Winnipeg CMA in 5 years (2026)

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by Biff

I agree with you that some of our services are not keeping up with the rapid population rise. Roads, Transit, Schools, Health Care...

The fact that an EMT crew has to wait 5 hours to unload a patient is not one of them. This is a systemic health care issue that has been a problem with the medial system for as long as I can remember. I have always said that it is a ridiculous waste of an EMT's time to not have a more expedited way of transferring a patient and get back on the road. There has to be a better way.

according to their internal stats, hospital unload wait time have increased in past 2 years. in the case of rural patient coming to city for specialized tests (ct scans for example) the ambulance might wait to bring patient back so they wait and wait and wait. FYI EMT & Paramedic are not interchangeable terms, paramedics are way more highly trained

[Biff]

My apologies to any Paramedics in this thread. I used the wrong term.

[BlackDog204]

Quarterly population figures were just released today.

Manitoba lost nearly 2,000 people between October 1 and December 31, 2025, bringing the total number of people that live in the province to 1,505,117.

This is the second straight quarter Manitoba lost post people, as in Q3, the province lost over 2,700 people.

This means that in 2025, Manitoba actually lost over 500 people.

Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Newfoundland also lost people in the year 2025.

Canada as a whole, lost close to 112,000 people in 2025, and the current estimated population sits at 41,472,081.

Alberta was one of the only provinces to buck the trend, and gain nearly 60,000 people this year.

The decrease in non-permanent residents accounted for the drop in the Canadian population.

[bon_vivant]

Hey if you want to join the USA, Alberta is the place to be! We don't want those folks here anyway, now do we? I'm joking... sort of.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by bon_vivant

Hey if you want to join the USA, Alberta is the place to be! We don't want those folks here anyway, now do we? I'm joking... sort of.

Just curious. Which poster are you responding to?

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Wild to think that the Winnipeg area is probably at a million people by now. It's grown so much in my lifetime and I'm 26 lol. I can only imagine how wild it is for you older folk who've been around as adults since the bad ole days of the late 80s and 90s.

I still remember how dire it looked in terms of growth for the city in the 90s. I think Royalwoods was the only new subdivison built during the decade. They managed to finish off south Tuexdo, and build up areas of River Park South, Whyte Ridge, and Linden Woods, but that seems to be it. The Quebec and Hamilton CMA's passed us. However, Winnipeg has managed to reverse the trend, and is now back at 7th in Canada.

Winnipeg actually lost people from 1995-97.

[jim_bred]

I’m ok with a slow steady growth over the next 5 years. Centerport will help.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by jim_bred

I’m ok with a slow steady growth over the next 5 years. Centerport will help.

It's easy to become impatient with the growth in city's/province's economy. I've been itching to hear some "big news" myself, especially when I read announcements about the Carney government supporting headline-grabbing projects in other jurisdictions. That "middle child" syndrome comes on strong.

However, the "slow steady growth" has benefitted us as well. The "boom" jurisdictions are often subject to "busts". Their provincial governments that benefit from the "big announcement" sometimes wind up having to hide the fact that the "good news" wasn't as "good" as they said.

The trouble is, for places like ours, that the perception of performance can drive an economy almost as much as the actual performance. Here's an example.

The wealth of Alberta was largely built by Peter Lougheed when he was premier there from 1971-1985. Since then Alberta premiers have frittered away the province's wealth and their trust fund, renegotiating revenue deals with oil & gas companies to a small fraction of what Lougheed was able to gain.

Alberta was, and still is, a wealthy province, but since 1985 there's been a slow decline in Alberta's economic fortunes since Lougheed.

Now they have a projected deficit of $9.8 billion, a provincial debt of over $100 billion, provincial clawbacks on social services and the lowest minimum wage in the country. But the perception of wealth for everyone still sends oodles of people moving there (okay, maybe the mountains help, too, they're very pretty).

Here's a link to a substack article about provincial performances vs their public perceptions:

https://factsmtr.substack.com/p/getting-...FtllJz0X4TXOM_aem_IV8GOiKzWsKPLuKyaDAT4A

[bomberjet]

CentrPort, specifically the rail park, is struggling with the tariffs. The rail park was supposed to be U/C years ago now and still hasn't built any track. Apparently they have customers who will commit to the site once rail track is built. But the rail park is reluctant to build track because they need money. So a bit of chicken and egg. And now the US customers have cold feet due to the current US administration.

[borkborkbork]

Centreport is a pipe dream, a fantasy about the supposed "advantage" of our middle-of-nowhere location, and a money pit that will not do anything to improve our economy.

[jim_bred]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

CentrPort, specifically the rail park, is struggling with the tariffs. The rail park was supposed to be U/C years ago now and still hasn't built any track. Apparently they have customers who will commit to the site once rail track is built. But the rail park is reluctant to build track because they need money. So a bit of chicken and egg. And now the US customers have cold feet due to the current US administration.

I know that we were contracted to do the road work and underground for Rail Park Way and Keystone Industrial park and were told “this is just the beginning”. That was now years ago and we haven’t been back since even though we were told it was basically going to be nonstop phase after phase. Also the Mollard business park we had plans for and we’re going to start hauling machinery there and then it was full stop and hasn’t started yet.

[plrh]

Originally Posted by jim_bred

I know that we were contracted to do the road work and underground for Rail Park Way and Keystone Industrial park and were told “this is just the beginning”. That was now years ago and we haven’t been back since even though we were told it was basically going to be nonstop phase after phase. Also the Mollard business park we had plans for and we’re going to start hauling machinery there and then it was full stop and hasn’t started yet.

