Winnipeg Can Choose its Tech Future, Gillingham Says

E-scooters. Delivery drones. Artificial intelligence. Driverless vehicles. Hyperscale data centres.

These technologies are no longer theoretical. Cities across North America are already deciding where to permit them, where to regulate them and how governments themselves should use them.

If re-elected, Scott Gillingham will establish a special committee of Council in 2027 to examine how Winnipeg should prepare for emerging technologies, where municipal rules may need to change, and how the City should use its own powers responsibly.

“Sometimes, change takes time to cross the prairies and reach Winnipeg,” Gillingham said. “That can be an advantage. It gives us time to watch other cities, see what works and learn from their mistakes. But we can’t hide from the future forever. We can choose our path if we start preparing now.”

The proposed Urban Technology Review Committee would hold public hearings, hear from experts and stakeholders, and recommend how the City should respond to emerging technologies within its jurisdiction.

The review would include questions such as:

• How should Winnipeg regulate the use and rental of e-scooters as Manitoba’s new provincial framework takes effect?

• What rules should govern the City’s own use of artificial intelligence, including automated decision-making, privacy, transparency and customer service?

• How should zoning, servicing requirements and other municipal tools apply to new data centres?

• What role should the City play in responding to the growing use of drones, within the limits of federal aviation jurisdiction?

• How should Winnipeg prepare its streets, infrastructure and municipal services for increasingly automated vehicles and other new transportation technologies?

Gillingham said the City’s Public Engagement department could work with the committee to ensure residents have an opportunity to identify concerns, priorities and potential opportunities before recommendations are made to Council.

The committee would also include at least three outside experts appointed by the Mayor as non-voting advisors, with expertise reflecting the issues under consideration.

“The point is to get ahead of these questions instead of dealing with them one at a time after the technology has already arrived,” Gillingham said. “Winnipeg has an opportunity to learn from what other cities are doing and make choices that fit our city.”