Hope for change, better transit and stronger community supports top voter concerns in St. Vital
Words and Photos by Trinity Kakegamic
St. Vital is in the south-central part of Winnipeg. Some major landmarks in this ward include St. Vital Centre, St. Vital Park, Maple Grove Park and summertime hotspot St-Leon Gardens. The ward is made up of working- and middle-class neighbourhoods such as Norberry, Glenwood, Dakota Crossing, Varennes, Vista, among many others.
St. Vital is generally considered a safe, generally quiet residential ward. According to Winnipeg Police Service community-level statistics, property crime makes up the majority of reported incidents in the area, while violent crime accounts for a smaller share and has seen a slight increase in recent years.
Brian Mayes is the current councillor. The long-time politician was re-elected in 2022, but for the first time in almost 15 years he is not running for re-election — meaning among the candidates there is no incumbent and the ward is an open challenge. There are three candidates currently campaigning to become the next St. Vital city councillor, each entering municipal politics for the first time.
Gerald LaRiviere, 62, retired police officer.
He and his family have lived in the ward for two years.
What’s life like in the ward?
When we decided to move back to the city, it had to be this area because it’s close to the country… and we’re comfortable in this area. That’s the main reason why we moved here. A lot of our family live in this area, it’s convenient, and it’s just a beautiful area … We found our little home, and here we are living here and loving it. There’s a lot of walking paths here. We walk a lot. I like going to St. Vital Park … St. Mary’s Park too. I feel very safe, feel very comfortable, and there’s a lot of nice walking trails. It’s so nature-oriented here in the city, but you feel like you’re in the country. I like what they’re doing, keeping the green space … In summer, it seems like this area just comes to life… It’s just a beautiful area, actually.
What are some local needs that you notice?
A lot of people are not happy with the new transit system … I think the transit system should work a little bit better. They should cater to better transportation for people who want to use a transit system, but also our elders. You can’t forget about them when they start losing their driving privileges … People need to move around, and when you lose that, a big part of your life is gone. They should make it easier for people to get to wherever they want to get to in the city… That’s something they should, as a city, try to fix or make better. My wife goes walking the dog a lot and she feels safe. During the day and early night it’s very safe … I myself feel safe, and I don’t think it’s a concern.
What’s your take on the Oct. 28 election?
We take it seriously, you know, people lose their lives for the right to vote … Brian Mayes has been running this riding for a long time, so I think change is good. Not that he was doing it bad, but all three candidates sound good. If they come in with the right state of mind and want to work hard for this area and also for Winnipeg, I’m excited. Sometimes a new face, a new electricity, you know what I mean, is good for the area … It sounds like they’re very eager and wanting to do good, and that’s exciting. This is a nice area to live, so with people coming in with the right state of mind, they will do good. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.
Alexander MacGill, 35, assistant at Investors Group Financial
He and his partner have lived in the ward since February 2021.
What’s life like in the ward?
It’s very relaxed, very chill … people here are very nice … a lot of people, I think, are getting close to retirement age. Their kids are in university, they’re growing up, so we’re kind of the younger house on the block, if you want to call it … but it’s very nice, everyone’s friendly and, you know, nobody’s doing anything too crazy, so we really enjoy our time here.
What are some local needs that you notice?
I wasn’t a big fan of the new transit system with the main routes, they’re all coming down to the mall. So for me, it was a lot of very packed, slow journeys home, two buses rather than one … it used to be a little more streamlined for me. I was not too happy with the bus system. But, I mean, it is what it is. We feel pretty safe for the most part … Construction sucks, they just closed down River Road over there, so that’s our way to work … it’s a little more annoying than it has been … It’s literally always something … that’s an annoyance, but it’s not a deal breaker.
What’s your take on the Oct. 28 election?
We always try to say, well, what is each party saying … so you know what you’re voting for. I always like seeing fresh faces. If you get a chance to actually interact with them, then that’s also a big one because you can see who’s more human. I always vote. If I want to complain, I have to vote. Change is good. We don’t want the same thing over and over and people get comfortable and then they start getting lazy. Brian Mayes was our councillor for 15 years, and for the first time he’s not rerunning. That’s nice. From what I’ve seen, they seem like decent candidates, so I’m excited to see what they bring to the ward. They seem to care… it’s nice to see them.
Matt Di Ubaldo, 52, unemployed
He and his family have lived in the ward for 10 years.
What’s life like in the ward?
