By Jeremy Davis
Election season is upon us once again and on October 28, 2026, residents across Manitoba will be heading to the polls to vote for the Mayors, Reeves, Councillors, and School Board Trustees who best represent the wants, needs and overall vision for their communities.
In Winnipeg, change is in the air as 4 of 15 incumbent city councillors have decided not to run again which means that, at minimum, 25% of Winnipeg’s next City Council will be new.
The deadline for candidates to register and get their nomination papers in was at 4:30 pm on September 22, 2026, so the ballots are now set. Winnipeg has 12 candidates running for Mayor, and another 54 running for council seats across 15 city wards.
Elections are always an exciting time because they provide an opportunity for residents, businesses and industries to contribute to the public conversation about what’s important for their next City Council to focus on.
At the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board, our focus is on three main categories of advocacy that focus both on the current state of Winnipeg and where we’re headed as a city:
1. Planning for residential and commercial supply growth
Planning for residential and commercial development is intended to ensure the City is strategizing for things like infrastructure, water and sewer capacity, transit, serviced land, jobs, attracting investment, population and economic growth, and ensuring the right housing types are being incentivized to meet the demands of families now and into the future.
In short, this topic is about ensuring that the City is planning for the things that will be needed as our population grows, some of which are in short supply now. We know the City of Winnipeg has many plans and strategies around residential and commercial supply growth, however, elections create an opportunity to remind candidates and underscore how important this planning is for the future growth of Winnipeg.
2. Making Winnipeg a safer and more attractive place for residents and investors
Winnipeg has a great story to tell with comparative advantages to retain and attract residents along with high-quality investors, and a greater focus should be placed on telling that story. Public safety in Winnipeg, however, continues to be an area of concern for residents in the community, businesses in retail and in the downtown generally. A lack of public safety contributes to perceptions about the attractiveness of Winnipeg and can contribute to current residents’ decisions to stay, new residents’ decisions to make Winnipeg home, and for investors to bring their business to our city.
3. Improving the permitting system
The goal of improving the promptness and efficiency of the permitting system has benefits for residents, businesses, investors and developers since permits drive building and leasing activity in Winnipeg. A poor and slow response to approving permits can impact our competitiveness in the eyes of residential, commercial and industrial investors which, in turn, can result in a loss of new and long-term tax revenue to the city and region, not to mention the jobs that come along with that type of investment. This has been a long-standing issue at the City of Winnipeg, and while incremental improvements have been realized in this term, it is an issue that needs a constant focus.
With a little less than a month remaining until election day, we’re very pleased to see all three of these priorities already in the conversation during this election with candidates for Mayor making campaign promises to address them.
As candidates are out there campaigning for the ideals they hold true for their wards and the city as a whole, we applaud their decisions to take part in our local democracy. Especially during a time when democracies around the world are under strain,
this commitment takes courage, dedication and resilience, and all residents are better off for their commitment.
At the end of the day, the most important part of any election for residents is to get out and vote. We cannot take for granted how important it is to vote in elections and contribute to our local democracy. I encourage residents to review each candidates’ platforms and campaign promises to get a sense of who represents their values the most.
When voters head to the polls on October 28, 2026, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board hopes to see an elected City Council that is focused on strategizing for the future growth of our city, addressing safety concerns for the benefit of residents and investors, and prioritizing improvements to our permitting system.
To see a final list of candidates in the upcoming 2026 Civic Election in Winnipeg, please visit www.winnipeg.ca/election2026.
Jeremy Davis is the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Director of External Relations & Market Intelligence.