A tapestry of many different peoples: A profile of Winnipeg Centre

From art galleries to community organizations to APTN headquarters, the federal riding of Winnipeg Centre is the heart of the city. “We are a dynamic community rich with ideas and commitment,” said Leah Gazan, NDP MP and incumbent. “It requires a candidate who actually lives in the riding, who works with community.” Along with Gazan, five other candidates are running to represent the people in Winnipeg Centre including Liberal Rahul Walia, Conservative Thomas Bambrick and Gary Gervais of the Green party. The riding’s boundaries were redrawn in 2023 to extend further into Winnipeg’s North End. According to 2021 Census data, the riding’s Indigenous population sits at approximately 18.3 per cent. In 2015, Cree-Métis Liberal Robert Falcon-Ouellette won the seat from long-time NDP MP Pat Martin. An Indigenous MP has represented the riding ever since. Community at the centre: NDP candidate After being elected in 2019, Gazan championed a campaign for a guaranteed liveable basic income. In two terms, she secured funding for dozens of community-led initiatives, developed the Red Dress Alert pilot program for MMWIG2S and introduced a private members’ bill to criminalize residential school denialism. “Support from the NDP [is] why we have a Red Dress Alert system,” Gazan said. “It is our party that provided support for me to even push forward and receive unanimous consent to recognize what happened in residential schools as an act of genocide.” If re-elected, she plans to work across party lines to advance the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and the National Inquiry for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ calls for justice. “My slogan has always been ‘community at the centre in Winnipeg Centre’, and it’s really the community that has guided the priorities and direction,” she said. Advance housing, fund Jordan’s Principle: Liberal candidate At 23 years old, Liberal candidate Rahul Walia’s resume includes interning under the late Sen. Murray Sinclair, co-founding a social impact fund and working in the Ministry of Transport. “Obviously, I’m a young person, and seeing what’s been happening with [the] rising cost of living, housing shortages and inaffordability–these are issues that affect young people quite greatly,” Walia said. If elected, Walia wants to advance Indigenous-led housing initiatives, expand Jordan’s Principle funding and ensure youth voices are heard. “We have to talk about housing as an act of Indigenous reconciliation,” Walia said. “Making sure there are wellness centres and community-based housing programming that are meant for Indigenous folks, but also on the national and provincial scale, investing in their communities back home.” When asked what makes Winnipeg Centre unique, Walia underscored its diversity. In addition to a notable Indigenous population, the riding has a strong Southeast Asian presence, representing about 22.28 per cent of the population according to 2021 Census data. “We’re essentially a tapestry of many different peoples,” Walia said. “We seem to come together in a mosque for example or a bingo hall. There are very many different places that we come to interact, and it’s really beautiful to see.” Replace the Indian Act, expand property rights: PPC Candidate Donald Grant, who is a member of the Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nation, is Winnipeg Centre’s People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate. The party doesn’t currently have any seats in the House of Commons. Grant said the PPC’s commitments to Indigenous peoples include replacing the Indian Act, respecting the constitution and treaties and expanding on-reserve property rights. In an interview with APTN, Grant said he’d like a system where status cards could provide tax exemptions at Manitoba grocery stores and gas stations. “So, when you go to any gas station, you go to any food store…scan this card or make it a strip and no tax, no matter what store you are [at] in Manitoba,” he said. First Nations could swing the vote: AFN APTN also reached out to candidates Bambrick and Gervais but neither were available for an interview by the time this story was published. According to the Assembly of First Nations’ analysis, Winnipeg Centre is one of 36 ridings where First Nations could swing the vote. Read More: Decision 2025 Continue Reading