Mayoral candidates can begin registering campaigns on May 1
Chris Clacio was the first candidate to register a mayoral campaign in Winnipeg this year. He finished last in a field of 11 mayoral candidates in 2022. (Kevin Nepitabo/CBC)
While leaves have yet to return to Winnipeg trees this spring, prospective mayoral candidates are already thinking about October.
Registration for mayoral campaigns opens Friday, allowing anyone who wants to lead the Manitoba capital to begin raising and spending money.
This marks the formal start of a nearly six-month-long mayoral race that culminates on Oct. 28, when voters will also choose their next set of city councillors and school trustees.
As of the end of April, 527,412 Winnipeggers were on the city’s voter list, said Sherwood Armbruster, the City of Winnipeg’s senior election official.
He said he hopes that number will grow as more people check that voter list online and add their names to the roll.
“It will enhance the voting experience and ensure that you don’t have to take an oath,” Armbruster said in an interview.
The city intends to make it easier to vote this year than in previous elections, mainly by replacing its remaining paper voter-registration records with digital poll books that allow election workers to instantly discern whether anyone is eligible to vote, said Armbruster.
This will also allow voters on election day to do something that was only available in the 2022 election at advance polls: Vote at any polling location within their council ward.
“We believe this is going to make it easier for voters. It’s going to reduce lineups. It will improve the voter experience on election day,” Armbruster said.
Spending limits
Also new in this election season, candidates for school trustee positions on Winnipeg-area school boards must register their campaigns and will be subject to limits on how much money they can raise or spend.
“It will be the first time we ever have school trustee registration,” Armbruster said.
This change effectively impedes the influence of so-called dark money in school trustee races, as political parties or other political entities won’t be able to pour unlimited funds into those races.
It remains to be seen if this attempt to level the school trustee playing field this year will result in more or fewer candidates for those positions this fall.
Gillingham registers
Only two of the top four contenders from Winnipeg’s 2022 mayoral race have expressed an interest in running again this year.
Scott Gillingham, who was elected mayor by a narrow margin four years ago, registered his second campaign for mayor on Friday afternoon.
Gillingham said he is seeking re-election to ensure the city follows through on initiatives it has started over the past four years.
“Some of the big decisions that weren’t made in the past, like opening Portage and Main, getting work done on Portage Place, lot of progress on north end [sewage treatment] plant — a lot of those have started; I want to see them through,” Gillingham said in the courtyard at city hall, flanked by his wife, Marla.
Gillingham said Winnipeg has developed more housing during his first term and has seen an improvement in crime statistics, although he acknowledged the public perception of safety also matters.
Gillingham said he expects more competition in the mayoral race in the coming months. Only one of his main competitors from the 2022 election is weighing a rematch.
Glen Murray, a former Winnipeg mayor who finished a close second to Gillingham in his 2022 comeback, has not stated any intention with regard to running this year.
Former city councillor and Progressive Conservative MLA Kevin Klein, who finished third in 2022, said in April he is considering another run.
Shaun Loney, who finished fourth in the last election, said he will not run again.
Together, Gillingham, Murray, Klein and Loney captured 82 per cent of the popular vote in 2022. They were the only candidates to capture double-digit support in that election.
Seven other candidates captured a combined 18 per cent of the popular vote, including three who each received less than one per cent of it.
Christopher Clacio, who received 0.23 per cent of the vote in 2022 and finished last in a field of 11 mayoral candidates, became the first candidate to register a mayoral campaign in 2026.
Clacio, who works as a grocery clerk, said Friday he believes he can improve on his 2022 showing and defeat Gillingham.
“I think I’m one of the most progressive candidates, and I also think I’m the game-changer candidate in this election,” Clacio said before he visited the city clerk’s office on Friday morning to register his campaign.
“I do feel like I’m going to be one of the top contenders.”
Clacio said if he is elected he will change the mayor’s powers. One way he would do so is by ensuring the mayor serves as council’s speaker instead of using his council seat as a platform.
Up to 4 vacant council seats
As of the end of April, only four of Winnipeg’s 15 city councillors had not declared whether they intend to run again this year.
All are long-serving council veterans.
Russ Wyatt, who has represented Transcona for 20 out of the past 24 years, faces sexual assault charges.
John Orlikow, who was first elected to council in a 2009 byelection, said Thursday he has not decided whether to seek another term in River Heights-Fort Garry.
Brian Mayes, who became the councillor for St. Vital in a 2011 byelection, said he too is mulling his future.
Janice Lukes, who was first elected in what was then South Winnipeg-St. Norbert in 2014 and now represents Waverley West, said she will announce in June whether she will run for a fourth term.
Candidates for councillor and school trustee must wait until June 30 to register their campaigns.
The nomination period for mayor, council and school trustee candidates is Sept. 16-22. Candidates must submit valid nomination papers in order to wind up on the Oct. 28 ballot.