Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg

Winnipeg officially became a city on 8 November 1873, with the passing of An Act to Incorporate the City of Winnipeg by the Manitoba Legislature. The Act would outline the essential powers of Winnipeg City Council, and provide a precise description of the city's boundaries (the city itself being 3 square miles at incorporation):[10]

• Its southern and eastern boundaries were marked by the Assiniboine and Red Rivers
• Its western boundary was marked by present-day Maryland Street, Notre Dame Avenue, and McPhillips Street
• Its northern boundary was marked by Burrows Avenue, west of Main Street, and Aberdeen Avenue, east of Main Street.

With 4 city wards in total, Winnipeg's first civic election took place on 5 January 1874, for which voters had to be (1) male; (2) 21 years of age; (3) British subjects by birth or naturalization; (4) resident in the City at least 3 months prior to the election; and (5) own property valued at $100 or more, or pay at least $20 per year in rent. William Nassau Kennedy was the acting City Clerk and Registrar for the first election, and found that only 398 residents of the new City of Winnipeg met the qualifications to vote.[10] With this election, Francis Evans Cornish became the first mayor of Winnipeg.[10]

In 1887, civic suffrage was afforded to women in Winnipeg, 80 of whom would be eligible to vote in that year's civic election and 476 in the election of 1888.[10]

Crowd gathered outside the old City Hall on Main Street and William Avenue, during the 1919 general strike. Visible on the left are the Union Bank building and Leland Hotel.

Starting in 1900, in both provincial and federal elections, central Winnipeg elected politicians from the Labour Party.

While the norm in the city's early years was for local elected officials to be English Protestants, there were still exceptions who won elections: Arni Frederickson (Ward 5, 1891) and Arni Eggertson (Ward 4, 1906) were Icelandic; Moses Finkelstein and Altar Skaletar (Ward 5, 1912) were Jewish; and Theodore Stefanik (Ward 5, 1911) was the first Ukrainian elected to City Council.[10]

Women could not hold office in Winnipeg until 1916, after which Alice A. Holling in 1917 (Ward 7) became the first woman to run for Council. (Holling lost to Alexander McLennan, 693 to 358.) In December 1920, Jessie Kirk became the first woman elected to Council. Kirk served a two-year term on Council for Ward 2, running again in 1922, 1923, 1926, and 1934, but was defeated each time.[10]

From 15 May to 28 June in 1919, Winnipeg was the site of a general strike. There were violent protests during this strikes, several deaths at the hands of the Royal North-West Mounted Police, and the arrest of many of Winnipeg's future politicians. The unrest was adapted into a stage musical in 2005 called Strike!, itself being adapted into a 2019 film directed by Robert Adetuyi, titled Stand!.[11] Though it was not chartered until 1932, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation would be born out of the 1919 labour unrest, as well as out of the Depression. Its successor, the New Democratic Party, has enjoyed much support in Winnipeg since the early 1960s.

Manitoba Legislative Building

The 1965 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 27, 1965.[12] On July 27, 1971, the City of Winnipeg became a unicity by amalgamating the Town of Tuxedo; the rural municipalities of Charleswood, Fort Garry, North Kildonan, Old Kildonan; the cities of East Kildonan, West Kildonan, St. Vital, Transcona, St. Boniface, St. James-Assiniboia; the old City of Winnipeg; and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg.

The first election for the newly combined city was held on 6 October 1971. The City Council consisted of 50 councillors and one mayor. The councillors were elected on the basis of one councillor per city ward while the mayor was elected by the city-at-large. The term of office was three years. The inaugural meeting of the new council took place on 4 January 1972. Since 50 councillors proved too unwieldy, the city wards were reduced to 29 in 1977. In 1992, the city wards were reduced even further to the present 15 and city councillors became full-time politicians.

On 22 June 2004, Sam Katz was elected as the first Jewish mayor of Winnipeg. He beat out prominent politicians Dan Vandal, Al Golden, and MaryAnn Mihychuk for the job by receiving 42.51% of the vote. This came after the resignation of Glen Murray as mayor of Winnipeg to run in the 2004 federal election. Katz was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 elections on 25 October 2006. After promising in his first election to run for only two terms, Katz ran for a third term in 2010. He was re-elected in the 2010 elections. Brian Bowman, the city's first Indigenous mayor, was elected as the 43rd Mayor of the City of Winnipeg in a landslide victory on 22 October 2014.

