West End residents worry neighbourhood becoming 'financial desert' as RBC branch set to close

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

People successful Winnipeg's West End fearfulness their neighbourhood is becoming a fiscal desert, arsenic 1 of the past banks successful the country is acceptable to adjacent successful the coming weeks.

The Royal Bank subdivision astatine Sargent Avenue and Sherbrook Street volition adjacent July 10, and merge with the 1 connected Ellice Avenue adjacent Polo Park.

Ella Hudson has lived successful the West End for astir 30 years, and does each of her banking in-person astatine the RBC branch astatine the country of Sargent and Sherbrook.

Without a car, she faces a agelong locomotion to get to the adjacent nearest bank.

"I cognize a batch of radical that are elders … similar myself," she said. "I could get astir connected bike, but that's too the point."

Cheryl Martens has besides lived successful the West End for decades. She says galore radical successful the country don't person vehicles oregon Internet, and trust connected in-person banking services to conscionable their fiscal needs.

"Once you commencement losing your services, it's benignant of similar a decease knell to a community, I think," she said.

The lone different full-service slope successful the West End is the TD subdivision connected Notre Dame Avenue.

The closest RBC subdivision is successful the Manitoba Hydro gathering downtown — astir a 20-minute locomotion away.

A spokesperson for RBC told CBC News successful an email statement the determination was made aft considering however champion to service their clients, arsenic much radical usage different banking methods similar telephone, online and mobile.

"Our subdivision web continually evolves and changes arsenic we question to service our clients wherever and however they privation to behaviour their banking," wrote Robb Ritchie, determination manager of communications for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, and occidental Ontario.

"In immoderate circumstances, this whitethorn impact combining branches, relocating definite branches, oregon opening caller ones."

Difficult for radical with disabilities

Lynne Somerville recovered retired astir the slope closing from a neighbour who has a carnal disability.

"She has large trouble adjacent walking from Toronto Street, down Sargent to this bank, and she's looking aft an aged father, truthful she has to person idiosyncratic successful her location to look aft her dada portion she walks down here," Somerville said.

Somerville, Martens and Hudson, on with a fewer different assemblage members, met with the subdivision manager connected Wednesday to stock their concerns, but "it's hard to cognize if you tin halt thing erstwhile it's successful motion," Martens said.

The radical besides asked for enactment from the area's municipal, provincial and national representatives.

Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy, Union Station MLA Uzoma Asagwara, and Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan each wrote letters urging RBC to reverse course.

"Banks supply precise important aspects of assemblage living, and particularly successful inner-city communities," said Gilroy, noting that they assistance beforehand fiscal literacy, which is important for radical seeking to get a mortgage.

There are a fig of reasons wherefore radical successful the neighbourhood take to slope successful person, said Asagwara.

"We already cognize that that peculiar area, that community, immoderate folks place arsenic a nutrient desert. We don't privation to spot it go besides a fiscal desert."

RBC experts including fiscal planners, concern and status planners, owe specialists, commercialized bankers and tiny concern advisors volition inactive conscionable with radical wherever it's convenient for them, including successful their homes, bureau oregon different adjacent branches, Ritchie wrote successful the statement.

"With our different adjacent subdivision and ATM locations, further options for clients to beryllium served by RBC, and our ongoing committedness to supporting assemblage organizations done sponsorship, donation, and volunteerism, we volition proceed to beryllium afloat contiguous successful this community."

Ralph Bryant, different West End resident, attended the aforesaid gathering with the RBC subdivision manager connected Wednesday. He says idiosyncratic referred to the added costs West End residents look to entree fiscal services arsenic a "tax connected poverty."

"You deliberation astir the information that … it's going to outgo you a autobus thrust to get to [the Ellice Avenue location] … That is perfectly a taxation connected poverty."

Martens says determination are much assemblage meetings planned to fto radical cognize what is happening with the slope and to signifier a response. They volition conscionable astatine X-Cues astatine 551 Sargent connected June 26 at 12 p.m. and again astatine 6 p.m.