Written by Gwen Black, Policy and Government Relations Manager
State of the City 2026
This year’s State of the City welcomed Mayor Gillingham for his fourth annual Address delivered to 1100+ business and community leaders at the RBC Convention Centre. The Chamber spent the day connecting members with municipal, provincial, and federal leaders to discuss Winnipeg’s economic future.
Mayor Gillingham shared details of a new downtown redevelopment project that will convert the Marlborough Hotel into approximately 300 units of mixed housing. The project, in collaboration with CentreVenture, will help increase housing supply while supporting continued revitalization in Winnipeg’s downtown core.
The Mayor also highlighted the city’s recent population growth, noting that Winnipeg has welcomed more than 80,000 new residents over the past four years. This growth is strengthening the labour force, expanding the local customer base, and reinforcing the city’s long-term economic momentum. As Mayor Gillingham noted, “People don’t move to cities that are declining, they move to cities that are building.”
Looking ahead, the Mayor also spoke about positioning Winnipeg to capitalize on Canada’s recently announced half-trillion-dollar Defence Industrial Strategy. With Winnipeg’s strong aerospace and advanced manufacturing sectors, the city is well placed to benefit from increased defence investment. To support this opportunity, Mayor Gillingham committed to taking one concrete step each month to help ensure Winnipeg is ready to compete for these investments.
Provincial representatives, the Honourable Jamie Moses (Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation), the Honourable Mike Moroz (Minister of Innovation and New Technology), and the Honourable Glen Simard, (Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations) also joined the event, engaging with members and participating in discussions on how Winnipeg can continue to drive economic growth and investment.
Roundtable Discussion with the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab
Immediately after the State of the City luncheon, your Winnipeg Chamber convened a meeting of 20 business, post-secondary, and service sector leaders to discuss Canada’s changing immigration landscape and Manitoba’s need for regional flexibility to fuel our workforce and economy.
Bringing together leaders from all levels of government alongside the business community is an important part of The Chamber’s work to ensure decision-makers hear directly from those driving economic activity in Winnipeg.
We look forward to continuing these conversations in the months ahead.
