Manitoba’s elevator rules changed on September 1. Here’s what matters.

Manitoba changed its elevator law and adopted a newer safety code on September 1. An existing elevator does not need a complete rebuild just because the date changed. But owners now have practical questions to ask about permits, maintenance and safety tests — and mechanics need to know which rules apply to the work in front of them.

Imagine being stuck in an elevator. The car stops, the doors stay closed, and you press the button with the phone symbol. What happens if you cannot hear the answer, or cannot speak? That question gives a surprisingly clear view of Manitoba’s new elevator rules.

The 2007 edition of ASME A17.1/CSA B44 already required a two-way emergency call. The 2019 edition goes further in section 2.27.1.1: the panel must be able to display messages so authorized personnel can communicate with a trapped passenger who cannot speak or hear, including a message that help is on the way. It also calls for a way for responders to view passengers in the car, checks on the communication line where applicable, and routing to another location if a call is not acknowledged within 45 seconds. The idea is more useful communication during an entrapment, not a new name for the old HELP button.

The doors tell a similar story. The older code already required a closing power door to stop and reopen when obstructed. Section 2.13.5 of the 2019 edition distinguishes objects approaching the entrance from objects in the doorway, and adds self-monitoring and on-site testing requirements for the detection system. These are examples of what changed in the code. They do not mean every older elevator must immediately get a new phone, camera or door operator.

On September 1, 2026, Manitoba repealed The Elevator Act and put elevating devices under The Technical Safety Act and the Technical Safety Regulation. At the same time it adopted ASME A17.1-2019/CSA B44:19 for elevators and escalators. Earlier provincial guidance identified the 2007 B44 edition as the previous baseline. The 2016 edition sits between them as a published code, but it is the 2019 edition that Manitoba’s new regulation names. Other device types, including platform lifts, manlifts, passenger ropeways and personnel hoists, have their own adopted standards.

So what should the owner of an existing building do today? Start with the Operating Permit. Is it valid, kept on site and available to an inspector? Is the elevator safe, with outstanding deficiencies addressed? If a building changes hands, the new owner should update Inspection and Technical Services, or ITS, within 14 days and confirm the permit status. An expired permit, an unsafe condition or a failed safety test needs attention; the arrival of a new code edition, by itself, is not an order to replace a working elevator.

Next, ask to see the Maintenance Control Program, or MCP, and the logbook. The MCP is not a 2019 invention: the 2007 code already described a written program, and ITS calls it an existing requirement. Manitoba’s current bulletin makes the expectations plain. The program must fit the particular device, the service contractor must provide it, and licensed mechanics must follow it. Hard-copy records stay on site with the logbook. Each entry needs the date, time, actual work done, and the mechanic’s name and licence number. A line that only says “maintenance performed” will not do.

Then ask when the periodic safety tests are due. Manitoba’s testing bulletin describes Category 1, 3 and 5 cycles. It also phases in Category 5 testing for older elevators that have not already been tested on a documented schedule: owners of elevators installed or altered before 2010 must schedule the test by December 31, 2027; for 2010–2015 the date is December 31, 2028; for 2016–2021 it is December 31, 2030. These are scheduling dates in the bulletin, not a promise that every test can wait until the last day. Ask the contractor which cycle and records apply to this particular car.

A modernization quote is where the new edition becomes especially important. ITS says equipment accepted under earlier rules may keep operating if it remains safe and meets applicable maintenance, inspection and testing requirements. When a component or system is altered, that part must meet the newly adopted code; untouched parts do not need retrofitting solely because of the project. An owner can ask for a written scope: Which components are changing? Which 2019 requirements affect them? Why is any additional work necessary? That is a better question than either “replace everything” or “change nothing.”

For a mechanic, the first distinction is between maintenance, repair or replacement and a major alteration. Manitoba requires an Installation Permit before a new installation or a major alteration. Its application guide says minor work that does not meet the major-alteration definition does not require that permit. Changes to a drive system, electronic controller, emergency system, door interlocks or car structure are among the examples ITS lists as major. Before starting a modernization, the contractor should establish the scope, applicable code edition, drawings, permit and acceptance inspection requirements. Installation permit applications received on or after September 1, 2026 must meet the new adopted editions.

The second distinction is who may perform and sign off the work. The new framework has a full-scope Elevator Mechanic Class A licence and a Class B licence for platform and stair lifts. A trainee works under direct on-site supervision, one licensed person to one trainee. ITS allows holders of certain M-A and HC/HI licences to continue regulated work during a transition period ending September 1, 2031; those who intend to continue after that date need the appropriate new licence. Periodic Category tests have another gate: ITS says they must be performed by an elevator contractor it has authorized for the testing, with results and corrective actions recorded.

Manitoba has not ordered a province-wide overnight rebuild. It has changed the code used for new and altered work, formalized licensing, and made documentation and periodic testing harder to leave vague. For an owner, the useful next move is to find the permit, MCP and test history and ask the contractor about any gap. For a mechanic, it is to identify the work correctly before quoting or touching it. The HELP button still looks small. The system behind it now has to be much easier to explain — and to prove.