We love the neighbourhood. It’s far enough away from downtown that it’s not busy. But it’s also, unless it’s rush hour, a five- to 10-minute drive to get anywhere downtown if we want to. So it’s a good location. It’s good people… It’s very quiet. It’s very friendly. Even the Facebook group, I find … social media can get a little bit festering with sort of bad stuff, and I appreciate that the people who run the group for this area don’t allow that kind of stuff.
What are some local needs that you notice?
There was one incident not long ago, right around the corner from my house… where somebody that we knew who lived in our neighbourhood … was passed out on the street and needed an ambulance. That was a little bit concerning … It made me wonder if maybe we could do a better job of sharing what resources are available for people who need them. I know they’re not hard to find. It’s very easy to Google things, but if you’re not in a healthy state of mind or you don’t have access to the internet, what are you supposed to do, right? So maybe some more grassroots, alternative ways to get the word out … newsletters or posters … I think that would be a good thing, to find some way to better advertise what resources are available.
What’s your take on the Oct. 28 election?
It doesn’t inspire, if that makes any sense … I’m probably voting for Johnny Calderon for mayor because, honestly, he’s been the most authentic, and he’s had the most well-rounded plans put out there … I hate this kind of U.S.-style politics. They’re dependent on apathy, and they’re dependent on partisanship to get themselves elected instead of inspiring and just doing the work… I’m voting for authenticity … it’s kind of a protest vote, I guess.
Shelly Glover, 59, Healthcare aide
Has lived in St. Vital ward for five years.
What’s life like in the ward?
I love the location … [FoodFare is] the only thing that I really miss having, especially, you know, a lot of the people that we live around, they’re seniors, and it’s a little far for them to walk to the mall. So it was very handy for them to have that Food Fare there. It’s been good aside from losing our grocery store … for them, a lot of them don’t have cars. So for them to walk with disabilities, walkers, whatever, it was handy for them to be right next to a grocery store.
What are some local needs that you notice?
We actually need some of the housing that’s falling apart to either be fixed or replaced with other housing that families can enjoy, without them being the infills … there are a lot of homes that are in disrepair … Housing is an issue for those who are low income … I wish they would fix the houses so that they could be liveable as opposed to just infilling them. Our seniors really struggle in the wintertime trying to get on the sidewalks … the bus has changed. They can’t get around for that… we have a lot of needs for our seniors and our housing. I suppose those are probably the two number ones. And the third would be crime … it’s overwhelming.
What’s your take on the Oct. 28 election?
My first thought is, where are the signs? There are hardly any signs … people don’t even know who the candidates are … and there’s too many. They’re getting them mixed up … I’m disappointed, because it’s already hard to get people to vote. When they’re confused, they’re not gonna vote. It’s just gonna discourage them further … I focus more on the person … who is it that I’m gonna be able to go and approach, and it matters. When you talk to them at the door, it matters how they treat you at the door.
Kathy Biondi, 50, manager at The Scrapbook Cottage
Kathy has lived in South St. Vital for nearly 30 years and has worked at The Scrapbook Cottage on St. Mary’s Rd for 16 years.
What’s life like in the ward?
We have a large community of crafters. Winnipeg is a very crafty, paper-crafting … group of people. So it’s been really good. Overall, good … I love living here. That’s a super Winnipeg answer, but I hate driving anywhere else … I like that we have a couple big roads, but then mostly small roads and not ridiculous traffic most of the time … So for me, it’s great.
What are some local needs that you notice?
Our roads are definitely ridiculous, but they’re roads. Our roads are not great always. I don’t know why we insist on doing all of road repairs at one time on every road that takes you in and out… There’s a lot of issues with safety and security in the area … I see a lot on the Facebook page for the area where people talk about people trying to get into their cars and stuff like that… Every part of the city needs more help with mental health. That’s a crisis, and I don’t think we do a great job with that. I don’t think we know how to help.
What’s your take on the Oct. 28 election?
I want someone who’s going to be interested in making sure that small businesses continue to be able to exist … Doing things with fixing roads would be great, and just not increasing our taxes and stuff like that is also lovely … We’re a very small business, less than six people work here … The only issue with crime is it all relates back to mental health. So if we could figure out a way to help people and do that, then we’d probably be a lot safer … I’m really sad, our councillor did a really, really good job for our area and he’s not running this time. So we have all new people … It should be interesting. Hopefully we don’t get a bunch of people who aren’t great.
For information on how to vote and where, head to the official City of Winnipeg election website.
The staff of Winnipeg Better can be reached by email at jmajorrrc@gmail.com
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