“Unite to Build a Stronger Winnipeg”

Thank you to Chief Meeches, for your wise thoughts and kind words,

[- and congratulations on your recent retirement after many years of service.]

Thank you so much for your introductions, Markus,

To my neighbors joining me from St. James, and to especially my wife Marla, and my kids Hannah and

Andrew -

- thanks for your trust and patience through two terms at City Council.

To you again, Councillor Chambers and to Councillor Janice Lukes –

Thank you so very much for your invaluable counsel, and your support.

To Ravi and our hosts here at the St. James Burger and Chip Co, you and thousands of small businesses

have had a very tough couple of years….

- I hope our crowd tonight helps a little bit with your own economic recovery.

And to everyone else here from across the city:

Welcome to my home, St. James –

Just like Winnipeg –

A place where families of all kinds, from all places, faiths and backgrounds

- can live, work and build.

[Beat, off-podium]

I love this city -!

[break for applause, escalate]

We love this city!

[Break for applause - shift to a reflective, “I’m doing a speech now” tone]

Steve Juba was this city’s first Ukrainian-Canadian Mayor, and its longest-serving mayor.

And while I was a pastor most of my life, Steve Juba had a long list of different jobs and businesses

before he was elected Mayor.

Once, briefly, he worked as a cement mixer.

Back in 1959, he told Maclean’s Magazine why he couldn’t handle that job.

“As fast as I mixed [the cement],” he said, “the truck dumped some more to mix.”

“I could see I wasn’t getting anywhere,” Juba said,

“…so I quit.”

(Pause. Compassion)

I know, for too many Winnipeggers, the last two years felt a lot like that cement truck.

We’ve worked, and suffered, and grieved through six waves of a global pandemic.

We’ve just huddled through our third [?] snowiest winter in recorded history.

We’ve seen a dark winter of addiction and homelessness that’s tested our sense of justice,

- and our compassion.

As City Council’s Finance Chair, I made sure we invested record dollars in road repair –

Twice as much as Mayor Katz was investing when he left office,

Adjusting for inflation – four times as much Mayor Murray did in 2004.

- But every new crack in our infrastructure tells us we’ve only just started to outpace decades of

neglect.

And we might just have a flood around the corner.

Just like Steve Juba said, the cement keeps pouring –

[Pause - Declarative]

But now is no time to quit.

Too often, this city has tried to walk away from our biggest challenges.

Now, more than ever, we’ve got to face them, head on, with a new approach.

[Pause]

Does anyone in this crowd know our city’s official motto?

Anyone?

[Wait for the shout]

That’s it.

“One, with the strength of many.”

One – with the strength of many.

Too much of our political history has been all about making big promises, setting big targets and

announcing big visions

- without first building the strength to deliver on them.

Steve Juba promised us a monorail – but there’s no monorail.

Glen Murray told us that we could power a whole neighborhood with geothermal, build rapid transit for

cheap, and put a restaurant on a bridge.

Only a fraction of that neighborhood is geothermal, rapid transit wasn’t cheap, and the restaurants on

the bridge kept closing, one after another.

In this term of Council, we accepted Mayor Bowman’s challenge to plant a million trees – and we’re still

planting at less than half the speed we need to hit that goal.

[Pause]

Winnipeg needs to renew our economic strength so we can build stronger families and a grow a

stronger civic balance sheet.

We need stronger, faster, more modern, more people-friendly services for communities and businesses.

Mayor Bowman will be remembered best for real progress on reconciliation, with city support [?] for the

master plan for Naawi-Ooodena, the largest urban reserve in Canada -

And with real infrastructure for the forgotten people of the Shoal Lake First Nation.

We need to learn from that progress to help build the economic and cultural strength of First Nations

for now and generations to come.

We need stronger, more resilient, climate-friendly infrastructure,

- so we can deliver safe, reliable transportation choices,

- clean up our rivers and restore our urban forests.

We need better crime prevention, smarter policing, and safer shelters for people who are struggling, so

we aren’t just shifting a crisis on one street to the next street over.

And we need strength of compassion to face stubborn problems like homelessness and addiction.

We have to do all that.

It’s urgent.

And it’s Winnipeg, so we have to squeeze more value out of every dollar as we do.

[Pause]

And how can we build that strength?

I believe Winnipeg has a secret superpower.

I saw it – right here - when people from every possible background came together

- to get the Bruce Oake Recovery Center built right here in St. James

An entire city rallied to overcome mistrust, suspicion and resistance…

…so people who were loved, who needed a place to recover

- could find it without having to hide in someone else’s community.

If our team is open to all –

If our team is an open table - and not a big vault with a locked door -

If we can bring many perspectives together to pool our resources and share our talents -

We CAN get ahead.

We’re one, with the strength of many.

And it’s time to draw on that strength, together.

That’s why I’m running -

- to unite us,

{Pause]

- to build a stronger Winnipeg -

as your next Mayor -!

[Over applause]

‍

Work with me.

Worth with us.

Work together

Thank you –

And thank you for your support.

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