Winnipeg is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by eight Members of Parliament: as of 2019, the eight include four from the Liberal Party, two from the Conservative Party, and two from the New Democratic Party. Winnipeg's longest-serving Members of Parliament include J.S. Woodsworth (21 years), Stanley Knowles (38 years), David Orlikow (25 years), Bill Blaikie (almost 27 years and re-elected in the 2006 federal election), and Lloyd Axworthy (21 years).

During the initial two years of the city's incorporation in November 1873, city council meetings were held in various buildings in Winnipeg, including a furniture store.[19]

Winnipeg's first City Hall (1876–83) was built for CA$40,000 in 1876, three years after the city was incorporated, and was located on Main Street between William and Market Avenues.[15] Commencing in 1875, the building was constructed by Robert Dewar on top of a creek that was filled-in for that purpose.[15][19]

The placing of the cornerstone of the city hall on 17 August 1875 was celebrated as a "grand civic holiday," with a large procession down Main Street to the ritual of laying the cornerstone.[19] In the cornerstone, a casket (or time capsule) was deposited, containing coins, bills, newspapers, and photographs of the city.[10]

The building was formally opened in March 1876 with a concert in aid of the Winnipeg General Hospital. During these early years, the hall served as a multi-use building.[19] Developing cracks in its walls shortly after it was erected along with other structural flaws for which wooden poles had to be used to prop it up, the building was demolished in 1883.[17]

Winnipeg's 2nd City Hall and the Volunteer Monument, 1887

During the construction of the second hall (1884–86), the Mayor and City Council took up residence at 238 King Street in the newly built Coronation Block, which served as an interim “City Hall” between 1883 and 1886. (Eventually needing repairs and becoming a public safety hazard itself, the Coronation Block building was demolished in 2012.)[20] In July 1884, the cornerstone for the second City Hall was laid.[19] This new building, designed by architectural firm Barber and Barber, had a Victorian, Queen Anne Revival style.[17][19]

The second Hall not only served the city government throughout its years, it also provided residence for the city's Board of Trade, the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba's library and reading room, and club rooms of the St. George's and St. Andrew's Societies. The building lasted just under 80 years, being demolished in 1962. While its replacement was initially planned for construction around 1913, the First World War would get in the way of these plans and not resurface until the late 1950s.[17]

When planning for Winnipeg's third city hall, City Council considered various different sites in and around the core downtown area. However, they would eventually decide to remain in the Exchange District, the city's traditional central business district, adjacent to Old Market Square.[15]

With a modernist, International style, the current City Hall was built in 1962–63 for $8.2 million—the style symbolizing upcoming centennial celebrations: the 1967 Canadian Centennial, the 1970 Manitoba centennial, and the 1973 Winnipeg centennial. The building's cornerstone was laid by Stephen Juba, Winnipeg's first “immigrant” mayor, and it was officially opened on 5 October 1964.[17]

The Public Safety Building, 151 Princess Street entrance

The Civic Centre and the Manitoba Centennial Centre were connected by tunnels in 1967. From 2015 to 2017, the two buildings went through $5.4 million in renovations. Its administration building was renamed the Susan A. Thompson Building to recognize the titular first female mayor of Winnipeg, who held office from 1992 to 1998.[17]

In the inner courtyard of City Hall, which was refurbished in 2003,[15] are ceramic crests of each of the rural municipalities that were amalgamated into the City of Winnipeg in 1972. Commemorating the second City Hall is a Historic Winnipeg plaque found behind the City Hall sign near the northwest corner of the Council Building of the current City Hall.[21]

The current Hall consists of two individual buildings: one for Winnipeg City Council and the other for administrative works, both joined by an underground corridor.[15][17] Faced with Tyndall stone and Quebec Granite, the two buildings feature a bronze frame, screen, and hardware elements; with public-area interior wall finishes being limestone, granite, brick, and plaster.[15]

The dedication to the City Hall, dedicated during the official opening ceremony for the City Hall on 5 October 1964, is inscribed into the west wall of the Council Building lobby.[15] The Council Building, located on Princess Street,[21] contains:[15]

• Council Chamber
• Public Gallery, with a maximum capacity of 250 people
• Committee Rooms
• the Office of the Mayor
• Councillor offices
• the City Clerk's Department
• the Creative Services Branch of the Internal Services Department
• the Emergency Operations office

The Administration Building, (now called the Susan A. Thompson Building),[17] is seven-stories high and houses:[15]

• office of the Chief Administrative Officer
• office of the Corporate Services and Corporate Finance Departments
• conference rooms
• a public restaurant

Winnipeg-based units/groups belonging to the Canadian Armed Forces include:

• 12th Manitoba Dragoons
• CFB Winnipeg
• Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
• Royal Winnipeg Rifles and the Winnipeg Light Infantry
• Winnipeg Grenadiers

This map shows each robbery in Winnipeg (one dot per robbery) in 2012. There were 1,811 robberies that year.

