Economic growth would go down the tubes if sewage-plant project left unfinished: city report

By: Free Press staff Posted: 12:56 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

A new city report says Winnipeg will reach its maximum for wastewater treatment by 2032 unless the final phase of its north end sewage plant project is completed.

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A new city report says Winnipeg will reach its maximum for wastewater treatment by 2032 unless the final phase of its north end sewage plant project is completed.

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A new city report says Winnipeg will reach its maximum for wastewater treatment by 2032 unless the final phase of its north end sewage plant project is completed.

Failing to complete the project would be “effectively halting all population and employment growth,” the report states.

“Over the long term, the surrounding municipalities within the metropolitan area cannot absorb Winnipeg’s growth due to their own wastewater capacity limits. It is estimated that these areas could only handle three to four years’ worth of Winnipeg’s population increase, reaching their own limits by 2037.”

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Construction workers at the north end sewage plant in March. The city says completing Phase 3 of the project would result in Winnipeg’s economy growing faster. — MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Construction workers at the north end sewage plant in March. The city says completing Phase 3 of the project would result in Winnipeg’s economy growing faster.

The City of Winnipeg previously asked the federal and provincial governments to cover one-third each of the estimated $1.5 billion for the third phase of the project — a nutrient-removal facility.

Neither of the two higher levels of government has committed to providing the funds. Mayor Scott Gillingham said late last month he was confident those governments would provide the funding.

The report was prepared by the city’s economic development and policy division to assess the consequences of completing or delaying Phase 3. Completing that phase would result in Winnipeg’s economy growing faster, at a nominal rate of 4.3 per cent per year compared with 3.5 per cent, the report states.

“There would be a gain of over $186 billion in nominal GDP between 2033 and 2050 compared to a no-build scenario,” the report states.

Gillingham said the project is “critical for our environment” and the economy.

“When we finish the new north end plant, Winnipeg’s economy will grow by an additional 16 per cent by 2050, and both the province and Canada will recover their full investment by 2035 through higher tax revenues from new jobs, homes and businesses,” he said in a news release Thursday.

Funding the project solely through sewer rates would raise the average household utility bill for Winnipeg residents by more than $1,000 a year, the city said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca

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