ManitobaCity Coun. Markus Chambers has resigned from his position as board chair and member of the Winnipeg Police Board.Longest-serving police board chair provided notice of his resignation last weekCaitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2025 1:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoWinnipeg Coun. Markus Chambers has resigned from the police board, which he chaired. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)City Coun. Markus Chambers has resigned from his position as board chair and member of the Winnipeg Police Board, ending the tenure of the board’s longest-serving chair.Chambers provided notice of his resignation, effective immediately, on Oct. 1, the board said in a news release Monday. Chambers said he told Mayor Scott Gillingham late last year he intended to see through starting “the footprints” of the force’s five-year strategic plan and the hiring of new police Chief Gene Bowers, who was appointed in March, during his time in the role.”The board is now in the full throes of working on the strategic plan to 2030,” Chambers said in an interview Monday, adding he expects it to have a first draft of that plan ready to review this fall.”And with Chief Bowers hired and ready to, you know, take on the service and lead it in transformational change, I felt it was time for different leadership.”Chambers, who represents Winnipeg’s St. Norbert-Seine River ward, was first appointed to the board in 2018 and served as a member, vice-chair and chair during his tenure.He said he hasn’t ruled out running for council again in 2026, but added “there are a lot of other matters in my life that I’m attending to now that are a priority for me.”Gillingham will nominate a new chair in the weeks ahead, an emailed statement attributed to the mayor on Monday said. The board said vice-chair Colleen Mayer will fulfil the obligations of board chair until an appointment is made by city council.The mayor’s statement described Chambers as someone who’s “shown steady leadership through a lot of change,” including the COVID-19 pandemic and the hiring of Bowers as the new police chief, while the board extended its appreciation for Chambers’s “dedicated service to the board and the community.”Body cams, officers in schools, reconciliationChambers said his work on the police board included challenging periods, including being named chair during the “tumultuous time” in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.”Certainly, it was a mixture of emotions … seeing people that look like me being murdered at the hands of police, and then, you know, taking over here as chair of the police board,” Chambers said.”With what was going on in Minneapolis at the time, it was appropriate to have somebody of colour stand up and say, ‘Look, we’ve got to do better as a service.’ And so I think that was an important decision to make. And I think the right decision to make as well.”Looking forward, Chambers said he still hopes to see body-worn cameras deployed across the Winnipeg Police Service, and school resource officers, which he said serve “an interest of the police to build relationships among young people,” placed in all city school divisions.He added he also thinks it’s “absolutely important” for Winnipeg police to continue their reconciliation work with Indigenous communities, pointing to the force’s recent sacred fire to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a positive example.”It’s efforts like that that I’d like to see spanned across all communities. I believe it’s very important, not only to talk the talk, but also walk the walk. And I think Chief Bowers is making those strides,” Chambers said.”I think if we get it right here, all other jurisdictions can take our lead in terms of how reconciliation is brought forward in the sense of policing.”As for whoever is named the new chair of the police board, Chambers said his advice is simple.”Just lean in on the board members. Each of them have valuable contributions to make,” Chambers said. “And you know, whoever aspires to become chair, the next chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, you have my support — knowing just how difficult this job can be.”Markus Chambers resigns as chair of Winnipeg Police BoardCity Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) has resigned from his position as board chair and member of the Winnipeg Police Board, ending the tenure of the board’s longest-serving chair.ABOUT THE AUTHORCaitlyn Gowriluk has been writing for CBC Manitoba since 2019. Her work has also appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, and in 2021 she was part of an award-winning team recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association for its breaking news coverage of COVID-19 vaccines. Get in touch with her at caitlyn.gowriluk@cbc.ca.Follow Caitlyn Gowriluk on XWith files from Gavin Axelrod
Markus Chambers resigns as chair of Winnipeg Police Board
