Bowman hailed as reconciliation catalyst at city hall ceremony unveiling his portrait

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This article was published 11/12/2023 (665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former mayor Brian Bowman was honoured Monday as a key catalyst in Winnipeg’s reconciliation efforts, as his official mayoral portrait was unveiled at city hall.

The city’s 43rd mayor, who served from 2014 to 2022, was credited with multiple efforts to address racism directed at Indigenous people and others.

“No other mayor has done more… to advance the critical work of reconciliation in our community…. You’ve set our city on a path of healing, a path of commitment and work between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

In addition to creating Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord, Gillingham also credited his predecessor with providing a strong “head-on” response in January 2015 to a Maclean’s magazine article that deemed Winnipeg to be “where Canada’s racism problem is at its worst.”

At the time, Bowman vowed to improve relations, created a mayor’s Indigenous advisory circle and held a summit on racial inclusion.

NDP Premier Wab Kinew, who served as the Indigenous advisory circle’s first chairman, said Bowman also volunteered to support refugees and inner-city residents in the past and remains enthusiastic about bringing people together.

“I think he served us well and with a lot of positivity and he left things in a good way, where we’re proud of his time as the mayor of Winnipeg,” said Kinew.

Former Progressive Conservative premier Gary Filmon, who Bowman met when he was a PC youth representative, also attended the event

Bowman said reconciliation efforts did require considerable time while he was mayor but much more progress is still needed.

“With the exception of climate change, I would argue that reconciliation is probably the greatest challenge of our generation. It’s not easy work and it needs to continue,” he said.

The new portrait features a painted image of Bowman wearing a broad smile and a blue Métis lapel pin.

As Winnipeg’s first Indigenous mayor, Bowman said he’s hopeful the diversity of the city’s political leaders will continue to grow.

“City hall is for everyone,” he said.

Gillingham noted portraits of each Winnipeg mayor have been painted since 1902.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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