Suspected arsonist’s arrest a relief for targeted cabinet ministers, business owners By: Chris Kitching and Scott Billeck Posted: 11:04 AM CST Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025 Last Modified: 8:21 PM CST Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025 Updates

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A 35-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged in a five-month spree of arson attacks against the constituency offices of two NDP government cabinet ministers, downtown restaurants and bars and other locations.

Jesse Robert Shawn Wheatland is accused of 22 arson, break-in and damage-related offences at 11 locations since June 11, including fires at offices of Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith.

“We believe Wheatland was acting alone when he attended these locations, causing damage by breaking windows, lighting fires and, in some cases, both,” Winnipeg Police Service Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference.

“We can support it through evidence that we’ve collected. He’s also been interviewed by investigators at length. He’s been co-operating with our investigators.”

She would not comment on a suspected motive, but confirmed the case is not linked to previously reported and ongoing extortion investigations that involved fires.

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the accused arsonist may be responsible for additional fires.

Victims of Wheatland’s alleged crimes said the arrest brought relief, following a period of fear and concern for them and their staff.

“The last months have been very uncertain, and in some respects it has left us feeling a little bit scared and frightened sometimes,” said Fontaine, who believes the constituency office attacks were politically motivated.

“It certainly does feel that our offices were targeted. There are 57 MLAs in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, and only (Smith’s office) and my office were attacked.”

Fontaine (St. Johns) and Smith (Point Douglas) are the first two First Nations women to serve as provincial cabinet ministers in Manitoba.

Smith said the fires took a toll on staff who work at the constituency offices, which are not expected to reopen until some time in the new year.

“Their safety is at risk as well, their mental health,” she said. “Certainly, we felt a heightened safety concern for them.”

Johnny Giannakis, the owner of Johnny G’s, isn’t sure if or when his restaurant in the Exchange District will reopen following a fire in August.

“We worked for 29 years in our location. We gave our lives to it, and it’s terrible that it’s come down to this,” he said.

Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar has been closed since a fire in July.

“(The arrest) is a relief because one of our biggest fears when it comes to reopening was not having anyone arrested for the first fire,” said owner Nikola Maharajh.

Police said nearly two dozen incidents involving arsons, break-ins and/or property damage happened at these locations:

• Nahanni Fontaine’s constituency office (1763 Main St.)
• Bernadette Smith’s constituency office (804 Selkirk Ave.)
• Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar (456 Main St.)
• Johnny G’s (100-177 McDermot Ave.)
• Exchange Event Centre (291 Bannatyne Ave.)
• The Palomino Club (436 Main St.)
• Boujee Restaurant and Bar (191 Main St.)
• The Winnipeg School Division administration building (1577 Wall St.)
• La Roca (155 Smith St.)
• The Tipsy Cow (285 Portage Ave.)
• An Addictions Foundation of Manitoba site (146 Magnus Ave.)

Police did not say which of the 22 incidents involved fires and which involved property damage only. There was a pattern to the fires, McKinnon said.

The major crimes unit arrested a suspect at about 7 p.m. Tuesday near the AFM building on Magnus Avenue, shortly after the incident there.

McKinnon would not elaborate but attributed the arrest to general patrol members who “listened to their instincts.”

Wheatland was charged with 13 counts of arson causing damage to property, two counts of break-and-enter and commit arson, one count of arson with disregard for human life, four counts of mischief under $5,000 and two counts of break-and-enter with intent. He is being held in custody.

Wheatland has no criminal convictions in Manitoba, a court search showed. He was not previously known to police, McKinnon said.

Officials said the arrest happened thanks to the work of and collaboration between several police units and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service during an extensive and complex investigation.

“It’s not lost on us in policing that these intentionally set fires are not only dangerous to the community, but they also unnecessarily put our colleagues at the (WFPS) into dangerous situations,” WPS deputy chief Cam Mackid said.

Police learned of the suspect’s identity last weekend, McKinnon said, adding surveillance video was “very helpful” to investigators.

“I can tell you it’s a relief for me,” she said of the arrest. “As we worked through the months in the summer, this weighed very heavily (on police), and rightly so.”

Some locations, including the constituency offices, were targeted multiple times. The Winnipeg School Division declined to comment.

Giannakis said reopening his restaurant, which suffered extensive damage, depends on the insurance process, which will determine whether he’ll have the funds to revive the business. He had to lay off about 30 employees.

“If we reopen by summer, that would be the earliest,” he said.

Giannakis said someone broke into the restaurant via a back window, poured gasoline on tables and set the blaze.

“There was a mini-explosion. It caught fire immediately,” he said. “Everything is burned.”

Maharajh said more surveillance cameras will be added and lighting improved for Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar’s eventual reopening.

Two other business owners spoke to the Free Press but asked not to be identified. One said they were lucky because their business was closed for only one day after an attempted arson at a back door.

The other owner, whose business closed temporarily, said they hope the courts deliver significant consequences, if there is a conviction, to deter similar crimes.

Jay Kilgour, chair of Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association and owner of Fionn MacCool’s, said members were concerned about the safety of their staff during the arson spree.

“This is a big sigh of relief for the industry. When I’m locking up my restaurant tonight, there’s less of a worry,” he said. Kilgour met with police Monday to discuss the incidents and potential deterrents.

Mayor Scott Gillingham and WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt, who attended the news conference, said they were pleased to learn of the arrest.

One of Wheatland’s cousins was shocked when she learned about his arrest from a Free Press reporter Wednesday night.

“This is terrible news,” said the cousin, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know what happened. He’s a good kid. He comes from a damn good home.”

The cousin said she had been worried about Wheatland for some time. She said he didn’t have a home of his own and worked odd jobs, sometimes staying in unoccupied homes he was hired to renovate.

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She said she gave him rides and offered meals when he was in need. They last spoke about a month ago.

Wheatland grew up in the West End and attended Tec-Voc High School. One of his uncles is a retired firefighter, the cousin said.

— With files from Carol Sanders and Dean Pritchard

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

As a general assignment reporter, Chris covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

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Scott Billeck
Reporter

Several wise folks — ok, ok, journalism types — once told Scott he better make sure he can report on news before he learns to write about sports. In what can only be described as a minor miracle, he listened.

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