Winnipeg enlists Pooh in pitch to Amazon

WINNIPEG Winnipeg’s bid to land the second headquarters of Amazon includes Winnie The Pooh, Ebola research and roughly $1.7 billion in tax credits and other incentives.

The city and the Manitoba government have released their 66page submission to land a proposed $5-billion second headquarters for the online retail giant, which could bring up to 50,000 jobs.

The Winnipeg bid contains fun facts about the city, such as its ties to the beloved children’s character Winnie The Pooh and to research that led to the Ebola vaccine.

The bid also estimates Amazon could qualify for roughly $1.7 billion in federal and provincial financial incentives through existing research and development tax credits and job-training subsidies.

The city is offering surplus land, infrastructure subsidies and other incentives, and is pitching two possible locations — space in an array of downtown buildings or a large section of the University of Manitoba campus in the city’s south end. Cities across North America are competing for the headquarters, including Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary.

Manitoba’s bid also offers Amazon dedicated staff from the city and province. “Amazon will have a dedicated office — jointly sponsored by the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba — to provide complete support for government relations, recruiting, community outreach and more,” the proposal states.

“Think of it as the Amazon concierge office. It will be there to help expedite issues such as site selection, planning and permits. It will have tight relationships with local downtown development and business organizations.”