Mayor Scott Gillingham and his supporters on Council just made life more expensive for you. Gillingham’s massive, record-breaking property tax hike, not to forget the new 911 tax levy they want to charge you, was pushed through today with the backing of Councillors Evan Duncan, Janice Lukes, Devi Sharma, Shawn Dobson, Matt Allard, Jeff Browaty, Ross Eadie, Vivian Santos, Jason Schreyer, and Markus Chambers. Not one of them showed any real effort to find savings or rein in spending. Instead, they stuck you with the bill.
The spin was out in full force during budget deliberations. Gillingham talked about controlling spending and cutting expenses, but where were the details? No timeline, no real plan, just empty words. Meanwhile, he justified higher taxes using a taxpayer-funded poll that isn’t even real quantitative data. It was nothing more than a convenient excuse to take more of your hard-earned money.
Councillor Sherri Rollins, to her credit, saw through the nonsense. She refused to support the 2025 budget, calling it a “confidence vote” she could not stand behind. One of her biggest concerns was the complete lack of transparency on pending water and waste rate hikes. How can the Council pass a budget when residents don’t even know what their household costs will be in the coming months? That information is expected in February, but by then, this budget will be locked in, leaving taxpayers with no say. Rollins was right: passing this budget now leaves people in the dark.
The secrecy didn’t stop there. The budget includes a $22 million 911 levy that hasn’t even been approved by the province. But that didn’t stop Gillingham and his supporters from presenting it as a done deal, treating phantom revenues as reality. Rollins called it a governance failure, and she was right. When politicians start counting on money that doesn’t exist, it’s a clear sign of financial mismanagement.
Then there’s Councillor Jeff Browaty, a long-time politician with no financial experience, who delivered a speech with no substance. He tried to deflect attention by suggesting that tariffs on Canadian goods could make city finances more expensive. That’s pure spin. Tariffs only impact goods coming from the U.S.—not Canadian-made products. Instead of looking for solutions, like prioritizing local procurement, he used it as another excuse to justify bad budgeting.
Councillor Brian Mayes, who has supported every budget for years, refused to back this one. That should tell you everything. He called it a sad day for Winnipeg and pointed out the secrecy surrounding the budget process. When he raised concerns, he got no answers. He also exposed Browaty’s misleading claim that voting against the budget meant voting against the North End Sewage Treatment Plant upgrades. That’s nonsense. The North End plant has no direct funding line in this budget. Using critical infrastructure as a shield to justify reckless spending is dishonest and insulting to Winnipeggers.
Mayes also reminded everyone of a long-standing issue: the city has been siphoning money from water fees for years instead of using it to fix infrastructure. The upgrades at the North End Treatment Plant could have been completed years ago if the Council hadn’t mismanaged those funds. That is entirely on the city. Instead of owning up to it, Gillingham’s administration continues the charade, pushing rate hikes at the last minute while pretending their hands are tied.
Russ Wyatt put it bluntly: Gillingham’s administration is hiking taxes now so they can roll them back just before the next election. This is classic election-year politics—make life harder today so they can pretend to be heroes later. It’s dishonest. Worse, it treats taxpayers like pawns in a political game.
Gillingham and his allies love to talk about how they’re making “tough decisions.” But real leadership isn’t about taking more money from residents while giving millions to pet projects and special interests. Where was the restraint when it came to pouring millions into the arts? Where was the concern when they were giving themselves pay increases and almost doubling their expense accounts? Where was the urgency to cut non-essential spending? Instead, they took the easy way out—raise taxes, raise fees, and leave taxpayers struggling to keep up.
The worst part? You’re getting nothing in return. Services aren’t improving. Your roads aren’t getting better. Crime isn’t decreasing. Your quality of life isn’t going up. What you are getting is a bigger tax bill and higher water rates, while these same politicians give themselves a pay raise.
We cannot afford to re-elect Duncan, Lukes, Gillingham, Sharma, Allard, Browaty, Eadie, Santos, Schreyer, or Chambers. They have shown no ability—or desire—to properly manage your money. They have not exercised fiscal restraint. They have not prioritized your needs. They have proven that their solution to every problem is to take more from you, never to spend less. Winnipeg deserves better.