Winnipeg | 2026 Civic election & City affairs

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WestEndWander

What is is all based on. Because he was Mayor for 6 years and since then has chased job after job across the country and been extremely unsuccessful in each pursuit?

Simple. His vision aligns with my own, and his experience in the mayor's chair tells me he can get the job done. He got more done in his 6 years in office than Katz and Bowman did in 18.

Reporters obsess over having costed platforms, but so what... where did Bowman's costed rapid transit promise get us? Nowhere. What matters more than costed platforms is having a clear sense of a mayor's priorities, and that's what matters to me.

[thurmas]

Murray would just be constant petty fighting with other personalities a failure to generate revenue for his transit plans so nothing will actually happen on that front and we would see higher business taxes and more broken promises just like Bowman. His record the past 15 years is very concerning he is yesterdays man just like Charest.

[WestEndWander]

Originally Posted by esquire

Simple. His vision aligns with my own, and his experience in the mayor's chair tells me he can get the job done. He got more done in his 6 years in office than Katz and Bowman did in 18.

Reporters obsess over having costed platforms, but so what... where did Bowman's costed rapid transit promise get us? Nowhere. What matters more than costed platforms is having a clear sense of a mayor's priorities, and that's what matters to me.

How have you gotten a clear sense of his priorities for this campaign when he hasn't even outlined any?

It's this sentiment that I keep seeing on here that I don't grasp. We have no idea what his priorities are. Is is all just based on the general principle that he is understood to be an urbanist?

What current vision has he set out for his potential 4 year mandate? Nothing. So he got some stuff done in the 90's. He demonstrated a clear ability to not get anything done of value since then.

The idea of voting for the Devil you kind of know cause he did some moderately progressive things once upon a time is just bewildering to me. Calgary would have never got Nenshi if that was the case and look what he did there. Are we that afraid of change here we just vote for the guy who got us a fancy bridge that one time?

If people could get over this love in for Murray that has absolutely no explanation other than what he did a few decades ago and back a candidate like Shaun Looney who has actually put forth a transformational agenda maybe we would see some actual change in this city. As it stands were just staring more of the same in the face.

[wags_in_the_peg]

pre-election platforms & debates, I thought Murray was my guy, but he has slowly been given way to Loney & Gillingham

[Biff]

First off, I am now undecided on who I will vote for this afternoon.

One thing that I keep seeing on here is others questioning how Murray's promise to get 1% of the PST from the Province to pay for things as so unrealistic. With a new government likely coming in next year (or if the Conservatives come back) doesn't it seem possible for either party to want to win votes in Winnipeg by agreeing to this.

I don't see how this is any more unrealistic than Gillingham's promise to get $1b out of the Federal government to pay for his promises. Those two projects (Chief and Kenaston) have been on the drawing table for years. What makes Gillingham so magical that he thinks he can accomplish what no one else has been able to do.

[esquire]

If there was a better alternative to Murray I would have considered it.

Gillingham is like Bowman, the classic minimalist small C conservative who caters to the business crowd and keeps taxes in check, and puts whatever extra resources there are into roads. I mean, when your number one promise is expanding Kenaston and extending Chief Peguis, you're not really speaking my language.

Loney seems like the perfect guy to run a charity. But at no point did I ever get the sense that he is mayoral material.

None of the others caught my attention at all.

[GreyGarden]

It became clear that this is likely going to be a race between Murray and Gillingham. One is a suburbanite who will do his best to widen and expand roads and fill potholes. Agreed, he is more or less status quo, Bowman 2.0. Murray is an urbanist and I think likely has a better handle on what makes cities liveable and vibrant than Gillingham. I’m under no grand illusion that Murray is going to come in and help winnipeg do a reverse course. But I’ll at least be hopeful that we have someone in office that understands modern planning principles and why some inner cities are vibrant and others are not. He has run a terrible campaign, no question there, but I think his knowledge on urbanism may be really beneficial to the city when it comes to setting priorities.

[thurmas]

What is Murray's answer to homelessness problem and crime other than the vague saying we need more beat cops?

