Pioneering the Path: A Conversation with CME’s New Regional Vice President for the Prairies

In late April 2024, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) announced that Terry Shaw was coming on board in the newly created role of Regional Vice President for the Prairies. With a long history in Canada, CME’s focus is to ensure manufacturers are recognized as engines for growth in the economy. A member-driven association representing over 2,500 companies accounting for an estimated 82 per cent of manufacturing output and 90 per cent of Canada’s exports, CME has regional offices across Canada.

Nicole Sinclair, Prairie Manufacturer contributor, sat down with Terry less than two weeks into his new role to dig deep into his vision, ambitions, and what drew him to the manufacturing industry. 

This conversation took place on May 8, 2024 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Nicole Sinclair (NS): Congratulations on your new role as Regional Vice President, Prairies. How did you get here? 

Terry Shaw (TS): Most of my professional life since the 1990s was spent in the trucking industry, most recently as the Executive Director of the Manitoba Trucking Association. I tried a few similar roles over the past few years, but I was looking for a role like this one. My years in trucking brought me in contact with manufacturers as the industries go hand in hand, so I had contacts in the industry. My predecessor, Ron Koslowsky, was retiring and CME recognized opportunities for growth in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which resulted in my role which is control and care of the three provinces. Today is my 13th day on the job.

NS: How have the first 13 days been? Where do you see you will be able to provide the most value to manufacturers?

TS: The learning curve for me is figuring out our members as my job is to tell their story. I have been having conversation after conversation, getting to know the people, the businesses, and the challenges. I am good at nonprofit management, program development and delivery, government, and public relations — I am comfortable in those spaces and with that work. Many of the current issues are similar to those of other industries: human resources, safety, cost considerations, government policy, and red tape. I understand those issues, so it’s the manufacturing perspective I am learning.

NS: Were you handed a strategic plan and told to get to work, or will you bring you own vision to the role? 

TS: Both – and they lined up incredibly well. The interview process involved developing and sharing a five-year vision for manufacturing in the Prairies. What I put forth as a five-year vision was parallel to what CME had already been working on with the new strategic plan; the alignment was very clear. What has been built by CME in Manitoba serves industry well, and it can be replicated or expanded in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. CME exists to serve its members, not to generate revenue. If members need an event, we will host an event; if members need training, we will deliver training. No matter what, it is driven by member needs. That is the vision for the Prairies region for the next few years. 

NS: Regarding staff and services, what does CME in the Prairies look like in three to five years?

TS: Collaborative. I like the idea of a Prairies team with local, dedicated staff. Currently, there are staff in Saskatchewan and Alberta, plus we are servicing both provinces from afar. In the future, all three locations will be staffed similarly to the Manitoba office, which has 40 employees. Part of my role is to empower our staff to bring back member concerns and help capture both context and unique voices around high-level policy items. I have always had success with collaboration of that nature, and it has always served the members I exist to serve very well, and I look forward to doing more of it.

NS: This sounds like rapid growth over a vast territory. Do you have any concerns? 

TS: No, I do not. It doesn’t change my job. Members are won or lost one conversation at a time; policy is improved or removed one conversation at a time. The team in every single one of their roles supports that on every level with everything they do, I just support them and get out of their way. 

NS: You are from Manitoba, specifically Winnipeg. What is your plan to build a network in Saskatchewan and Alberta akin to what you have here?

TS: I’m not starting from zero on that front. My previous roles have provided me the privilege of meeting many people across the region, and I can leverage those existing contacts and relationships. Plus, I love getting out and talking to people; I love a good conversation with a member. We have already been in Edmonton, where we hosted a Deputy Ministers’ dinner to formally deliver our Manufacturing Alberta’s Future report, and the report recommendations will be followed up on from here.

NS: The Bank of Canada recently said that Canada is in a ‘productivity crisis’ and that we need to dramatically improve our productivity performance in order to sustain our standard of living and regain our competitive advantage. Do you agree?

TS: Canada has been experiencing a productivity crisis for 40 years. To paint a clear picture of what that looks like—there is one single U.S. state with a lower per capita GDP than Manitoba – one. This issue has not been taken seriously enough in Canada, and it shows in the numbers. I know the exact speech that was said in: it was Carolyn Rogers, Senior Deputy Governor at the Bank of Canada and she said “I want to talk about Canada’s long-standing, poor record on productivity and show you how big the problem is. You’ve seen those signs that say, “In emergency, break glass.” Well, it’s time to break the glass,” and she is absolutely correct.

