Confronting Crime, Addiction & Homelessness in Winnipeg
It was recently identified in a Probe Research poll that crime, homelessness and addiction are the three biggest issues that Winnipeggers are concerned about ahead of the municipal election this fall. Having worked with the City of Winnipeg on their current poverty of reduction plan; considering my experience working with young people and families in the North End of Winnipeg who are struggling with child welfare and other systems that keep them homeless, in poverty or both; and having worked within the health system to advocate for more supports for our relatives struggling with harmful substance use; I can't tell you how relieved I am to see these three topics at the top of this list.
Winnipeg's 2026 Election
The impacts of crime, addiction and homelessness in the city are visible in the number of encampments we see as well as the chaos we experience when too many people are struggling without the supports they need to get healthy. We need every candidate to spell out clearly how they intend to use their future office and influence to confront these challenges and prevent the circumstances that have made them so problematic today. In the election that is coming up on Wednesday October 28, 2026 Winnipeggers will be able to vote for 3 different leaders in our community: mayor, their local city councillor and their school trustee. Mayoral candidates have already begun registering and campaigning ever since May 1st and at the time of writing this post, we already have 8 different people running, including the incumbent mayor hoping for re-election. On Tuesday June 30 potential city councillors school trustees can begin registering with city hall and starting the campaign.
Incumbents vs Open Seats
Remember that poll? It also reveals that "two-thirds of Winnipeg residents indicate the quality of life in the city has deteriorated in the past four years" which will make it harder for those seeking re-election, as people clearly do not want the same old status quo. Despite many folks being unhappy with the last 4 years, those who are seeking re-election (incumbents) still tend to have an advantage, as they have existing name recognition and immediately recent experience operating the mechanics of municipal government. It is good for our democracy to see that there are already 7 other people that are also interested in running for the top spot. At the city councillor level, it seems that at least 8 of the current group of councillors are going to run again with only a couple recent exceptions. We know of 2 councillors who will not be running in the fall for certain, including Janice Lukes and John Orlikow, meaning Waverly West & River Heights/Fort Garry will have fresh new voices at city hall. When it comes to school trustees, this is usually the least reported on race, even though our schools are essential to preventing the top 3 issues our city is concerned about. Pay attention to which ward you live in, what your school trustee candidates are promising to do (and have already done) for students, schools & families.
Time to get organized
This is also a good reminder to community groups that now is the time to begin organizing so our community can be informed and prepared for this election. Turn out rates in the 2022 municipal elections was 37.5%, meaning less than 4 out of 10 people who were eligible to vote, actually did. You can see from this chart (myPeg) that our voter turnout was lower in 2022 than it has been since 1989 (I was 2 years old!). When we have challenges in our community, like the ones we talked about at the beginning, we need more than 4 out of 10 people in our city to help. We must do whatever we can to get prepared and educated ahead of the election so we can improve our own quality of life and support those in greatest need. The first thing we have to do is make sure people have the necessary identification and information that they need to vote in time to do so. We will also need to make sure people have correct details around advance voting and of course election day itself. Finally, we can also be connecting with candidates and venues to to confirm dates, topics & other relevant details for community forums where residents will be able to get to know these candidates and have their voices heard.
Families all across the city are struggling with the wide ranging impacts from crime, homelessness and addiction, directly and indirectly. The direct comes when we are the one struggling with substances or homelessness in front of overburdened systems and uncertain strangers. The indirect comes from being a bystander watching strangers and loved ones in pain and not knowing what to do to help them or how to change our systems to actually help. We didn’t need a poll to tell us these things are hurting us, but I hope it is something political hopefuls are paying attention to. We as citizens have a lot of power and influence in election years, let’s use it. I know it takes more than just municipal leadership to solve this, but school trustee, councillors & mayors clearly do have a role to play. I look forward to hearing from candidates what they plan to do to help our community confront these overlapping challenges proactively as the election unfolds, especially as it pertains to the North End and lower income areas of our city.