[WestEndWander]

Originally Posted by Biff

First off, I am now undecided on who I will vote for this afternoon.

One thing that I keep seeing on here is others questioning how Murray's promise to get 1% of the PST from the Province to pay for things as so unrealistic. With a new government likely coming in next year (or if the Conservatives come back) doesn't it seem possible for either party to want to win votes in Winnipeg by agreeing to this.

I don't see how this is any more unrealistic than Gillingham's promise to get $1b out of the Federal government to pay for his promises. Those two projects (Chief and Kenaston) have been on the drawing table for years. What makes Gillingham so magical that he thinks he can accomplish what no one else has been able to do.

I would consider Gillingham to be the most unmagical of them all. If roads and ruts were candy and nuts we'd all have a great election!

Unfortunately it seems like it is either or. I just long for the appearance of a truly transformational local politician who has ideas other than more road building or Sunday parties downtown.

[esquire]

I would argue that Murray 98-04 was transformational. It is hard to overstate how much the civic mentality changed over that six year span. The downtown Winnipeg of 2006 (once Murray-supported initiatives like Waterfront Drive, MTS Centre, Portage Avenue retail took shape, and Manitoba Hydro Place was just getting started) was an objectively better place than it was in 1998. A lot was happening. Rapid transit was about to happen then until Katz killed it pretty much as soon as he took office.

[drew]

Originally Posted by thurmas

What is Murray's answer to homelessness problem and crime other than the vague saying we need more beat cops?

As someone who walks through downtown almost daily - a resounding YES to more beat cops. It boggles the mind that I see cops walking the sidewalks maybe only 2 or 3 times a month downtown.

Is it the answer to all the problems? No. But it's a very important visible indicator to everyone downtown that this service is present.

[GreyGarden]

Thurmas, check out the NDP’s pledge to tackle homelessness following the Houston model:

https://www.mbndp.ca/ndp

Honestly, this made me incredibly hopeful. I think it is a critical issue in our city and this seems like a compassionate and real way to address it. Further, I’m really happy that they’re proposing adopting a formula that is tried and tested. To me this is so much better than spending 5 years doing consultations to come up with a “made in Manitoba solution.”

The issue of homelessness requires funding from the province. The cities and mayors are pretty limited in their ability to house people.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Murray would just be constant petty fighting with other personalities a failure to generate revenue for his transit plans so nothing will actually happen on that front and we would see higher business taxes and more broken promises just like Bowman. His record the past 15 years is very concerning he is yesterdays man just like Charest.

or, he could do what he did the first time he was mayor and move the city forward in a very progressive way.

his record as a cabinet minister in the largest province in the country is concerning?

Charest?

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by WestEndWander

How have you gotten a clear sense of his priorities for this campaign when he hasn't even outlined any?

It's this sentiment that I keep seeing on here that I don't grasp. We have no idea what his priorities are. Is is all just based on the general principle that he is understood to be an urbanist?

What current vision has he set out for his potential 4 year mandate? Nothing. So he got some stuff done in the 90's. He demonstrated a clear ability to not get anything done of value since then.

The idea of voting for the Devil you kind of know cause he did some moderately progressive things once upon a time is just bewildering to me. Calgary would have never got Nenshi if that was the case and look what he did there. Are we that afraid of change here we just vote for the guy who got us a fancy bridge that one time?

If people could get over this love in for Murray that has absolutely no explanation other than what he did a few decades ago and back a candidate like Shaun Looney who has actually put forth a transformational agenda maybe we would see some actual change in this city. As it stands were just staring more of the same in the face.

you might be right, but the reality is Loney has no name recognition and has very little chance on overcoming that...a vote for Loney is a vote for Gillingham...there is no two ways around that.

Murray's resume is by far the most accomplished....he is by far the most qualified to be the mayor of Winnipeg....to dismiss him as the guy that got us a bridge is ridiculous.

[trueviking]

I'll drudge this up from a previous post.

Some of Murray's accomplishments as Mayor.