In 2019, Winnipeg's Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI)[lower-roman 3] rating came to 173, against the national average of 82.44, ranking #13 out of a total 237.[26]

Though the city experiences high rates of violent crime, Winnipeg has witnessed a general decreasing trend in the frequency of these crimes. For example, the assault rate has dropped every year since 2009, from 953.4 per 100,000 residents to 810.9 in 2012. Although this rate is still not as low as the number recorded in 2007 (781.1), it is substantially lower than the years of 1996 to 2002, when the average rate was 1049.8 per 100,000 residents. The robbery rate has also decreased over time, peaking in 2009 at 346.7.[27] In 2012, the robbery rate was at either 250.1 or 272.9, as there were discrepancies between the numbers of the annual crime report (1,660 robberies reported) and of CrimeStat (1,811).[28] Either rate was nonetheless several times higher than the national average of 79.4,[29] though it would be a decrease from 2009 (346.7) and 2007 (781.1).[27] The Winnipeg Transit system is a frequent place of violent crime including assaults on drivers and passengers,[30] and the homicide of a transit driver in 2017.[31]

The only rate that has increased is the homicide rate. From 1981 to 2012, Winnipeg had the highest murder rate among Canada's largest nine cities a total of sixteen times, with a rate of 6.2 per 100,000 residents.[32] There were an additional 4 unlawful deaths, which would bring the rate to 6.8. This rate was around 4 times higher than the national rate (1.7 per capita).[33] The next year, there were 34 known homicides in Winnipeg (5.1 per capita) with an addition 3 unlawful deaths (equating to a rate of 5.6 per 100,000 people), again being a few times higher than the national rate (1.6).[34][35]

From 2018 to 2019, the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area had the largest VCSI increase (22) in the number of homicides in Canada overall.[5][36] In November 2019, Winnipeg experienced an unprecedented 11 homicides in the span of 30 days.[37] Two weeks before the end of 2019, Winnipeg broke its own record for the most homicides in a year, with 44 homicides. Of those 42, 36 were men or boys and six were women or girls; four were under age 18, with a total of 44 homicides in the year (a homicide rate of 6.2 per 100,000 people).[38][6]

In 2020, gangs were a significant driving force of violence in Winnipeg—with 50% of all 110 shootings and 30% of all 43 homicides that year being gang related. By December that year, 86% of the homicide cases had been solved. Among the victims were more than 93 young Indigenous people (male and female) between the ages of 17 and 25 years old.[39][40]

In 2021, the city nearly tied their homicide record with 43 homicides being reported in the year, along with and a record 186 fatal & non-fatal shootings throughout the city (a shooting rate of 24.8 shootings per 100,000 residents, higher than any other major city in Canada).[41][42]

2022 was the deadliest year in the city's history with a record 54 homicides being reported, a 25.5% increase from the year before, giving the city a homicide rate of 7.2 per 100,000 residents, a rate which is comparable to modern-day Los Angeles, and the second highest homicide rate of all major cities in Canada, after Thunder Bay (13.7 per 100,000).[43][44][45]

This graph shows the trends for Winnipeg's property crime, from 1991 to 2012

Drug-related offences in Canada are administered by the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).[52] Criminal traffic violations are facilitated via the Criminal Code.[53]

In 2019, in addition to a significant spike in homicides, violence, and child pornography, Winnipeg dealt with rising violent property crimes, exacerbated by a meth crisis.[4] Contributing to that change was an increase in fraud, theft of $5,000 or under, and breaking & entering.[5]

From 2018 to 2019, the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area had the largest Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI) increase (22) in the number of homicides in Canada overall.[5] In 2019, Winnipeg also dealt with rising violent property crimes. Driving that change was an increase in homicide, fraud, shoplifting of $5,000 or under, as well as breaking and entering, and child pornography.[5]

