Winnipeggers got their last chance Wednesday to tuck away retirement savings for the 2012 tax year.

The 2012’s RRSP contribution deadline is March 1 at midnight and is the last chance for people all over Canada to get a tax break applied to their 2012 income.

Wayne Cadogan is a regional director at Investors Group and said on March 1 he always sees a last-minute push from Winnipeggers to invest before the deadline.

“We try to get our clients to invest over the course of the year, but some clients leave it until the last day, and as a result we have a lot of business coming today,” said Cadogan.

But Statistics Canada says Manitobans aren’t putting as much into RRSPs as people in other provinces.

Manitoba had the lowest media RRSP contribution rate at about $2,300.

Cadogan said the numbers surprised him.

“This year has definitely been a bigger upswing with clients investing money. The markets have bounced back and that has given our clients a lot more confidence,” said Cadogan.

He said Manitoba’s low rates of contributions compared to other provinces could be due to a lack of financial education in the province.

“I think when you see statistics like that sometimes it’s just a function of education, and perhaps we need to do a better job in educating our clients,” said Cardogan.

He said Manitobans should sit down with a financial advisor to find out what investments are best for them.