Long-serving mayor knew how to hog the headlines

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This article was published 07/10/2023 (1060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As hosts of the One Great History podcast, Sabrina Janke and Alex Judge love exploring Winnipeg’s past. With Winnipeg’s sesquicentennial approaching, the two have produced a podcast series that explores the city’s colourful history. The series is presented through the lens of 15 historical figures, focusing on critical events surrounding their lives and their impact on Winnipeg. The series will conclude Nov. 9, the day when Winnipeg became a city 150 years ago. Summaries from each podcast will be republished in the Free Press. The podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and through the One Great History website — onegreathistory.wordpress.com

At the end of Stephen Juba’s long mayoral career, a reporter identified his political strategy as “be jealously protective of the city’s reputation, pick an easily identifiable issue, attack a single recognizable enemy, use an outlandish gimmick that will attract the attention of photographers, and raise an outrageous ruckus that will command headlines.”

It was a strategy that had paid off for Juba time and time again. When Juba won his first mayoral election in late 1956, this later success seemed in no way guaranteed. Incumbent mayor George Sharpe seemed primed to win — he had the experience, and after all, the support of Winnipeg’s business class. Juba’s win, by around 2,000 votes, was an upset. Though Juba had recently been appointed an independent MLA and had run unsuccessfully for municipal office several times, he lacked Sharpe’s political experience and was extremely different to any of Winnipeg’s previous mayors. He was a North Ender, born to a Ukrainian immigrant family, and had only recently become wealthy thanks to his distribution firm, Keystone Supply Co. It was a sharp contrast to the established Anglo-Saxon men who had served before him, one that frequently baffled the press and political commentators.

His initial campaign platforms varied from sensible ideas, like the amalgamation of the municipalities surrounding Winnipeg into one larger city, to the unusual, like promises for a local festival like Mardi Gras and the introduction of “beef sessions” into city council meetings, where members of the public could come and air their grievances.

Big, outlandish ideas were a staple of Juba’s career. Throughout his terms, he proposed initiatives including removable traffic lights that could be switched between intersections as needed, a plan to melt winter snow in large incinerators and the creation of a dome over downtown Winnipeg. During a feud with the provincial government over bathrooms at Memorial Park, Juba erected an outhouse with the provincial public works minister’s name on it.

And behind the stunts and the sometimes outlandish statements, Juba was a mayor looking to put Winnipeg on the map.

It was because of Juba that the first three-digit emergency telephone number (then 999) was introduced in Winnipeg in 1959. It was Juba who pushed to bring the Pan-American Games to Winnipeg in 1967. It was Juba who pushed for the demolition of Winnipeg’s infamous old city hall (which, regardless of the controversy surrounding the razing, was far too small for a city of Winnipeg’s size). It was replaced by a newer city hall, modern in style and scale, and fitting for a city searching to redefine itself architecturally. The move fit into a broader trend across the continent, reinventing urban buildings and spaces through bold new architecture.

More specifically, too, it was part of a larger civic complex planned for the area. The initial vision called for the removal of much of Winnipeg’s East Exchange District, but much of this was never realized. The core of the idea, a modernist civic complex built to celebrate Canada and Manitoba’s respective centennials, led to the creation of Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall, the Manitoba Museum and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. It also gave permanent, dedicated homes to Winnipeg’s prominent arts organizations — the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and RMTC still perform out of these spaces.

The out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new sentiment behind these changes was not popular with everyone. Juba met frequent opposition in election campaigns. Advocacy groups, such as Heritage Winnipeg, were formed in response to the rapid demolition of Winnipeg’s heritage structures.

When Fire Hall No. 1 (a.k.a. Central Fire Hall) was scheduled to be demolished and the land sold to developers, 60 University of Manitoba architecture students went to city hall to protest, holding signs reading “Plan before you destroy.” Juba met with the students, who proposed transforming the fire hall into an indoor/outdoor market. Until a decision could be reached, it was agreed the area would be turned into a public park — and out of this, Old Market Square was formed.

Ultimately, Stephen Juba was Winnipeg’s mayor for nine consecutive terms, spanning 20 years. Shortly after his election, in an interview with the Winnipeg Tribune, Juba remarked: “I might make a lot of mistakes, but I’ll give you lots to write about.”

It was a promise Juba lived up to.