Manitoba Prompt Payment: Where the Clock Starts and Why It Matters

Key takeaways

• On Manitoba contracts signed on or after April 1, 2025, the owner has 28 days to pay, counted from the day the proper invoice is given. Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan count from the day it's received.

• Day 28, day 35 and day 42 all run from that same date. The Act's own illustration takes the chain on to day 49 and day 56.

• Holdback here is 7.5%, not 10%, and adjudication awards are due in 10 days.

• A GC that wants to dispute a sub's invoice has 7 days from when the owner pays or sends a notice of non-payment. It doesn't automatically get until day 35.

Familiar numbers, different starting line

Manitoba's prompt payment rules came into force on April 1, 2025. They're in the prompt payment Division of The Builders' Liens Act (ss. 79 to 125). They apply to contracts and subcontracts signed on or after that date (s. 80(1)). Architects and engineers covered by s. 36 are left out (s. 80(2)).

On the surface, the numbers look like everywhere else:

As in other provinces, the money owed down the chain still comes due on day 35 and day 42 even if the owner hasn't paid. A notice of non-payment, given on time, is the only way around that.

If you're a sub, you probably don't know when the contractor gave its invoice to the owner, and every one of your deadlines depends on it. You can ask, and the party above you has to tell you (s. 89).

The Act binds the Crown, Crown agencies and bodies acting on the Crown's behalf. There are exceptions for contracts under The Infrastructure Contracts Disbursement Act and some Manitoba Hydro generating-station work (s. 3).

The clock starts when you hand it over

Here's the difference that catches people. In Manitoba, the owner's 28 days run from when the proper invoice is given to the owner (s. 90(1)). So does the owner's 14-day window to send a notice of non-payment (s. 90(2)). In Ontario (s. 6.4), Alberta (s. 32.2) and Saskatchewan (s. 5.4), both deadlines run from when the owner receives the invoice.

That sounds like a small wording change. In practice, it means the date you sent the invoice drives every deadline on the job, and you need to be able to prove it.

How exactly an invoice is "given" isn't spelled out in the Act's general rules for delivering documents. Section 126(5) says those rules don't apply to the prompt payment sections, which leaves it to the Division and its regulations. Whatever the method, keep the proof: the sent email, the portal timestamp or the signed receipt.

Manitoba also has no 7-day rule like Ontario's. Saskatchewan doesn't either. An owner who stays quiet about a problem hasn't made the invoice proper. To count, it has to meet your contract's requirements and include everything in s. 85:

1. Your company's name and address.

2. The invoice date and the period the work covers.

3. Something that identifies the contract.

4. A description of the work, services or materials you and your subs provided, with quantities where they make sense.

5. The amount invoiced and the payment terms.

6. The name, title, phone number and mailing address of the person who should receive the payment.

7. Anything the regulations add.

Invoices go out monthly unless your contract sets a different period (s. 86). A contract can't make you get certification or the owner's approval before you invoice (s. 87(1)), though certification afterward, and testing and commissioning provisions, are still allowed (s. 87(2), (3)). If you need to revise an invoice, the owner has to agree first and the date can't change (s. 88).

Day 42 isn't the end of the line

It's easy to stop counting at day 42. Manitoba's Act doesn't. The rules for subcontractors (ss. 97 to 100) apply at every tier below them, with the necessary changes (s. 101(2)). The Act even prints an example, all counted from the day the contractor gave its invoice to the owner:

One caveat: that example is a reading aid, not the law itself. Section 79(2) says the illustrations are there for convenience and aren't part of the Division. The rule is s. 101(2).

Notices travel down the chain too. When a contractor gets an owner's notice of non-payment, it has to pass that on to the subs affected (s. 91). A sub that gets a notice from the contractor has to tell its own subs without delay (s. 96), and the same goes for every tier below (s. 101(1)).

If you're a second- or third-tier sub, your deadline is a week or more past day 42. Get the invoice date from whoever is above you and count forward from there.

