Prompt-Payment Deadlines in Manitoba
Under the The Builders' Liens Act, C.C.S.M. c. B91
Manitoba's prompt-payment provisions took effect on April 1, 2025. First establish whether Part I.1 applies to the particular contract or subcontract under sections 3 and 80 of The Builders' Liens Act. A new subcontract beneath an older prime contract requires its own assessment.
The controlling date for the owner's 28-day payment period and the unpaid downstream chain is when the proper invoice was given to the owner. A subcontractor's own invoice date is not a substitute.
Manitoba payment deadlines deadlines
The statutory clocks for this topic in Manitoba, with section citations.
| Clock | Value | Statute |
|---|---|---|
Owner payment due Days from a proper invoice until the owner must pay or deliver a notice of non-payment. MB Builders' Liens Act Section 90 | 28 days | MB Builders' Liens Act Section 90 |
Pay your subcontractors After being paid, days to pass payment down to subcontractors. MB Builders' Liens Act Sections 92, 94, 97, 99, 101 | 7 days | MB Builders' Liens Act Sections 92, 94, 97, 99, 101 |
Pay subs even if unpaid If the owner has not paid, subs must still be paid by this day when you are the contractor billing the owner, or 42 days when you are a subcontractor paying your own subcontractor, or the matter referred to adjudication. MB Builders' Liens Act Section 93 | 35 days | MB Builders' Liens Act Section 93 |
Owner payment and disputes
Under section 90, the owner pays within 28 days after being given a proper invoice, except amounts disputed through a prescribed notice given within 14 days. The undisputed balance remains payable. Section 85 defines the proper invoice; silence does not cure a deficient invoice.
The contractor must advise affected subcontractors of an owner's non-payment notice without delay (section 91). That information duty is separate from the contractor's own prescribed notice and its deadline.
The payment chain
Money received for a subcontractor's work must generally be passed on within seven days (sections 92 and 97). Partial receipts require the statutory allocation and proportionate-payment rules; receiving one project payment does not establish that every downstream invoice is payable in full.
If upstream payment has not arrived, the contractor's payment backstop is day 35 from the owner invoice, the next tier is day 42, and successive tiers continue at days 49, 56 and onward (sections 93, 98 and 101). A compliant notice can permit withholding the relevant amount. Later receipt of disputed money starts a further seven-day payment obligation (sections 94 and 99).
Count from the correct event
A contractor or subcontractor's own dispute may require notice within seven days after receiving upstream payment or an upstream notice; if neither arrives, the relevant unpaid-chain deadline applies (sections 95, 100 and 101). Preserve both events and use the earlier applicable deadline.
The Interpretation Act excludes the triggering day. A deadline ending on Sunday or a statutory holiday rolls forward; Saturday alone does not. Manitoba's holiday list includes Louis Riel Day and Boxing Day, but not Easter Monday or Terry Fox Day. Closed-office circumstances need separate review.
Interest and evidence
Section 102 applies the greater of the contractual interest rate and the applicable prejudgment rate under section 79 of The Court of King's Bench Act. That statutory rate can change; a fixed default contract rate is not proof of the statutory minimum.
Tiercord requires reviewed Manitoba scope and source events before it starts these clocks. Payment allocation, competing claims and disputed service remain matters for review against the underlying records.
Payment deadlines in Manitoba: FAQ
Does the 35-day period run from my subcontract invoice?
No. It runs from the proper invoice given to the owner. Section 89 gives a subcontractor a right to request the date that invoice was given.
See the full Manitoba guide
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