NS: How did Canadian productivity drop to the point of being a ‘break glass’ crisis? 

TS: Our problem is that we don’t think we have a problem. The first step is acknowledging there is a problem at all. Our members are looking to expand, and too often it’s too costly and too cumbersome to expand in Canada. What I’ve heard from one Prairie manufacturer, and I don’t believe they’re alone, is they are being actively courted by jurisdictions in the United States that are offering free land, expedited permit issuances, and free training for the first 100 employees so that when the plant is built, everyone can hit the ground running. That is the approach to economic development a mere 90 minutes south of where I’m sitting, and I am not aware of anything similar happening here in Canada.

NS: What solutions will you advocate for to increase Canadian productivity? 

TS: The industry is not looking for grants, funding, or capital — governments need to create long-term policies that manufacturers can create a business around. Policy uncertainty at both the provincial and federal levels is an issue for businesses. When coupled with party philosophy that must be responded to, it is neither simple nor inexpensive. All three levels of government (municipal, provincial, and federal) need to look at investment in industry as an investment in the economic success of our nation: workforce development, workforce access, and collaboration on productivity improvements; be it automation, technology, or process. Lastly, the government needs to level the playing field around economic policy relative to what our competition in the US or elsewhere are receiving. 

NS: What roles do artificial intelligence and robotics play in the productivity solution? 

TS: Both robotics and automation are tools to equip workers or, for some positions, allow manufacturers to increase productivity in the absence of workers. The reality is that there are jobs that are quite difficult to fill with people, and the reasons for that may be varied such as the job being dangerous in nature, or the tasks involved being generally unpleasant. Such jobs can be filled, or at very least supplemented, with tools such as robotics that mitigate both safety concerns and errors. Productivity increases do not displace people, rather they can enhance the opportunity for people.

NS: The manufacturing industry’s workforce, particularly in the Prairies, doesn’t necessarily reflect the diversity of the people who call this region home. How will you be working to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in the industry?

TS: I can suggest manufacturing is a male-dominated industry. I don’t have the hard data just yet; however, I did visit a member this week which made me optimistic. They have 100 staff, many new Canadians, plenty of youth, and based on what I observed a roughly 60/40 male/female split. Once we do have the data, it will be interesting, but we do know that workplaces and cultures are being built that reflect the modern reality of the communities and regions in which they operate.

NS: Prairie people can be modest to a fault. Do you suspect that will make it more difficult to highlight the impacts manufacturing has? 

TS: I would not say difficult per se, as CME has internal resources that gather data to support ideas. Having an economist on staff is exciting for me because the combination of good ideas and hard data is undeniable. In turn, my role is not about compiling numbers—it’s to build context through conversations and connection with our members.

NS: What about the manufacturing industry has excited you the most in the first couple weeks?

TS: It has to be the absolute scope and scale of the manufacturing industry in Canada. One in ten dollars in Canada’s economy is courtesy of a manufacturer—that is exciting to be a part of. On a significant economic and human scale, I get to be the spokesperson for that impact across three provinces. I’m looking forward to telling our members stories to the Prairies, governments, and the public. I’m also excited to tell the current workforce to be proud and encourage the future workforce to check us out.

CME’s mandate is to support a prosperous Canada through an innovative manufacturing and exporting sector. What we’re doing is capturing the needs, opportunities, and challenges that manufacturers are experiencing, delivering it directly to government, and saying, ‘fix it—here’s why, and here’s how’. This is a diverse industry with diverse issues and opportunities, and for me that is exciting.

NS: It appears that you have a natural drive to be a champion for people and groups. Is that accurate?

TS: I like to do good in the community. My new role here at CME is doing good in and for a community, a very large community at that. Outside of my professional role, I feel the same passion for community involvement; I have been involved with a youth services organization in Winnipeg called Marymound for about six years. Having grown up in Winnipeg, I was familiar with the organization most of my life. Once I was (much) older and (slightly) wiser, I felt the need to give back and started there. I am the past chair and serve on both the governance and finance committees; I am a proud Marymounder.

CME has been around for 150 years, almost as long as the country. We can capture the real voice, and real needs of the members we exist to serve, and that is all we do. I’m proud to now be a part of that service and the organization serving these businesses for so many years.