For the first time in 15 years, a fully Canadian-built transit bus has rolled off an assembly line, marking a major milestone, officials said Tuesday at an unveiling ceremony in Winnipeg.

“This project is about putting a made-in-Canada stamp on the low-carbon economy,” Premier Wab Kinew said at New Flyer’s newly expanded facility.

“By bringing full bus manufacturing back to Winnipeg, this facility strengthens our domestic supply chain, creates good jobs and reinforces Manitoba’s position at the cutting edge of zero-emission transportation technology.”

New Flyer, a subsidiary of the multinational corporation NFI Group, announced the expansion plans in October 2024, after months of planning and securing $38 million from the federal and provincial governments.

“We called this project True North, and today I’m proud to say True North is no longer a project name, it’s an actual operating facility,” Paul Soubry, NFI’s former president and CEO, said Tuesday.

“[Today] isn’t just a ribbon-cutting — this place is actually building and delivering buses.”

Soubry, who retired as CEO in January and is now an adviser with NFI, said the new facility adds about 250 jobs and is where New Flyer’s Xcelsior hybrid-electric buses are now being designed, engineered and built.

That means jobs requiring advanced manufacturing skills, supply chain investments and long-term economic impact, he said.

“This truly is an all-Canadian project … building buses for Canadian communities by Canadians.”

NFI’s global headquarters in Winnipeg employs nearly 3,000 Manitobans, according to a Tuesday news release from the province. Its buses are currently used in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, Mississauga and Halifax.

Prior to the expanded facility, the company built bus shells in Winnipeg and completed them in the U.S. The new changes mean capacity at the U.S. plant has been freed up to finish buses for American customers, Soubry said, calling it “a win-win for our customers.”

“The last time a bus was completed in Canada was 15 years ago at New Flyer,” he said.

The current trade war highlights the importance of having Canadian-based production, federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said at Tuesday’s event. Uncertainty, unpredictability and turbulence will likely continue, she said.

“There are many things in the world that we can’t control, but we can control what we’re doing here, in the country,” said Joly, calling New Flyer “the example of what can be done elsewhere in the country.”

Being able to build to completion in Winnipeg means more materials can be sourced in Canada, though some simply can’t be, Soubry said, noting there is no engine supplier in this country.

As for the New Flyer buses sent to the U.S., the company can’t ship off completed units due to “buy American” requirements. Those demand that 70 per cent of material be U.S. origin and all final assembly be done in the U.S.

That means New Flyer can send off little more than the shell of a bus, which is then finished by the U.S. plant.

As of right now, New Flyer is building about 20 transit bus shells per week, with five being finished for Canadian destinations and 15 going to the U.S.

“What we’re trying to do is build what we can from Canada, for Canada, and build in the U.S. for the U.S.,” Soubry said.