Winnipeg Minute: Issue 116

Winnipeg Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Winnipeg politics

📅 This Week In Winnipeg: 📅

• The Executive Policy Committee meets tomorrow, and one of the items on the agenda is a recommended $600,000 grant to the Winnipeg Soccer Federation toward the estimated $1.5-million cost of installing new artificial turf and broadcast-standard lighting on the main field at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on Waverley Street. The grant would be conditional on Winnipeg confirming a Northern Super League franchise. The money would come from reallocating $600,000 already approved in the 2026 capital budget for a watermain replacement in Kildonan Park, with that watermain work instead funded from the water utility's budget. The report acknowledges this is not the City's standard practice, since the Kildonan Park watermain sits on City-owned property rather than in the public right-of-way where utility funds are normally restricted. The Federation would cover the remaining cost with support from the Province, while the further upgrades a professional team would require, including expanded seating, locker rooms, concessions, and washrooms, would be paid for by the team owner and/or the league. Mayor Scott Gillingham supports the grant, and Interim Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Matt Dryburgh said the work would not go ahead if the league decides against a Winnipeg team. The Federation's expired lease for the complex will also need to be replaced, which will come to Council in a separate report.
  
  
• The City is also proposing a new $3-million, one-time grant program aimed at getting vacant and derelict buildings rehabilitated. Building owners, developers, and non-profits would be eligible for up to $35,000 per housing unit revived, and the property must be owned, leased, or purchased by the applicant. Projects must include at least four units, which can be spread across multiple properties, and the units must be affordable. The City hopes the program will get between 100 and 150 housing units repaired, and says that as of last September there were 535 vacant buildings with active orders under its vacant building bylaw. Mayor Gillingham supports the program, saying 100 new units of housing would go a long way at a time when the city needs homes for people. The President of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association called the $35,000 a good incentive but said he would like to see a funding program for single-family houses too. If approved by Council, the program would be funded from federal housing money and boarded building fees collected by the City, with applications opening this summer and awards expected in the fall.
  
  
• At tomorrow's Executive Policy Committee meeting, Councillors will also receive a monthly housing statistics report showing the City has approved 12,809 net new housing units since signing its federal Housing Accelerator Fund agreement in late 2023, reaching 90% of its revised target of 14,251 units. Another 1,442 net new units are needed before the December 5th, 2026 deadline, with building permits used as the official measure under the City's agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Missing middle housing, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, secondary suites, row housing, and low-rise apartments, has reached 2,775 net new units, or 270% of its federal target, while other multi-family housing sits at 165%. Multi-family units within 1.5 kilometers of rapid or frequent transit routes are at 73% of their 7,529-unit target. Single-detached housing added 1,727 net new units after demolitions and conversions, with no federal target assigned to that category. Since November 2022, City-supported housing programs have approved 4,051 units, of which 1,449 are classified as affordable and 962 are rent-geared-to-income.
  
  
• A policy review heading to the Winnipeg Food Council's meeting on Wednesday recommends stronger legal protections for community gardens and urban farming projects to prevent them from being displaced by future development. The review, which examined urban agriculture policies in cities including Vancouver, Calgary, and Regina, concludes that while Winnipeg's zoning bylaw defines both urban farming and community gardens, the city lacks the coordinated policies, secure land tenure arrangements, and legal safeguards found elsewhere. It says Winnipeg's current approach leaves many gardens dependent on informal arrangements that can be cancelled with little notice, with residents often directed to community organizations for information and support. Vancouver is identified as one of the strongest examples, requiring leases for most urban farming operations, granting five-year renewable licence terms for gardens on park land, and maintaining a public map of more than 110 community gardens. Calgary lets urban farmers and community groups access vacant municipal land through temporary leases, while Regina relies on garden policies and agreements with non-profit operators. The findings come as redevelopment increases competition for the vacant and underutilized land often used for community gardening.
  
  
• Councillor Cindy Gilroy has introduced a motion, also going to the Executive Policy Committee tomorrow, calling on the public service to examine multiple locations across Winnipeg that could host designated encampment sites. Gilroy points to a recent Ontario court decision that barred the Region of Waterloo from clearing a Kitchener encampment unless alternative housing was available, and questions whether the City is prepared for a similar legal challenge. She wants multiple unmanaged sites with portable toilets and garbage bins but no on-site supports or security, to keep costs down. City data shows encampments in 11 of the 15 council wards, led by Point Douglas with 19, and the City has cleared 28 encampments in the Fort Rouge-Fort Garry ward since its encampment ban took effect in November. Mayor Gillingham said he does not support the motion because the Province would need to be a full partner on a designated site and has other focuses right now. The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg told a Council committee that opinion in the sector is mixed and warned that investment in managed encampments tends to pull resources away from other services. Council previously requested a feasibility report on a temporary managed encampment site in December, but the public service recommended dropping the idea

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