs are clearly presented and improve user experience.
The campaign will solicit feedback through the http://EngageMB.ca portal and drive business participation and awareness of government programs. It will continue to encourage Manitobans to contact the Manitoba Economic Support Centre to access programs and resources, and the centre will promote program priorities in the coming weeks. To date, the centre has called more than 20,000 businesses a week to promote programs such as wage subsidies and the Manitoba Gap Protection Program.
The government has commenced a paid advertising campaign on radio and billboards, with plans to expand to print and digital ads throughout the province. The campaign, which will be fully costed in the months ahead, will include Ready. Safe. Grow. materials and public health messages.
To learn more about the campaign and programs available to Manitobans, visit:
www.manitoba.ca/restartmb.