Incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham got the endorsement of the City of Winnipeg’s largest union Friday.
Members of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, which represents 5,000 city employees, stood alongside Gillingham at a news conference at his campaign office.
He pointed to the opening of a new Winnipeg Public Library branch and expanding hours, and new programs like the community safety officers and neighbourhood action teams, as evidence of his commitment to front-line services.
Gillingham said some of his opponents’ promises would lead to revenue cuts, putting essential services at risk in a growing city.
“Strong city services depend upon the people who deliver them,” he said. “You can’t promise better city services while cutting the resources needed to deliver those services for the people of Winnipeg.”
Union president Patrick Troughton praised Gillingham for his collaborative approach.
“If CUPE Local 500 needs anything, he’s just a phone call away, and [we’re] looking forward to keeping up that relationship,” Troughton said.
The city and union are heading into binding arbitration talks over a new contract next month.
Troughton and Gillingham both said the union’s endorsement doesn’t pose a conflict of interest because the arbitration process is playing out separately from the campaign.
Gillingham has in the past pushed back against efforts to end contracting out of some city services like garbage collection, arguing collective agreements would bind the city’s hands more than private contracts.
On Friday, he said there is room to disagree.
“We won’t always agree on every item, but what’s important is respectful dialogue, understanding of one another,” Gillingham said.
Troughton initially struggled to name specific campaign commitments from other mayoral candidates that would lead to revenue and service cuts.
After consulting with CUPE 500 staff, he cited commitments from Kevin Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis to freeze or reduce water and sewer rates, as well as a suggestion by Vogiatzakis to use private investors to build a supportive housing facility for homeless people.
Earlier in the campaign, CUPE put out a news release accusing Klein of being beholden to American interests and advocating for a softer position on Canada’s trade dispute with the U.S.
Klein dismissed the union’s claims at another news conference Friday.
“They are welcome to have their opinion about [Gillingham], but they’re not welcome to have their own facts, and their facts about me are entirely meritless and deliberately misleading,” he said.
Vogiatzakis did not respond to a request for comment on the union’s criticisms.
Klein promises infill zoning repeal
At the same news conference, Klein promised to repeal “blanket infill zoning” rules allowing up to four units on single-family lots without the need for a public hearing, which city council approved last year.
Council members and city staff made the changes in order to qualify for more than $120 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
“Winnipeggers are angry because [Gillingham’s] city hall forced blanket zoning rules on their neighbourhoods without listening to them, taking away their right to be heard,” Klein said.
Kevin Klein promised to repeal Winnipeg’s infill zoning reforms, which currently allow construction of up to four units on single-family lots without a public hearing. (Cameron MacLean/CBC)
Klein pointed to Calgary’s decision to repeal its blanket rezoning, while retaining federal housing funds, as proof that Winnipeg can adjust its housing rules without losing money.
Klein promised to restore public hearings for mid-block density increases, restrict blanket multi-unit rules, and target infill toward vacant lots near downtown and major transit routes.
Vogiatzakis attacks long-term plan
Also Friday, Vogiatzakis attacked the city’s 25-year master plan, OurWinnipeg 2045, and related plans Transportation 2050 and Complete Communities 2.0, blaming them for widespread traffic congestion and pushing densification.
“I asked two or three people yesterday, ‘Do you know what the 2045 plan is?’ No one had a clue,” he said at a news conference.
Vogiatzakis called out both Gillingham and Klein, who were on council when the plan was approved in 2022.
If elected, he promised a rigorous public review of the plan when it is scheduled to come up for renewal in 2027.
Redden outlines transit accessibility plan
Candidate Noah Redden released a platform focusing on making public transit more accessible for people with disabilities.
Redden criticized Winnipeg Transit’s recent bus network overhaul for cutting the total number of stops by 1,200, which he says has forced seniors and disabled residents to walk longer distances to catch a bus.
He promised to create an accessibility advisory committee and accessibility ombudsman office.
Redden also pledged to end third-party contracting for Transit Plus to bring the service under full Winnipeg Transit ownership.
Woodstock proposes in-house Arlington Bridge rebuild
Don Woodstock promised Friday to speed up the construction of a new Arlington Bridge.
His plan would see a new crossing over the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railways yards built within 12 to 18 months, which he said could be done at a fixed price of $109 million.
Woodstock said he would do this by eliminating external engineering consultants, taking design and management completely in-house by using city engineering staff, alongside local university talent.
Hayat calls for end to targeted open-drug sweeps
Candidate Umar Hayat called for an immediate halt to Winnipeg police crackdowns on open drug use, arguing the majority of those affected are vulnerable Indigenous people who are living unhoused.
He said street arrests and police sweeps displace people living with drug addiction and mental illness, while leaving those who traffic drugs untouched.
Police and support organizations held a news conference earlier this week declaring that a new effort to target open drug use while supporting people on the streets had yielded positive results, but more work is needed to address the problem.
WATCH | CUPE endorsement, infill and planning criticisms on Winnipeg campaign trail:
CUPE endorsement, infill and planning criticisms on Winnipeg campaign trail
Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 endorsed Scott Gillingham’s bid for re-election as Winnipeg’s mayor Friday. Meanwhile, Kevin Klein promised to roll back zoning changes, and Mike Vogiatzakis criticized the city’s long-term planning document.