More to the Granite story

How long will the Granite Curling Club last?

Contrary to what has been stated in the recent letters to the editor, press releases from the city and editorials in the media, the Granite is not opposed to affordable housing. In fact, they fully support it, although not at the expense of its own survival.

The Granite is the oldest curling club in Western Canada originating in 1880. It’s internationally known as the Mother Club. Ask any curler or someone who knows something about curling, worldwide, and they will know of the Granite Curling Club. It’s entrenched in the culture of curling and the culture of the City of Winnipeg. The Granite Curling Club is one of the reasons we are proud to live in Winnipeg, to be from Winnipeg. It is truly an international icon.

The building that houses the Granite Curling Club was built in 1912 and is still being used for its intended purpose.

The Granite Curling Club Inc. owned the building and property for 63 years from 1912 until 1975 when it was hit with the City of Winnipeg’s back taxes and riverbank stabilization costs that were in excess of $700,000.00 ($4.9 million in 2025 dollars). The club was unable to pay, so the 1975 Granite board of governors were left with no other choice than to give the keys to the City of Winnipeg.

Several generations have passed in the last 50 years the city has owned the club. The current city council is seemingly unaware of the questionable means in which the city acquired ownership of the property in the first place.

Over the last 25 years, members of the Granite board and the past general manager repeatedly asked the city to discuss the possibility of re-purchasing the club. In late 2023, the city actually asked the club if it wanted to buy, the club said it was interested, but in 2024 was told it was no longer for sale and that an apartment building was going to be built in the west parking lot.

In the last 25 years the club has spent more than $1.6 million of its own money on maintenance and improvements to the city-owned building, while the city has spent next to nothing. The club pays the city over $20,000 per year in rent.

If the apartment building is built, the club will lose 60 of a total of 80 parking stalls. Without adequate parking, club membership will decline. An expected 10-per-cent decline in membership in the first year, and once members find out that parking is terrible, a decline of 10-15 per cent in each of the next three years.

Nobody wants to park blocks away and walk alone at night, especially in the Winnipeg winter.

By the third year with the massive decline in membership, their patronage and dues, the club will no longer be profitable. It will fail and then close within five years.

The club hosted a large National Curling Championship last month, with the parking lot being completely full, from morning until night.

That event would not have been possible, without all the current available parking spaces.

Canada Life has a large parking lot across the street but has stated they will not enter into a long-term agreement allowing Granite patrons to use their lot.

All the city needed to do was figure out an adequate parking solution.

This process could have started in February of 2025 but instead, the city closed off communications with the club.

This forced the club to ask for provincial Municipal Board involvement, which resulted in their recommendation to include the Granite as one of the three parties (along with two city departments) to be satisfied that adequate parking is found.

Including the club with the parking solution was the logical thing to do.

City Council voted 14-1 to ignore the Municipal Board’s recommendation, claiming it’s not legally binding.

It may or not be not legally binding, but it should be morally binding.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said there is a win-win solution.

What is it?

The club is not opposed to building affordable housing, it simply wants to be included in the parking solution discussions.

James Hay is a 36-year Granite member, a past president and former general manager.