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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Mayoral candidate Noah Redden meets and talks with supporters at Dreamland Diner in Winnipeg, Sunday, October 25, 2026. A new poll from Abacus Data has Redden emerging as a player in the mayoral race days before the civic election.<\/p>\n
The new data placed former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein in second place with 19 per cent support \u2014 a drop of four percentage points since September.<\/p>\n
The poll gave Redden the biggest jump (10 percentage points) \u2014 a sign his message is resonating with Winnipeggers, Redden told the Free Press Sunday at Dreamland Diner in St. James, where he shared his vision with voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling pretty good\u2026 Back in the last poll\u2026 I was still impressed by the amount of support then, considering I wasn\u2019t really a public figure, as recently as June, but to see it increase as much as it has has been really exciting,\u201d said Redden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew going into this I would not be able to raise as much\u2026 so I knew that to make up that difference, I would have to go heavy on social media,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wanted to be in this race to make sure that the issues I care about got brought up \u2014 better investment in public transit, more compassionate care for the homeless in our city and people suffering from addictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Redden, who\u2019s run from the left of centre, has operated a grassroots campaign with a large focus on social media and few traditional media announcements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew going into this I would not be able to raise as much donations as say Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein or Mike Vogiatzakis, so I knew that to make up that difference, I would have to go heavy on social media,\u201d said Redden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very heavy on posting my platform on social media, in minute-sized chunks that are really digestible to a social media audience. I found that to be really effective, especially to reach younger voters, and I do want younger people to really get out and vote this election.\u201d<\/p>\n
Redden, an Osborne Village renter, ordered gluten-free chicken fingers that he ate between chats with those who came to pick up lawn signs or ask about his campaign.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mayoral candidate Noah Redden says he is surprised by the amount of support he is garnering considering he isn’t a public figure.<\/p>\n Sandra Bender, 46, and mother Karen Klassen Bender, 71, were among Redden\u2019s supporters who attended the event.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of Noah, love his platform,\u201d said Bender, adding she thinks his plans for funding policy goals seem to make sense.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate what Gillingham\u2019s done to transit, I don\u2019t love Gillingham shoveling homeless people off the streets with nowhere to go\u2026 Noah\u2019s really the only candidate with a progressive platform in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n Winnipeg Transit underwent a major overhaul in 2025 that sparked slews of complaints from some members of the public, while city council put in place a new bylaw earlier this year that prohibits encampments on public property, including parks, streets and walkways.<\/p>\n Klassen Bender, who runs a free lunch program at a downtown church for homeless and impoverished people, said she thinks the issues of homelessness and addiction need to be treated with compassion.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to understand what people are going through,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate what Gillingham\u2019s done to transit, I don\u2019t love Gillingham shoveling homeless people off the streets with nowhere to go\u2026 Noah\u2019s really the only candidate with a progressive platform in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate having a candidate (in Redden) who seems to have actually given it some thought and seems to have actually considered that these are people, and that people who don\u2019t drive are people, and that people who don\u2019t have big houses are also people. That\u2019s the kind of thing I\u2019m looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether Redden\u2019s apparent surge in support has raised any concerns, Gillingham\u2019s spokesman Colin Fast said the incumbent\u2019s focus is his campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep focusing on our own campaign, and getting ready for election day when we\u2019ll have 200 people mobilized throughout Winnipeg to get out the vote,\u201d said Fast.<\/p>\n Fast continued to zero in on Klein \u2014 Gillingham\u2019s main target throughout the election campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Klein is still a threat to this city and if people don\u2019t want him then they should vote accordingly,\u201d Fast said.<\/p>\n Klein questioned Abacus\u2019s latest numbers, calling the data \u201cfictional.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein questioned Abacus\u2019s latest numbers, calling the data \u201cfictional.\u201d<\/p>\n Survey respondents were recruited from an online panel and by text message. No margin of error can be ascribed for the online poll. A margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is plus or minus 3.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20, Abacus said last week.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a legitimate poll,\u201d Klein said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe firm itself has said no margin of error can be applied because the sample was not random \u2014 it was drawn from an online panel and text-message recruitment. That makes it closer to a question of the day than a proper public-opinion survey.\u201d<\/p>\n Support for eight other candidates \u2014 Mazher Alam, Johnny Calderon, Christopher Clacio, Tracey Drexler, Brad Gross, Umar Hayat, Joshua Pagdato and Don Woodstock \u2014 ranged between seven and one per cent in the latest Abacus survey.<\/p>\n Voters go to the polls on Wednesday.<\/p>\n erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Erik Pindera Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.\u00a0 Read more about Erik<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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