. Used the replacement of a utilitarian vehicle bridge to create a pedestrian element that has become the postcard image of the city and source of civic pride.

. Leveraged the sale of Winnipeg Hydro to force Manitoba Hydro to build a new building on Portage Avenue, bringing 2,000 new employees downtown.

. Great Big Sea concerts....lots of 'em.

. Transformed an abandoned rail line into Waterfront Drive and auctioned off the land parcels to developers, which kick started the complete transformation of the Exchange District as a place to live. It has been the driver of downtown renewal ever since.

. He played a central role in bringing David Thompson and Mark Chipman together to build a new hockey rink on the site of the Eaton's Building. He convinced council to incentivize the development to an appropriate level. This of course would lead to the return of the Winnipeg Jets to the city.

. He created CentreVenture, the city's downtown development agency that has been instrumental in facilitating development of thousands of residential units as well as public realm improvements, including Waterfront Drive.

. he was central in convincing the three stakeholders to locate the CMHR at The Forks.

. he was central in the negotiations that brought Red River College to the Exchange District, which included the creation of a $15m heritage tax credit that was seen as fundamental to making the project work. He received an honourary membership to the royal architectural association for this.

. as Chair of the Big City Mayors Caucus, he led a successful push to transfer a portion of the federal gas tax directly to municipalities.

[trueviking]

Murray is a dyed in the wool urbanist....I have absolutely no fear that what he does as mayor will be driven from that perspective....no matter what his campaign promises are...Gillingham will approach everything from a suburban religious Conservative's perspective.....no matter how many bike lanes he promises.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

Thurmas, check out the NDP’s pledge to tackle homelessness following the Houston model:

https://www.mbndp.ca/ndp

Honestly, this made me incredibly hopeful. I think it is a critical issue in our city and this seems like a compassionate and real way to address it. Further, I’m really happy that they’re proposing adopting a formula that is tried and tested. To me this is so much better than spending 5 years doing consultations to come up with a “made in Manitoba solution.”

The issue of homelessness requires funding from the province. The cities and mayors are pretty limited in their ability to house people.

I caught snippets on the news last night will try to review this evening in detail i already know I am voting ndp next election after the hell in the health care system I went through in my cancer battle under the PCs nothing short of atrocious.

[Winnipeg Grump]

No comment on this other than it is absolutely *wild* that a bunch of people who are clearly paying good attention to this mayoral race are still saying that they're undecided on the afternoon of election day.

Will be interesting to see what happens tonight.

[WestEndWander]

Originally Posted by drew

As someone who walks through downtown almost daily - a resounding YES to more beat cops. It boggles the mind that I see cops walking the sidewalks maybe only 2 or 3 times a month downtown.

Is it the answer to all the problems? No. But it's a very important visible indicator to everyone downtown that this service is present.

Yes because as we all know the WPS is very adequately trained to deal with the people facing the real issues in our downtown; addiction and homelessness. Their 6 week training program covered all the ins and outs of two extremely complex issues.

Police budget increases every year yet these problems continue to explode. More policing is not the answer. In fact its the exact opposite of what is needed. Especially from one with racial issues like the WPS.

[WestEndWander]

Originally Posted by trueviking

you might be right, but the reality is Loney has no name recognition and has very little chance on overcoming that...a vote for Loney is a vote for Gillingham...there is no two ways around that.

Murray's resume is by far the most accomplished....he is by far the most qualified to be the mayor of Winnipeg....to dismiss him as the guy that got us a bridge is ridiculous.

I was being simplistic in my assessment of his achievements. Obviously he accomplished more that that, as you have highlighted. He was a good mayor in his time, I will not deny or argue that.

I'm just of the perspective that it's time for someone new. It's unfortunate that it comes down to name recognition for something as critical as the future of our city.

In the end I would rather have a Great Big Sea Concert than be known as the City that banned gay marriage and abortion (yes, I know, I'm being facetious, he doesn't control such things).

I was just hoping for some Rage Against the Machine or Foo Fighters this time around.