ManitobaA road in north Winnipeg that is the access point to a hub for the city’s Sikh community has been paved after what members say was decades of pushing to get street improvements.Street in north Winnipeg is main access point to hub for Sikh communityCBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2025 1:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 hours agoThe Manitoba government says upgrades have been made to Mollard Road, after years of requests from the Sikh community to have the north Winnipeg street repaved. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)A road in north Winnipeg that is the access point to a hub for the city’s Sikh community has been paved after what members say was decades of pushing to get street improvements.”We’ve been waiting more than my entire life for this, every day,” Jasdeep Devgan, MLA for McPhillips and a former Sikh Society of Manitoba board member, said at a news conference on Thursday. “It is a little bit of a surreal moment.”The Sikh Society has long asked politicians for the resurfacing of Mollard Road, a street that runs between Pipeline Road and Prairie Dog Trail in north Winnipeg, south of the Perimeter.Devgan there were multiple commitments, and even campaign promises, from politicians to complete the upgrades, but the Sikh Society and its members were left hanging. “How many ministers, and how many premiers and MPs and other folks, we asked to pave this road?” said Harbans Brar, president of the Sikh Society of Manitoba.”We were tired of asking people and have no beliefs on anyone,” he said. “This time, it’s our dream that came true.”Premier Wab Kinew spoke at a Thursday news conference announcing the upgrades to Mollard Road, which came more than a year after the province promised $6 million for the project. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)The NDP government allocated $6 million for the restoration of Mollard Road in April 2024. At the time, the province said the funding would also be used to create a walking path along the street.”By the time we showed up in the last election and promised to build the road, people were probably, like, ‘Oh yeah, we heard that one before,'” Premier Wab Kinew said. “It takes persistence to get things done, and finally this investment is happening,” he said. Kinew said work on the walking path is still part of the plan.A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said crews did asphalt reconstruction on Mollard Road from the railroad tracks near King Edward Street to Pipeline Road, a stretch of about 2.6 kilometres.The granular road from the tracks to King Edward Street was resurfaced, the city said. However, the city spokesperson said the agreement between the city and the province to upgrade Mollard Road didn’t include building a walking path. The premier’s press secretary later confirmed the Manitoba government is still developing plans to get the walking path built.Improved road safetyThe road improvements are expected to not only improve safety and connectivity on Mollard Road, but also support growth, Kinew said. The road was almost unpassable and sometimes dangerous after rain softened the ground, said Winnipeg Mayor Gillingham, who had also promised the road upgrade. The investment is important not only to allow better access the Sikh Society of Manitoba building, but to improve safety for the growing number of residents living in the area, he said.The Sikh Society of Manitoba made a push for the project in 2021, after it opened a new extended building on the south side of Mollard, near Pipeline Road. That building is home to Khalsa School, and the expansion included a larger library and a bigger worship space.Thursday’s announcement comes a day before the 56th anniversary of the Sikh Society’s registration in Manitoba. At that time, fewer than 10 Sikh families lived in Winnipeg, said society president Brar. The Sikh Society’s location on Mollard Road was established in the early 1980s.Sikhs celebrate Winnipeg road repaving, wait on walking pathMembers of the growing Sikh community are celebrating the repaving of a road in north Winnipeg which leads to the city’s oldest gurdwara. The Manitoba government paid for the $6-million city project, which promised a walking path that has yet to be built.
Stretch of Mollard Road paved after years of calls for improvement from Sikh Society of Manitoba
