Women make up nearly 1/3 of Winnipeg’s council, but those 5 councillors want more

February 22, 2025 Canuck

It has been just over 104 years since Jessie Kirk was inaugurated as the first woman on Winnipeg’s City Council — but to this day, only 32 other women have been elected to represent a ward in the city’s history.

In the Mayor’s office, only one woman has ever been elected to the city’s top job — Susan Ann Thompson in 1992.

“It is no solace that there are so few of you ever,” Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) told CBC News on Saturday.

Rollins is one of the five women councillors in Winnipeg’s current administration, the largest cohort of female representation there has been in council ever, she said. But Rollins and her counterparts want that to change.

“All of us feel we can do better. All of us feel that there are so many female leaders out there,” she said.

Rollins, Janice Lukes, Devi Sharma, Vivian Santos and Cindy Gilroy set politics aside and held a panel Saturday morning at the RBC Convention Centre, moderated by Mary Agnes Welch, to encourage more women to enter the political arena.

People sit on an auditorium. — At the gallery, a multi-generational crowd of at least 30 attendees filled the seats, with some elementary and high school girls among the audience. (Ron Dhaliwa/CBC)

Female representation in other levels of government is also far from achieving gender parity. In Manitoba’s Legislature 18 women were elected in the last provincial election out of 57 MLAs and in Parliament Hill about 30 per cent of the seats are held by a woman.

But to change that story and get a representation in politics, Rollins said it is crucial to build the next generation of female leaders by showing them what the work in politics and public service looks like.

At the gallery, a multi-generational crowd of at least 30 attendees filled the seats, with some elementary and high school girls among the audience.

“That was very heartening to me,” Rollins said. “With your small window of service … you really want more often … to make sure that the next generation is stepping up,” she said.

Shubha Junaid, who attended the panel on Saturday, was also inspired to see young girls sitting alongside her in the audience.

“You’re the new generations as time is going, and we want new blood to come up and take spaces … I can see a wonderful future,” she said.

Junaid, who is in her 30s, was a bit apprehensive at first to attend the panel, but after Saturday’s event, she said she left feeling motivated.

A woman in a black dress smiles to the camera. — Shubha Junaid who attended the panel on Saturday says she was apprehensive to attend the discussion at first but left the RBC Convention Centre motivated, with the event giving her “a lot of hope and direction.” (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)

“It really pumped you up … you can also contribute in something you can also give back to the country, not just taking out,” she said. “It was something I didn’t even expect.”

Junid, who arrived in Winnipeg last year, said some of the challenges women face for representation in the Canadian workforce are not so far off from the barriers women also face back in her home country, India.

But spaces like Saturday’s panel are a starting point to address those issues, she said.

“It gave me a lot of hope and direction, so now I know whom to look after,” Junid said. “It’s men and women who form a society and all together to make a balance.”

‘If they want to run … they can do it’

Winnipeg’s next municipal election is slated for 2026, and Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) said having a more than a year gap between then and Saturday’s panel is important, so women are inspired to start building up their confidence, platform and name in the community.

Santos, who was first elected to council in 2018, said that while there are numerous nuances to running for public office, her hope for City Hall is to see more women put their names down in the election ballot.

“In recent elections, we usually only see three or two that go on per ward … there’s lots of opportunity,” Santos said.

A barrier standing in the way of that, Santos said, is the role they play as caregivers in their families— a barrier the Point Douglas councillor said she has experienced herself.

But “things have changed and evolved … and so I think it’s encouraging to see that it is possible,” she said.

People sit on an auditorium, watching five people on the podium. — Coun. Sherri Rollins, right, said it was very heartening to see young girls at the panel on Saturday, adding part of her job is to make sure that the next generation is stepping up into leadership. (Ron Dhaliwa/CBC)

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said it is important that events like the panel are held more often to help more women build their confidence and see themselves as the catalyst for change they want for their communities.

“If they wanted to run for an elected position, they could do it. Anyone can do it,” she said. “I ultimately would like to see a female mayor again.”

During the panel, Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) said the success of the city comes with changes in social policy from City Hall, and bringing more women into politics is important to achieve that.

“What we want our city to look like … we can’t have those discussions unless other people are at the table … so my hope is that we see more equality and with that have greater change,” she said.

Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), one of the only two women of colour ever elected to council, agrees with Gilroy.

“It’s always great to have diverse representation on a government body like council because what you get then is better decision making,” she said.

However, to have that change in government, the support of men is also important to move towards gender parity.

“It really takes all of us to move the needle,” Sharma said.

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Women make up nearly 1/3 of Winnipeg’s council, but those 5 councillors want more

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