Gillingham Proposes Long-Term Police and Firefighter Staffing Targets Tied to Population Growth
Scott Gillingham today outlined a proposal to establish long-term staffing targets for Winnipeg’s police and fire services to ensure frontline public safety keeps pace with rapid population growth.
“Winnipeg is growing. We’ve added 80,000 new residents since I was elected Mayor,” he said. “And since it takes time to train and fund police and firefighters, the per capita strength of these two emergency services hasn’t kept pace with population growth. We need a plan to make sure it does.”
Gillingham already led City Council to fund new police officers and new firefighters, and successfully lobbied the provincial government to increase paramedic resources to respond to the City’s growth. “While City Hall has taken action,” he said, “we need more long-term thinking so that we can make affordable, incremental investments in new uniformed staff.”
Under his proposal, Gillingham would ask City Council in 2027 to establish long-term targets for sworn police officers and firefighters based on population, using Winnipeg’s 2016 per-capita staffing levels as an initial benchmark. New positions would be phased in incrementally over several years as municipal finances and training capacity allow.
“Adding police officers or firefighters by itself doesn’t prevent crime or stop fires,” Gillingham said. “But a growing city needs enough trained people to respond when residents call for help, maintain visible community patrols, and reduce burnout on the people already doing these jobs.”
“At the same time, we will continue investing in housing, homelessness supports, recreation and community programs that address the root causes of crime,” he added. “Public safety means responding effectively when crime happens, while also doing the long-term work to prevent it.”
POLICY AT A GLANCE
If re-elected as Mayor, Scott Gillingham will:
Establish Long-Term Staffing Benchmarks: Ask City Council in 2027 to set per-capita targets for sworn police officers and firefighters using 2016 staffing ratios as the base model.
Phase In Growth Responsibly: Scale positions over multiple budget cycles to align with municipal finances, provincial grant funding, recruitment pipelines, and training capacities.
Divert Non-Emergency Calls: Fast-track a new Community Crisis Response Service to ensure appropriate low-risk mental health and addiction calls receive a community-based response instead of police, fire or paramedic intervention.
Support First Responder Wellbeing: Allocate dedicated resources for first-responder mental health supports starting in 2027, which will help to retain highly trained frontline staff.
Expand Paramedic Capacity: Press the Province to fund Winnipeg’s outstanding request for eight additional ambulances and approximately 120 paramedic positions over four years, while continuing to pursue provincial partnerships for other frontline emergency-service priorities.
TRACK RECORD ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND REFORM
Since 2022, Scott Gillingham and City Council have taken direct action to strengthen frontline capacity and modernize emergency response:
Targeted Repeat Offenders: Re-established the joint RCMP-Winnipeg Police warrant unit — now operating as the Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit (MIVOAU) — which averages roughly one arrest of a high-risk suspect per day.
Strengthened 911 Triage: Delivered permanent funding to the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) and integrated DCSP into 911 dispatch triage to redirect non-emergency calls away from frontline officers.
Expanded Police Complement: The Winnipeg Police Service authorized sworn complement increased from 1,356 to 1,425 officers (a net increase of 69 positions). City Council approved funding for 36 General Patrol officers and two additional cruiser cars in the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Added Firefighter Capacity: Added 24 provincially-funded firefighters in 2025 and committed funding for an additional 40 firefighter FTEs across 2026 and 2027.
Secured More Paramedics: Reached a new paramedic services agreement with the Province in 2023 after seven years without one, leading to two additional 24-hour ambulances and 20 additional paramedic positions. Additional paramedic positions were added in 2026 for specialized community programs. With demand continuing to grow, the City and WFPS are now seeking provincial funding for eight additional ambulances and approximately 120 paramedic positions over four years.
Advanced Federal Bail Reform: Gillingham partnered with municipal and provincial leaders to successfully press the Government of Canada for tougher federal bail laws addressing repeat and habitual offenders.
Developed Alternative Crisis Response: Gillingham commissioned an independent review that developed a new community-based response model for appropriate mental health, addiction and wellness calls, aimed at reducing pressure on police, firefighters and paramedics while improving service to people in crisis.