Scott Gillingham will seek 2nd term as Winnipeg mayor

Bartley Kives · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says helium volition question a 2nd word successful 2026, erstwhile the metropolis holds its adjacent wide election.

The erstwhile pastor and St. James councillor announced his re-election plans with zero fanfare connected Wednesday, issuing a one-word email successful effect to a CBC News query astir whether intends to run again.

"Yes," said Gillingham spokesperson Colin Fast successful a statement, declining further comment.

Gillingham was elected politician successful 2022, winning an 11-candidate contention to win erstwhile politician Brian Bowman, who now sits arsenic a justice connected Manitoba's Court of King's Bench.

The borderline of triumph successful that predetermination was the closest for a Winnipeg mayoral contention since 1977. Gillingham slipped past erstwhile Winnipeg politician and Ontario Liberal MPP Glen Murray by 4,391 votes, attracting 27.5 per cent of the ballot compared to Murray's 25.3 per cent.

Gillingham's stock of the fashionable ballot successful 2022 was besides the lowest for any politician successful caller Winnipeg memory. Susan Thompson collected the second-lowest percent successful 1995, erstwhile she garnered 38.3 per cent of the fashionable vote.

It is unclear whether the choky quality of the 2022 contention volition promote other candidates from that predetermination to effort again.

CBC News could not scope Murray for comment. He divides his clip betwixt Winnipeg and Toronto. 

Kevin Klein, a erstwhile metropolis councillor and PC MLA who finished 3rd successful Winnipeg's 2022 mayoral contention with 14.8 per cent of the fashionable vote, did not respond to queries astir his imaginable involvement successful different run. Klein is present president and CEO of the Klein Group, which owns the Winnipeg Sun.

Shaun Loney, who finished 4th successful the 2022 contention with 14.7 per cent of the vote, said Wednesday helium volition not tally again successful 2026. 

Loney, a laminitis of respective societal enterprises, said portion helium was initially encouraged by aboriginal outreach efforts from Gillingham, helium is nary longer playing an advisory relation astatine metropolis hall.

"My doorway remains unfastened to helping the metropolis trim transgression and with societal enterprises and keeping young radical astatine location with greenish jobs," Loney said successful a statement.

"My efforts to spouse with the politician and assembly successful these areas — which the metropolis sorely needs — person unluckily not borne fruit."

The different 7 mayoral candidates successful 2022 earned a combined 17.7 per cent of the fashionable vote.

The past clip an incumbent politician was defeated successful an predetermination successful Winnipeg was successful 1956, erstwhile Stephen Juba defeated George Sharpe aft the second completed a azygous two-year term.

Juba and his successors — Bill Norrie, Thompson, Murray, Sam Katz and Brian Bowman — went connected to triumph each predetermination they contested portion they served arsenic mayor.

It remains to beryllium seen whether Gillingham is much susceptible to a situation than erstwhile incumbents.

On 1 hand, the erstwhile St. James councillor has mostly avoided scandal. His largest crisis, the choler implicit the Winnipeg Police Service's determination not to hunt the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of murdered Indigenous women, mostly stuck to erstwhile Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson.

On the different hand, this metropolis continues to conflict with social disparity, homelessness, crime, a shortage of superior to concern large infrastructure projects and increases to the outgo of living, including this year's property-tax hike, the largest successful Winnipeg in decades.

The adjacent civic predetermination is slated for Oct. 28, 2026.