Winnipeg mayoral candidates begin revealing campaign platforms
Posted September 4, 2026 5:21 pm.
From development policy to transit safety, Winnipeg’s mayoral candidates have begun to roll out their campaign platforms, as the city’s mayoral race picks up.
Incumbent candidate Scott Gillingham committed Friday to improving the process for developers looking to build in the city.
He has also set his sights on accessing publicly owned lands for further development.
“We want to look at Crown Corporations, and universities, and colleges, and even the City of Winnipeg lands, that could accommodate mixed-use housing, if rezoned, and look at doing that so that we can get more housing built faster,” said Gillingham.
Gillingham further clarified that he’s not looking to build over every park in the city.
“Now, I’m not talking about, you know, taking up all of the green space, but if there’s a corner or a couple of corners on a large piece of Crown land, that may assist getting more housing developed faster.”
On the other side of City Hall on Friday, mayoral candidate Michael Vogiatzakis announced changes he would bring to make the city’s transit system safer.
One of those commitments includes a card linked to a rider’s transit account that they would need to scan before a bus door would open.
“The pass would carry the Rider’s fare, making it simple and convenient to get on the bus. Once the pass is scanned, the transit control centre would receive accurate information on who’s on the bus,” said Vogiatzakis.
Vogiatzakis says the system is not intended to be used to track citizens but to assist in investigations into incidents.
“This is not digital ID, I’m against digital ID. If violence, our vandalism, or other serious incidents occur on the transit bus, officials can have information immediately at their fingertips to start the investigation,” Vogiatzakis explained.
Other candidates running for Winnipeg mayor include Christopher Clacio, Umar Hayat, Mazher Alam, Don Woodstock, Joshua Pagdato, Johnny Calderón, Noah Redden, Zachary Uminski, Brad Gross, and Kevin Klein.
Most of their platforms are available on their campaign websites.
