It is in charge of "the development of transportation policy and legislation, and [of] the management of the province’s vast infrastructure network.
[5][6] Manitoba Infrastructure oversees the provision of such services as property management, procurement, water bomber operations, air ambulance flights, fleet vehicles, stewardship of Crown Lands, and the security of provincial government buildings.
[11] In its initial years, the Department was primarily concerned with the construction of provincial roads and government facilities.
The Department would also begin to take on other public works projects, including the drilling of wells; expanding the highways system; building government buildings/institutions and offices; and constructing schools and grain elevators.
Between the 1940s and 1950s, the Department put its primary attention towards expanding and maintaining provincial highways, as well as towards the ongoing management and maintenance of government spaces.
[14] In 1960, the Branch received its very own designated Assistant Deputy Minister, coinciding with an increase in construction projects and traffic studies, as well as in funding and staff.
[13] This new Department continued the role it previously had under Public Works, overseeing the construction and maintenance of Manitoba's road and highway system.
Nonetheless, both Public Works and Highways continued to operate as independent departments until they were officially separated and restructured in 1977/78.
This included responsibility over Manitoba's freight and passenger road, rail, and air transportation, as well as over the conducting of highway- and transportation-related land surveys.
From 1980 to 1982, the Department broadened its functions to include responsibility for two independent bodies who report directly to the Minister: the Land Value Appraisal Commission and the Manitoba Disaster Assistance Board.
The current Minister of Infrastructure is Lisa Naylor, who was appointed to the portfolio on 18 Oct 2023 by the New Democratic government of Wab Kinew.
Manitoba's first Minister of Public Works and Agriculture was Thomas Howard, who resigned from the position after only ten days in order to exchange portfolios with Provincial Secretary Alfred Boyd.
Minister Robert Rogers, who held the portfolio for 11 years, was sometimes regarded as the second-most-important figure in the Roblin government.
In the latter part of 1914, Public Works Minister Walter Humphries Montague was forced to announce that expenditures for the province's new legislative buildings would be exceeded by 50%.
The position gradually came to have less authority, though it remained responsible for road construction and related projects in mid-century.
However, the Public Works portfolio still remained, and was appointed to Stewart McLean later that year, while Weir continued in the Highways position until his election as premier of Manitoba.
To signal the change in its operation, the department was thereby renamed the Government Services,[16] headed by Thelma Forbes, who kept the "Minister of Public Works" title.
Nonetheless, both Public Works and Highways continued to operate as independent departments until they were officially separated and restructured in 1977/78.