Winnipeg Minute: Issue 119

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

📅 This Week In Winnipeg: 📅

• The race for Winnipeg's 15 City Council seats has officially begun as candidates are starting to file their registration papers at City Hall ahead of October's municipal election. Three wards are guaranteed to elect new representatives, with Councillors John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), Janice Lukes (Waverley West) and Brian Mayes (St. Vital) not seeking re-election. Each has endorsed a hoped-for successor. Mayes is backing lawyer Chris Sigurdson, who is leaving the Louis Riel School Division board after 16 years as a trustee, while Mayes himself will run for Sigurdson's trustee seat. Lukes endorsed consultant and community advocate Nafiya Naso, and Orlikow endorsed Georgina Sabesky, his executive assistant of more than 16 years. Challengers are also lining up against incumbents, with restaurant owner Nicholas Douklias making his second run against St. Boniface Councillor Matt Allard and former Royal Bank of Canada employee Robyn Vilde also entering that race. In Transcona, Chris Giesbrecht and former Councillor Shawn Nason have both registered to challenge Councillor Russ Wyatt. Candidates have until September 22nd to submit nomination papers, and voters head to the polls on October 28th.
  
  
• The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service unveiled three new locally built fire trucks last Monday - the first of a dozen to be supplied over the next few years by Winnipeg-based manufacturer Fort Garry Fire Trucks. Each truck cost $1.3 million, part of what Mayor Scott Gillingham says is an $18-million planned investment in fire trucks over the next three years. Gillingham argues the increased spending on emergency services is needed to respond to a significant rise in call volumes for both fire paramedics and police. Outgoing Fire Chief Christian Schmidt, in his last public appearance before retirement, called the purchase a "community safety decision", saying aging trucks affect reliability, speed, and safety. 
  
  
• A new City report says the long-delayed hotel meant to help pay for Winnipeg's convention centre expansion should finally be completed in late 2028, more than a decade later than initially planned. The $180-million expansion was finished in 2016, and the original plan called for a nearby hotel to open the same year, triggering $17 million in new convention centre business and $16 million in tax revenue to support the project. Instead, Northland Properties acquired the land in 2016, began construction on the 352-room, $140-million Sutton Place Hotel at 220 Carlton Street in 2018, and paused during the pandemic, with the work never completed. In the meantime, the City has covered more than $12 million in loan payments for the expansion since 2017 using hotel tax revenue, including a $1.3-million payment earlier this year - money the convention centre is required to fully reimburse. Once the hotel is operating, the City expects about $340,000 in annual property tax revenue from the site, plus $500,000 per year in accommodation taxes. A related proposal asks Council to provide $3 million to connect the hotel to the downtown skywalk system and the convention centre, subject to the Province matching that amount. Councillor Jeff Browaty, Council's finance chairman, called the overall timeline disappointing but welcomed the added hotel rooms, and Mayor Scott Gillingham says he supports the skywalk proposal.
  
  
• Winnipeg Police Chief Gene Bowers says he is committed to ongoing discussions with agencies that help the homeless, after front-line organizations raised concerns about a 10-day police sweep targeting open drug use and drug trafficking in the inner city. The operation began on June 24th, following months of complaints from residents and business owners, and in one sweep on Main Street officers "interacted" with more than 100 people, arresting 25 and taking another 20 to emergency rooms. Three others were taken to the detox centre on Disraeli Freeway. Bowers and top police officials met with the organizations last Monday, after the Chief admitted he erred by not giving them advance notice of the crackdown. Advocates say the meeting exposed a limited police understanding of community services and harm reduction supplies, and front-line workers claim officers seized needles and pipes - a claim police deny. Mayor Scott Gillingham, who is seeking re-election this fall, announced the initiative alongside police and describes it as a sustained effort to make public spaces safer. 
  
  
• The City of Winnipeg is moving to restrict the rollout of a provincially funded free youth transit program, warning that demand and operating pressures could significantly exceed available funding. Manitoba's 2026-27 budget committed $10 million to provide free transit for school-aged youth over 12 months beginning in September, but a City analysis estimates the full year-round cost at roughly $16.5 million, leaving a projected shortfall of about $6.5 million. The City's public service attributes the higher estimate to expected ridership increases, lost fare revenue, and the need for added operating capacity such as expanded service frequency and additional staff. Roughly 65,000 residents fall within the eligible age range of 11 to 18, and officials warn the program could become one of the largest expansions in Winnipeg Transit's history. To manage costs, the City is proposing to initially cap distribution at 30,000 passes, issued through schools, and warns the program may need to end in March 2027 instead of running the full school year if no additional provincial funding is secured. The analysis also flags operational risks, including crowding on buses and potential pass-ups during the morning school commute. A report back to Council in early 2027 will assess uptake, system strain, and whether further funding adjustments are required.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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