OurWinnipeg 2045 recognizes that we need to work together to achieve complex global issues through local leadership and action. OurWinnipeg’s goals, objectives, and policy directions are based on 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and endorsed by the Government of Canada. OurWinnipeg 2045 localizes and condenses the SDGs into six key goals for the City of Winnipeg (see Figure 1 below). This framework provides a basis for achieving sustainable development, respecting human rights and measuring progress.

Like most North American cities, Winnipeg’s urban footprint increased significantly relative to its population in the post-war years. From 1971 to 2019, its settlement area nearly doubled in size (an increase of 92%), while its population only grew by only 37%^[1].

The settlement area includes all urban development used to support Winnipeg’s growth. This definition is similar to that of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBN) and the map is consistent with the historic 1966 Metropolitan Winnipeg Development Plan ‘Historical Growth Pattern’ map in that it shows all forms of growth by parcel, including golf courses, rail yards, park space, etc.

Note: This is an informational map only and is not intended to be regulatory or to have any policy implications.

After a decade of slow population growth in the 1990s, Winnipeg’s population began increasing steadily in the 2000s as a result of international immigration enabled by Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program. Over the 2010s, it is estimated that Winnipeg has grown by more than 95,000 people, a rate of growth more than ten times what was seen in the 1990s.

This robust population growth is expected to continue over the next 20 years. According to the Conference Board of Canada, the City of Winnipeg will grow by approximately 160,700 people between 2020 and 2040, or about 8,200 people annually. This growth will continue to be driven primarily by international immigration and has been critical in ensuring our workforce can support the needs of an aging population.

Source: City of Winnipeg Community Trends and Performance Report, Volume 1 for 2020 Budget

Source: City of Winnipeg Community Trends and Performance Report,
Volume 1 for 2020 Budget

As the population increases, so does the need for housing. Based on forecasted growth, Winnipeg will need to accommodate approximately 82,000 new dwellings between 2020 and 2040, or 3,900 new units annually.

Over the last decade, housing preferences in Winnipeg have undergone a dramatic shift, following similar trends in other cities. While single-family dwellings have historically been the preferred housing type going back several generations, the number of multi-family housing starts (semi-detached, row, and apartment dwellings) has exceeded single-family housing starts every year since 2012.

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that the strong interest in multi-family dwellings seen in the 2010s will continue, with approximately 60% of all future units expected to be row houses or apartment units. The City will need to ensure land is continually planned, zoned, and serviced in both greenfield and infill areas to accommodate this growth.

Complete communities are places that both offer and support a variety of lifestyle choices, providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to live, work, shop, learn and play in close proximity to one another.

1. Preservation of heritage sites
2. High frequency transit
3. Mixed developments – housing, retail, public space, etc.
4. Promotion of arts and culture
5. Local employment options
6. Connected transit, pedestrian, bike routes
7. High quality local spaces
8. Housing options/affordability
9. Complete streets – cars, bikes, pedestrians
10. Safe and accessible
11. Schools
12. Parking
13. Parks
14. Urban forest

Characteristics of Complete Communities

• Complete communities provide options for accessing services, amenities, and community resources by ensuring that most of the daily necessities of life — services, facilities, and amenities — are readily accessible.

• Complete communities facilitate a range of transportation options.

• Complete communities celebrate diversity and provide housing options that accommodate a range of incomes and household types for all stages of life.

• Complete communities provide options for local employment, while recognizing that not everyone will live close to where they work.

• Complete communities safeguard natural areas, such as wetlands and urban forests, for the protection of biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems

• Complete communities protect, preserve, and promote cultural, built and natural heritage resources to maintain an important connection to history, identity, cultural perspectives, and sense of place.

• Complete communities support good health, well-being and social interaction through a well- connected built environment that offers many options for active living and interactions between people, including safe, inclusive, and universally accessible open spaces.

• Complete communities provide access to healthy and affordable food.

• Complete communities also help us to meet our sustainability goals, which include better air quality, resource efficiency, waste management, and climate change mitigation as well as adaptability to climate change and resilience to natural disasters.

• Communities are living, dynamic and unique entities that evolve over time. The concept of complete communities is directly applicable to every part of the city, while recognizing the unique aspects that differentiate one community from another. Reflecting on the level of completeness of communities is a key step to developing, exploring, and comparing ideas for improving them.

• Communities are living, dynamic and unique entities that evolve over time. The concept of complete communities is directly applicable to every part of the city, while recognizing the unique aspects that differentiate one community from another. Reflecting on the level of completeness of communities is a key step to developing, exploring, and comparing ideas for improving them.

Is Cold Weather a Barrier to Complete Communities?

The short answer is no. Whether it’s rain (Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, B.C.), extreme heat (Miami, Fla. and Phoenix, Ariz.) or snow (Montreal, Que. and Ottawa, Ont.) – cities can adapt to their unique climates.

Winnipeg’s cold weather climate creates a host of benefits. However, it also poses challenges that we must overcome to best handle the demands of the weather and to fully embrace the season, while taking care of our vulnerable citizens.

By applying planning and design approaches suited to our unique climate, Winnipeg can mitigate some of the discomfort and inconveniences of winter. This positive approach can also make winter more enjoyable for everyone and bolster our community’s ability to attract new businesses and residents.