The Centreport residential development is supposed to start this year also. It's south of Centreport Way and north of Saskatchewan Ave. I think most underground contractors already have a full schedule for the year, so prices should be high.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

I think they still need subdivision approval too. Probably won’t happen until 2027

[jim_bred]

Originally Posted by plrh

The Centreport residential development is supposed to start this year also. It's south of Centreport Way and north of Saskatchewan Ave. I think most underground contractors already have a full schedule for the year, so prices should be high.

I can’t see it happening this year to be honest.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by pspeid

The wealth of Alberta was largely built by Peter Lougheed when he was premier there from 1971-1985. Since then Alberta premiers have frittered away the province's wealth and their trust fund, renegotiating revenue deals with oil & gas companies to a small fraction of what Lougheed was able to gain.

Alberta was, and still is, a wealthy province, but since 1985 there's been a slow decline in Alberta's economic fortunes since Lougheed.

Now they have a projected deficit of $9.8 billion, a provincial debt of over $100 billion, provincial clawbacks on social services and the lowest minimum wage in the country. But the perception of wealth for everyone still sends oodles of people moving there (okay, maybe the mountains help, too, they're very pretty).

I am not sure where you get your information from, but Alberta was booming until the 1982 recession, when the price of oil collapsed, as well as people not being able to afford the interest on their homes due to high mortgage rates. Additionally, with the oil boom for the 2000s, Alberta, under Ralph Klein eliminated the deficit completely. This is when they mailed every adult $400 cheques in 2006, as for a few years, Alberta actually had a surplus. ALberta's economy was insane for most of the first 14 years of the 21st century.

So the "slow decline" in Alberta's economic fortunes since 1985, is hilariously wrong. It's only been in the past decade where Alberta's economic forecast has slowed down.From 1999-2014, (with the exception of the recession of 2008-10), it was by far, the most prosperous economy in the nation. Even 60 Minutes did a segment on how insane of a boom was going on in Alberta in 2006. The UCP alone has driven the province into the ground.

Having said that, I think it's time to look at nationalising the oil and gas industry, considering the fact that American companies own so much of the oilsands, without providing any money for infrastructure, highways, school, hospitals, etc. The National Energy program may have been very unpopular when it was implemented, but in today's political climate, it makes far more sense, especially if Canada can somehow find money for infrastructure to create an East-West pipeline, and create more refineries.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breaki...ipeggers-undercounted-underserved-report

This is wild. If the undercounting of the Indigenous and Metis populations during the census taking is anywhere close to this, Winnipeg could already be over 1 million people.

[bon_vivant]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

Just curious. Which poster are you responding to?

Lol. Responding to this:

"Alberta was one of the only provinces to buck the trend, and gain nearly 60,000 people this year."

Full disclosure: I have this perception that anybody who wants to move to Alberta must have some maple maga blood in them. Unfair? Uninformed? I hope so. It's just that I have yet to meet an Albertan that doesn't think they're better than other Canadians. They've had their own version of American exceptionalism burned into their psyche since the Lougheed years. I know, I grew up there. Moving to Manitoba in the early '80s was a healthy reality check. I didn't realise how American Alberta was until I moved to MB with my family. I hope Albertans manage to get over themselves and stop this separation rubbish. They're being very un-Canadian.

Apologies for veering off topic. /rant

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by bon_vivant

Lol. Responding to this:

"Alberta was one of the only provinces to buck the trend, and gain nearly 60,000 people this year."

Full disclosure: I have this perception that anybody who wants to move to Alberta must have some maple maga blood in them. Unfair? Uninformed? I hope so. It's just that I have yet to meet an Albertan that doesn't think they're better than other Canadians. They've had their own version of American exceptionalism burned into their psyche since the Lougheed years. I know, I grew up there. Moving to Manitoba in the early '80s was a healthy reality check. I didn't realise how American Alberta was until I moved to MB with my family. I hope Albertans manage to get over themselves and stop this separation rubbish. They're being very un-Canadian.

Apologies for veering off topic. /rant

You are an odd duck...

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breaki...ipeggers-undercounted-underserved-report

This is wild. If the undercounting of the Indigenous and Metis populations during the census taking is anywhere close to this, Winnipeg could already be over 1 million people.

Yeah I'm pretty sure that study isn't using valid statistical techniques. Your sample needs to be truly random to do proper statistical inference (if you aren't sampling everyone which is what the census does). The methodology they used for that study is some sort of "chaining" method, whereby a few people fill out the survey, then send it to their friends (who get incentivized by receiving coupons), who then fill it out and send it to more friends, etc. That is not random at all, so proper statistical techniques don't work but it sounds like the professor running the show on that plowed ahead anyways so they could make big headlines.

There is absolutely no way Winnipeg's Indigenous population was ~300,000 last census instead of ~100,000. Professor needs to stick to her lane (medicine?) if she wants to be taken seriously.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger

Yeah I'm pretty sure that study isn't using valid statistical techniques. Your sample needs to be truly random to do proper statistical inference (if you aren't sampling everyone which is what the census does). The methodology they used for that study is some sort of "chaining" method, whereby a few people fill out the survey, then send it to their friends (who get incentivized by receiving coupons), who then fill it out and send it to more friends, etc. That is not random at all, so proper statistical techniques don't work but it sounds like the professor running the show on that plowed ahead anyways so they could make big headlines.

There is absolutely no way Winnipeg's Indigenous population was ~300,000 last census instead of ~100,000. Professor needs to stick to her lane (medicine?) if she wants to be taken seriously.

It could not possibly be anywhere near 300,000. Indigenous people would be far more prevalent, and in some big chunks of Winnipeg, Natives would compose 70% or more of the inner city.