ManitobaViolent and disruptive incidents at Winnipeg’s Millennium Library dropped sharply over the summer, which a new city report credits to the removal of buses from Graham Avenue and tighter controls on people repeatedly involved in safety incidents.June to September incidents fell by more than 50% compared to last year, City of Winnipeg report saysCameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Nov 26, 2025 8:29 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Guards search bags as visitors enter the Millennium Library in a 2019 file photo. The city began restricting access for people responsible for multiple incidents inside the library after a spike in incidents in the first quarter of this year. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)Violent and disruptive incidents at Winnipeg’s Millennium Library dropped sharply over the summer, which a new city report credits to the removal of buses from Graham Avenue and tighter controls on people repeatedly involved in safety incidents.The downtown library has struggled for years with safety concerns, including a homicide in 2022.But from June to September 2025, incidents fell by more than 57 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the report headed to the city’s community services committee. Attendance at the library also fell, but by a margin of only 18.5 per cent. For the entire library network, the number of incidents fell by nearly 24 per cent, while attendance dropped marginally by 0.7 per cent.City staff say several changes contributed to the drop in incidents at Millennium Library, including changes to the city’s bus network this summer that rerouted buses off Graham Avenue in June and may have had an impact on the number of visitors.The city also began restricting access for people responsible for multiple incidents inside the library.Those measures come after a spike in incidents in the first quarter of the year. Between January and March, Millennium Library saw a 69 per cent increase in incidents compared with the same period in 2024, a spike some advocates linked to the closure of Community Connections, the low-barrier support hub that had operated inside the main floor until December 2024.The recently released draft 2026 budget sets aside $2.5 million for security improvements at Millennium Library. Mayor Scott Gillingham, speaking to reporters earlier this month, said that money would go primarily toward securing the third and fourth-floor balconies. Any funding left over could go toward modest modifications to the entrance, he said.ABOUT THE AUTHORCameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.
Millennium Library incidents dropped by more than half after buses moved off Graham Avenue: report