Recognizing this, cities such as Minneapolis and Edmonton – whose climates are similar to Winnipeg’s – have also been prioritizing the concept of complete communities in their development plans.

The 160,000 new residents that are expected to arrive in Winnipeg over the next 20 years offer a golden opportunity to help achieve its city building goals, such as revitalizing neighbourhoods and providing better support to retail, community, and sustainable transportation amenities. However, if managed poorly, their achievement could end up more distant, threatening Winnipeg’s long term sustainability.

In support of the new OurWinnipeg and Complete Communities 2.0, the Residential Growth Study was undertaken to help determine how Winnipeg could grow in the best way possible. This work consisted of three phases:

• First, criteria were developed to assess how all areas of the City capable of accommodating significant transformative growth could best deliver upon complete communities principles. These areas included all existing and potential Corridors, Major Redevelopment Sites, and greenfield areas.
• Second, these assessments were carried out.
• Finally, three growth scenarios were developed and assessed in relation to complete communities principles.

Below are the results of the study area assessments. These findings were used to inform key policies in Complete Communities 2.0, including the 50% intensification target, the greenfield phasing plan, and the introduction of Priority Corridors. More detailed information on the assessments can be found here:

• Greenfield evaluations
• Corridor evaluations
• Major redevelopment site (MRS) evaluations

For more information, please see the three growth scenarios.

The 160,000 new residents that are expected to arrive in Winnipeg over the next 20 years offer a golden opportunity to help achieve its city building goals, such as revitalizing neighbourhoods and providing better support to retail, community, and sustainable transportation amenities. However, if managed poorly, their achievement could end up more distant, threatening Winnipeg’s long term sustainability.

In support of the new OurWinnipeg and Complete Communities 2.0, the Residential Growth Study was undertaken to help determine how Winnipeg could grow in the best way possible. This work consisted of three phases:

• First, criteria were developed to assess how all areas of the City capable of accommodating significant transformative growth could best deliver upon complete communities principles. These areas included all existing and potential Corridors, Major Redevelopment Sites, and greenfield areas.
• Second, these assessments were carried out.
• Finally, three growth scenarios were developed and assessed in relation to complete communities principles.

Accommodating 160,000 new Winnipeggers will require about 82,000 new dwelling units, or approximately 1,700 single family dwellings, 400 rows, and 2,000 apartment units a year. The third phase of the Growth Study considered three different ways this housing could be distributed.

The first scenario considered 60% of all new dwelling units would be accommodated in greenfield areas versus 40% in the existing built-up area. This was considered to be largely status quo, with modest improvements needed to make infill development easier and more desirable to offset the depletion of easier opportunities over the time horizon of the plan. The second scenario considered a 50/50 split, where the greenfield share would decrease slightly over time through a more considerable effort in making infill easier and more desirable. The third considered 40% of new units in the existing built-up area, which would see the greenfield share decrease significantly through a substantial, concerted effort in enabling infill development.

(It should be noted that the three scenarios were based on the most recent Conference Board of Canada forecast, which contemplated a higher amount of singles-to-multis than what has actually materialized in recent years. Because single family dwellings are difficult to accommodate in infill areas at a significant scale, it will be easier to achieve a more aggressive intensification target if new multifamily units continue to outpace the forecasted rate, and vice versa.)

The three scenarios were assessed based on their policy and investment implications, conformance with OurWinnipeg sustainable development principles, and other metrics. It was felt that Scenario 2 served as an appropriate target that improved upon a number of City goals, including achievement of the emissions reduction target from the Council-endorsed Climate Action Plan. There was reticence to push hard for Scenario 3, as it was determined that its achievement would require restricting the amount of multifamily units in greenfield areas in spite of a developer’s willingness (keep in mind all three scenarios are working with the same unit type mix). It was felt that this ran contrary to complete communities principles.

From there, the preferred Scenario 2 was then imported into Complete Communities as the 50% intensification target.

What do you think – is a 50% intensification target too aggressive, not aggressive, or just right? Let us know!

For more information, please see the study area assessments.

The City of Winnipeg is forecasted to grow by 160,000 people over the next 20 years. Not only will these future Winnipeggers need places to live, but also places to work and to shop. Understanding how the city’s jobs will change and evolve is a critical piece in planning for growth.

In support of the new OurWinnipeg and Complete Communities 2.0, an Employment and Commercial Lands Study was undertaken to understand how much land will be needed for industrial and commercial development over the next 20 years. The study also reviewed existing plan policies and provided recommendations to ensure future development best promotes City goals and objectives. The study was led by a consulting team directed by Watson & Associated Economists Ltd.

Most notably, the study found:

• The City faces a large shortfall of serviced employment lands to accommodate forecasted growth over the next 20 years.
• City competitiveness is being compromised by the fact that serviced industrial lands are not sufficiently being brought on-stream and that there is no clear vision or strategy to do so.
• Capital Region municipalities are becoming increasingly competitive.
• Existing Complete Communities policy does not adequately protect and manage existing employment lands.
• There is more than enough vacant commercial land available to accommodate forecasted growth over the next 20 years, and that this surplus will inhibit retail intensification.

The results of this study were used to inform new Complete Communities policies, most notably found in the Employment Lands and Commercial Areas and Mixed Use Centres sections.

For more information, please see the final report.