Holdback is 7.5%, not 10%

In Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, holdback is 10%. In Manitoba, whoever is primarily liable for payment holds back 7.5% of each payment (s. 24(1)). If your software or spreadsheet assumes 10% everywhere, Manitoba jobs will come out wrong. The holdback rules apply to payments under the prompt payment Division as well (s. 82).

That 7.5% stays put for at least 60 days after the first of three things happens (s. 24(1)): a certificate of substantial performance is given under s. 46, the work is completed, or the work is abandoned.

Subs don't always have to wait for the whole project. Once 60 days have passed after a subcontract's own certificate of substantial performance is given, or after the subcontract is completed or abandoned, the holdback for that subcontract comes down (s. 25(2)). You can apply for that certificate yourself. The payment certifier, or the contractor if there isn't one, has 7 days to issue it once satisfied the work is substantially done (s. 25(5), (6)). A registered lien on the contract or subcontract holds all of this up.

On contracts above a prescribed amount, the owner has to put the holdback in an account held jointly with the contractor (s. 24(3)). When the owner is the Crown, a Crown agency or a municipality, it pays interest on the holdback instead (s. 24(6)).

Lien timing lines up with the holdback. A contractor can register a claim for lien up to 60 days after the contract is substantially performed or abandoned (s. 43(1)).

Adjudication: 10 days to pay, and don't wait until the end

When an adjudicator orders a payment, the paying party has 10 days from when the decision is provided to the parties (s. 121(1)). Ontario gives 15.

If the money doesn't come, the contractor or sub can stop work. They don't have to go back until they've received the award, the interest on it, and their reasonable costs from the shutdown (s. 121(2)). Once work restarts, the paying party also covers the reasonable cost of getting going again (s. 121(3)). The decision can be filed with the court and enforced like a court order (s. 122(1)).

You can take a lot to adjudication in Manitoba (s. 103(1)): a dispute in a notice of non-payment, a failure to send a proper invoice, a missed payment, the value of work or materials, payment under the contract (including change orders, approved or not), a set-off under s. 83, and anything both sides agree to.

Timing matters, though. As in Saskatchewan, you can't start an adjudication once the contract or subcontract is completed unless the other side agrees (s. 103(2)). Ontario now allows up to 90 days after. A court case or arbitration on the same issue doesn't block adjudication, unless it's already been decided (s. 103(4)).

The adjudicator must make a determination within 30 days, as set out in s. 115. An extension of up to 14 days needs the parties' written consent, and anything longer needs their written agreement plus the adjudicator's consent (s. 116(1)). A decision made after the deadline has no effect (s. 117). Once made, it binds the parties until a court, an arbitrator or a written agreement between them says otherwise, or a court sets it aside (s. 118(1)). And you can't pick the adjudicator in your contract ahead of time (s. 109).

If a dispute is building on a Manitoba job, start adjudication while the work is still going. After completion, you need the other side's agreement.

Disputing a sub's invoice? Watch the owner's payment

This one is mainly for GCs. Say you think a subcontractor has overbilled. In Manitoba, your notice of non-payment is due within 7 days after the owner either pays you or sends you its own notice of non-payment. If the owner does neither, the deadline is day 35 (s. 95(1)). The Act includes a note pointing this out: the contractor's deadline depends on what the owner does.

Ontario and Saskatchewan work differently. There, a contractor disputing a sub's entitlement has 7 days after the owner's notice, or until day 35 if the owner didn't send one (Ontario s. 6.5(7), Saskatchewan s. 5.5(7)). The owner's payment doesn't start a clock.

Take an example. The owner pays in full on day 20 and doesn't send a notice. In Ontario or Saskatchewan, the statutory notice deadline is still day 35. In Manitoba, it's day 27.

Whenever you do send the notice, it has to state the amount you're holding back and every reason for it (s. 95(2)).

The practical fix is to review sub invoices before the owner's money lands, not after.

Notices of non-payment

A notice of non-payment, in the form and manner set by regulation, is the only way to pause a payment deadline. Miss the window and the deadline stands.

