Issues to keep tabs on in 2023

West Broadway

Heading into 2023, there are a lot of relevant matters to consider for West Broadway and Winnipeg. These include persistent issues with housing affordability, transit, and active transportation.

Core housing need is a measure used by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The CMHC considers a household in core-housing need if it lives in housing that falls below one or more of the standards of adequacy, suitability, and affordability, and would need to spend 30 per cent or more of their pre-tax income to move into housing that meets all three standards. According to the 2021 census, 33 per cent of households in the area that includes West Broadway and Armstrong Point are in core-housing need. This figure would likely be higher if looking just at West Broadway.

The 2021-26 West Broadway Housing Plan, like prior iterations, called for investments in affordable and social housing. The federal government proposed some investments in housing in its 2022 budget, but these are inadequate to meet the scale of the issue across the country. They included $1.5 billion over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to renew the Rapid Housing Initiative, $562 million over 2022-23 and 2023-24 for the Reaching Home program, $2.9 billion over two years for the National Housing Co-investment Fund, and $500 million for a co-operative housing fund. Broadway Commons is one example of a project that received National Housing Co-Investment Fund dollars in 2019.

Transit is another area to keep an eye on. In 2021 Winnipeg city council adopted the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan, which proposes an ambitious frequent-service network. Especially if implemented on an accelerated time-frame, this could be very beneficial to transit riders in West Broadway and other neighbourhoods. With the next four-year city budget just around the corner, it will be interesting to see how committed the new council is to providing resources to Transit.

The winter of 2023-24 may be less onerous for pedestrians. In 2022 Council approved the purchase of 15 new sidewalk ploughs. These will be delivered by June of this year. Ideally, this will mean faster response times for sidewalk ploughing come snowfall and fewer days of inaccessible sidewalks.

Lastly, West Broadway could have a new city councillor this year. Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry councillor Sherri Rollins has said she will seek the Liberal nomination for the federal riding of Winnipeg South Centre, which was sadly vacated when Jim Carr died of cancer.

This year could bring some changes and, hopefully, progress on longstanding issues for West Broadway and Winnipeg.