Double winter-whammy left sizable cleanup, delays in, outside city By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:51 PM CST Monday, Dec. 22, 2025

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This article was published 22/12/2025 (269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans continue to clean up after back-to-back snowstorms last week, with crews in Winnipeg aiming to finish plowing residential streets, sidewalks and back lanes by Tuesday night.

The aftermath led to Manitoba Public Insurance processing hundreds of collision claims, parcel couriers playing catch-up and CAA Manitoba clearing a backlog of calls for help from drivers.

“We’re still kind of in the thick of it right now,” Coun. Janice Lukes, who oversees public works, said Monday of a residential snow-plowing operation that began Sunday. “So far, so good.”

Lukes (Waverley West) said most of the phone calls she received from residents were related to windrows that were left behind when streets were plowed, or questions about when their street would be cleared. Schedules are posted on the city’s website and Know Your Zone app.

Some areas were not completed as scheduled Sunday, according to the city’s online map. Some streets in Waverley Heights, Norwood, Elmwood and West Alexander were due to be among the last to be plowed Tuesday.

North Kildonan resident Deana Halladay’s street was cleared at about midnight Sunday. A crew returned to Stoneham Crescent Monday afternoon to remove windrows after she contacted the city.

“It was a bit of a surprise when we opened the blinds (Monday morning) and two-foot windrows were at the end of everybody’s driveway,” Halladay said.

Her husband cleared the windrow in front of their home before he went to work. She contacted 311 and Jeff Browaty, her local councillor, because some residents are physically unable to do the clearing.

“We do have a lot of seniors who live on this street. I’m more concerned for them,” she said.

A Free Press reporter observed a crew while streets in Charleswood were plowed Monday. Front-end loader operators immediately followed two plows to remove windrows from driveways.

City council has budgeted about $50 million for snow clearing this winter. Vehicle owners who violate a residential parking ban could receive a $200 fine. The number of tickets handed out so far was not yet available.

The city stopped conducting courtesy — no charge — tows, in December 2022 for people who don’t move their vehicles when parking bans are in place.

An Alberta clipper brought blizzard conditions last Wednesday and Thursday, causing widespread highway and school closures. It was followed by another clipper and similar disruption Friday.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure continued to clear roads Monday, with some sections of southern highways still ice- or partly snow-covered, a spokesperson said.

The department uses about 340 pieces of equipment to keep provincial roads clear.

The spokesperson said 34 highways, including the Trans-Canada and Perimeter, closed during the first storm, and 18 closed, mainly in western Manitoba, during the second blast.

MPI has received 901 claims for collisions that happened between Thursday and Saturday and more are expected to come, spokeswoman Tara Seel said, adding the Crown insurer cannot confirm that all of them were related to the storms.

CAA Manitoba received more than 2,000 roadside calls between Friday and Sunday, said spokeswoman Nadia Matos. About 60-70 per cent were tow-related calls, while the remainder were for dead batteries or other problems.

The agency receives 200-300 calls for help on a typical winter day.

Matos encouraged drivers to replace batteries that failed in the cold.

“If it’s failed once, it will fail again,” she said.

The city previously said 225 buses got stuck and 71 needed to be towed during last Thursday’s blizzard. Lukes said buses struggled in the weather conditions.

“Any time there’s snow, that’s a challenge. When you get horizontal 90 kilometre per hour winds, that’s a real challenge,” she said.

The storms disrupted holiday parcel deliveries. Canada Post’s website said mail delivery and collection delays were possible in Winnipeg, Brandon and a few other communities Monday.

There will be a “domino effect” on scheduling for commercial truck drivers, said Aaron Dolyniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association.

“Everybody saw it coming and planned for it, but the reality is the timing was kind of poor,” he said. “For a lot of drivers, especially long-haul drivers, if they were on their way out and wanting to do one more trip for the holidays and be off for the holidays, it kind of messed that up.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada predicted more snow in parts of Manitoba on Monday. About 10 centimetres was possible in some Interlake, eastern, central and northern areas.

Another round of flurries is possible Tuesday. Periods of snow are possible Christmas night.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said two weak weather systems are expected this week.

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“Which is good because we had our fill last week,” she said.

A high of -8 C is expected in Winnipeg on Christmas Day, after a run of colder temperatures.

Lang urged people to check weather forecasts and highway conditions before travelling over the holidays. She said drivers should have winter tires, an emergency kit, a fully charged cellphone and a full tank of gas when they depart.

“I know we’re all rushed at this time of year and anxious, but take care out there,” she said. “Last week showed us how nasty it can be when you’re there in the winter conditions.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.