Anything the owner doesn't dispute still has to be paid within the 28 days (s. 90(4)). The Act gives an example: a $10,000 proper invoice given on July 1, with $4,000 disputed, means the owner must pay $6,000 by July 29.

Amounts otherwise owing can only be reduced by good-faith set-off claims tied to the contract or subcontract, subject to the holdback rules in s. 27(6) (s. 83). None of this changes anyone's obligation to pay wages (s. 84).

You also can't sign these rights away. A clause that waives a prompt payment requirement, or the right to adjudicate a matter covered by one, is void (s. 11(c)). Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan void agreements that their Acts don't apply as well. Manitoba just names prompt payment and adjudication outright.

Late payments earn interest at the prejudgment rate under The Court of King's Bench Act. If your contract sets a higher rate, that one applies (s. 102).

What to do about it

If you run a trade business, check whether each Manitoba contract and subcontract was signed on or after April 1, 2025. Then get the date the proper invoice was given to the owner, because every one of your deadlines counts from it. Know which tier you're on. If you're below the first tier, day 42 isn't your deadline. And if a payment dispute is brewing, start adjudication before the job is done.

If you keep the books, record when and how each invoice was given to the owner, and keep the proof. Check every invoice against s. 85 and the contract's invoicing clause. There's no 7-day rule to catch mistakes. Calculate holdback at 7.5%, not the 10% used in the other three provinces. For each project, track day 14, day 28, day 35 and day 42 from the invoice date.

If you're a GC controller, remember that the owner's payment starts your 7-day window to dispute a sub's invoice, so review those invoices early. When an owner's notice of non-payment arrives, let your subs know. Your own notice is due within 7 days and needs the commitment to adjudicate within 21 days. And plan cash for adjudication awards that fall due in 10 days.

If you're construction counsel, confirm the contract date against s. 80(1) before advising on prompt payment or adjudication. Flag s. 95(1) early with GC clients, because the owner-triggered deadline is easy to miss. Keep an eye on regulations under s. 125, which set the forms, how documents are given, and other details the Division leaves to regulation.

Frequently asked questions

When did prompt payment start in Manitoba?

April 1, 2025, for contracts and subcontracts entered into on or after that date (s. 80(1)).

How long does a Manitoba owner have to pay a proper invoice?

28 days after the proper invoice is given to the owner, unless the owner gives a notice of non-payment within 14 days after the invoice is given (s. 90).

What is the holdback in Manitoba?

7.5% of each payment. It is kept for at least 60 days after a certificate of substantial performance is given, or the work is completed or abandoned, whichever comes first (s. 24(1)).

How far down the chain do the deadlines go?

The subcontractor rules apply at every tier (s. 101(2)). The Act's illustration shows day 35, 42, 49 and 56 for the first four tiers below the contractor, all counted from the day the proper invoice was given to the owner.

How fast must an adjudication award be paid?

Within 10 days after the determination is provided to the parties. If unpaid, the party owed can suspend work (s. 121).

Can I start adjudication after the job is finished?

Only if the other party agrees (s. 103(2)).

Sources

• The Builders' Liens Act, C.C.S.M. c. B91, consolidation current from June 1, 2026 to October 3, 2026. Sections cited: 3, 11, 24, 25, 43, 79 to 103, 109, 115 to 118, 121, 122, 125, 126.

• Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (Ontario comparisons), ss. 6.1(2), 6.4, 6.5(7), 13.5(3), 13.19(2).

• Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, RSA 2000, c. P-26.4 (Alberta comparison), s. 32.2.

• The Builders' Lien Act, SS 1984-85-86, c B-7.1 (Saskatchewan comparisons), ss. 5.4, 5.5(7).

• Osler: Canadian prompt payment and construction law reforms, updated March 30, 2026.

This article is general information about Manitoba's Builders' Liens Act. It is not legal advice, and Tiercord is not a law firm. Deadlines depend on your contract, your tier and the facts of your project. Speak with construction counsel about your situation.