Winnipeg ranked #13 out of 237 on Canada's VCSI in 2019, with a rating of 173 (the national average was 82.44). Its overall Crime Severity Index (CSI) rating came to 125, against the national average of 75.01.[26] With an increase of 12% from the previous year, Winnipeg therefore saw the third largest increase in the 2019 CSI, tied with Thunder Bay, Ontario, but behind Victoria (20%) and Kelowna (13%), BC.[5]

Among municipalities of Manitoba, Winnipeg still fell behind Thompson at #1 (CSI: 366; VCSI: 570), Portage la Prairie at #3 (CSI: 263; VCSI: 316), and Selkirk at #7 (CSI: 193; VCSI: 231).[5]

The red area is the geographic location of the cluster of 20 neighbourhoods in Winnipeg with the highest robbery rates

Despite high overall violent crime rates compared to other Canadian cities, crime in Winnipeg is very concentrated. For example, 80 of 234 neighbourhoods had not one robbery in 2012,[60] and 32 others only had one robbery. However, there were 20 neighbourhoods (about 10% of neighbourhoods) that had higher robbery rates than the highest robbery rate in Toronto (Bay Street Corridor; 640 per 100,000 residents),[61][62] such as Lord Selkirk Park with a rate of 4,395.6.,[63] or South Portage at 4,139.8.

The 20 neighbourhoods in Winnipeg with the highest robbery rates, all have boundaries that connect to each other, with a cumulative population of 54,255 in 2006:[64] South Point Douglas, Logan – C.P.R., Lord Selkirk Park, South Portage, Portage – Ellice, Dufferin Industrial, Spence, Central Park, St. John's Park, William Whyte, West Alexander, North Point Douglas, Centennial, Colony, Chinatown, Dufferin, Daniel Mcintyre, St. John's, Portage & Main, and West Broadway[28][60][lower-roman 9] In 2012, with 918 robberies (1692.9 per capita),[28] this geographical cluster is where the majority of violent crime happened in Winnipeg. 918 of the 1,812 (50.7%) robberies in the city occurred in this area, where only 8.7% of the cities total population lives.[60][64] From 2009 to 2013, 95 of the 145 (65.5%) homicides in Winnipeg occurred in this smaller portion of the city,[65] creating an average homicide rate of 35.0 per 100,000 residents, peaking at 57.1 in 2011. If one were subtract these areas from the city, the homicide rate average in Winnipeg would substantially lower at 1.8 per 100,000 people, and the robbery rate in the city is over 1,000% lower at 156.7.

The two highest rankings are South Point Douglas (11,304.3) and Logan-C.P.R. (6,333.3) but both have lower populations under 1,000 residents. Lord Selkirk Park and South Portage compare to some of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the US,[66] however no ranking is 100% certain as Canada and the USA have different classifications for crimes, (robbery is one though that both countries use the same), and there are also no recorded assault rates for Winnipeg neighbourhoods.

The table below shows the crime rates of various crimes of each population area of Winnipeg. The crime data spans 5 years from the year 2017 to the year 2021. The rates are crimes per 100,000 residents per year. For more narrow and specific data, there are two more tables below that show the crime rates for each individual neighborhood.

The table below features all of the majorly residential neighborhoods of Winnipeg. It excludes neighborhoods that are majorly or entirely commercial, like Polo Park, Regent, Kildonan Crossing and the vast majority of Downtown. It also excludes neighborhoods that are majorly or entirely industrial, like St. James Industrial, Tuxedo Industrials and South Point Douglas. Finally, it also excludes neighborhoods that are majorly or entirely parks, like Kildonan Park and Assiniboine Park, though just because a neighborhood has "park" in its name does not mean the neighborhood is actually majorly a park in the same sense that just because a neighborhood has "lake" (i.e.: Island Lakes) in its name or "forest" (i.e.: Bridgewater Forest) in its name does not actually mean it's majorly a lake or a forest.

Some neighborhoods here are marked as being residential-commercial (res./com.), and this refers to the fact that some residential neighborhoods also have a large commercial or industrial area forming part of them. The consequence of this is that they will have somewhat inflated crime rates compared to typical residential neighborhoods because commercial and industrial zones are non-residential and thus these non-residential establishments can also be victims to crimes like robbery and theft, so essentially is extra crime occurring in non-residential areas of the neighborhoods that don't necessarily have any effect on the residential parts.