For the City of Selkirk, it was another event-filled year, with continued growth in both commercial and residential areas, infrastructure improvements, additions to the Active Transportation network, recognition from peers on several city programs, addition of windrow clearing and the first ever Selkirk Day celebrations.
The City of Selkirk was incorporated on June 15, 1882, and in 2025, 143 years later, the city recognized the date as Selkirk Day.
In its inaugural year, the city celebrated all month long with events and activities, and for Mayor Larry Johannson, the extended party was fitting.
“One day just didn’t seem like enough,” the mayor said.
“It’s an important day in our history and I think whether people have lived here all their lives or are new to Selkirk, they take pride in celebrating their home. It’s also an excellent time to educate people about our past. It was great to work with community partners and make some noise about our civic pride.”
The 2025 Mayor and Council formally adopted the flag this year and it is now available for purchase so residents can display it at home or at work, or wherever they choose.
Downtown revitalization continues to gain momentum
The latest residential advancement downtown is the Manitoba Métis Federation mixed-use building, which officially opened in April of 2025. The Eveline Street building features 49 units and overlooks the historic Red River, with its main floor dedicated to office and commercial space. It’s the second mixed-use space to open in downtown in recent years.
It was the city’s $7.2 million investment into the reconstruction of Eveline Street, along with its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, that attracted the MMF to the city.
David Chartrand, President of the MMF, had high praise for the city when the building was first announced in 2022.
“We are excited about investing in the City of Selkirk, a government that shares our government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and with its Downtown Renewal Strategy has demonstrated its dedication to reducing urban sprawl and creating safe and livable communities for all,” Chartrand said.
Three businesses in the downtown took advantage of the city’s Façade and Site Improvement program in 2025 and made changes that benefit their business and the downtown overall.
N-Joy Café owner Julie Neisner learned about the program when two city staffers stopped in for coffee and, already having a desire to make improvements, news the city offers grants to qualifying downtown businesses that cover up to 25 per cent of eligible façade or site improvement, to a maximum of $5,000, moved her project forward.
“(The staff members) just stopped in one day at the coffee shop and we were talking and I told them I was planning to do more changes to the business and they asked if I was aware the city offers a grant,” Neiser said.
“That’s one of the things that actually pushed me to look further into the ideas that we had of what to do to the building.”
Neisner’s new large windows have made her coffee shop more noticeable she says, and it has increased traffic into her store.
“We still have people that come in everyday not knowing that we have been around for three years now, so this is nice,” Neisner said.
The revitalized downtown is also attracting new businesses, like Nobüz Market, which sells non-alcoholic drinks, catering to a growing trend that sees people still wanting the taste of their favourite drinks, but without the alcohol.
The Garry Theatre’s Second Act
Perhaps the most buzz-worthy development in the downtown in 2025 is the oh-so-close to opening Garry Theatre. The city purchased the movie theatre and renovations are underway, the call has gone out for board members and Garry merch is already available to purchase online.
The city created an endowment fund to ensure the non-profit Garry will be sustainable in the long term and the Rotary Club of Selkirk announced a commitment of $87,500 over five years for stage naming rights.
The Rotary Club’s sponsorship will provide $17,500 a year for five years. Rotary’s David Thorne said the club’s membership, who hail from not just Selkirk but the RMs of St. Andrews and St. Clements as well, were overwhelmingly in support of sponsoring The Garry.
“Going back, the community made it abundantly clear that The Garry was a priority and our Rotary Club wanted to make sure that that goal of bringing back The Garry Theatre was achieved,” Thorne said.
Smart and strategic development continued in 2025 with permits issued for 66 new residential dwelling units and the city invited development proposals for an up to 20-acre-parcel in the West End, south of Vaughan and west of Annie. It will be the first parcel developed under the West End Concept Plan.
Peguis Child and Family Services has started construction on its new Selkirk office on Manitoba Avenue, next to the MPI building. A new retail development is anticipated for 287 Main Street, creating six units for new businesses. Development Plan work continued and a refresh of the city’s Zoning By-law is on the horizon.
Selkirk formally leaves the Capital Planning Region
In November, the city was notified that the province had approved its request to be removed from the Capital Planning Region, also known as the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. Selkirk was one of several municipalities that had opposed Bill 37, introduced by the previous provincial government, and which arbitrarily forced the city and other municipalities into the CPR without consultation or consent.
The CPR’s Plan 20-50 sought to take planning decisions out of the hands of local elected officials, and when the Kinew government introduced Bill 4 and granted municipalities to leave the CPR, mayor and council were relieved.
“We are grateful to Premier Kinew and Minister Simard for removing Selkirk from the Capital Planning Region. And we are hopeful that the outcome of the Bill 37 review is the restoration of some of the other authorities and responsibilities that Bill 37 stripped from all Manitoba municipalities. These are very positive steps in the right direction,” Johannson said.
Infrastructure investments and improvements
The Mercy Street AT pathway began construction in the summer of 2025. It runs from Pittsburgh to Greenwood and is the city’s first north-south link in its AT pathway. It intersects with the east-west AT pathway on Manitoba Avenue.
Mercy Street also had resurfacing done at the same time, from Stathnaver to Pacific and Vaughan to McLean. These sections were identified in the city’s Capital Asset Management Plan as being in poor to very poor shape. The existing asphalt was removed, the base packed and new asphalt placed.
Eveline Street from Taylor to Queen and the 200 block of Taylor received watermain liner installs to extend the life of the line by 50-plus years and improve service to the area, which had been prone to watermain breaks in recent years. Wastewater renewal and roadway restoration, including new curbing was also completed.
The 200 block of Taylor also had a sidewalk installed that connected to the Eveline and Main Street sidewalks.
Main Street Naturalization brings beauty, environmental benefits
The naturalization of medians and boulevards continued in 2025 with new plantings on Main Street aimed at creating a natural urban landscape that improves access to nature for residents and improves the environmental function of public lands.
It’s a project that might not catch the eye of residents in the early stages but will mature over time and be both aesthetically pleasing, require less maintenance and have environmental benefits.
This summer the city’s Urban Forestry program planted trees and shrubs on Main Street boulevards and medians and native grasses were seeded.
The grass seedlings were visible later in the summer and will take two to three years to reach their full maturity.
The city worked with native revegetation biologists and landscape architects to oversee the implementation and monitoring of planting operations, to ensure adequate maintenance and germination of the plants and seeds.
Rain gardens and bioswales are being used to further advance stormwater management within the city.
“These natural infrastructure systems are designed to collect and filter stormwater runoff from streets and impermeable surfaces, while creating an ecosystem that supports plants that can tolerate high soil moisture. The plants in these systems also absorb contaminants and heavy metals in stormwater,” said Mihali Schindle, the city’s Manager of Climate Action and Environmental Services.
All of this is good news for the environment, as the water that eventually makes its way to Lake Winnipeg will be filtered.
The city will also have to mow less, which helps reduce GHG emissions. The city has taken a lead role in the reduction of GHG emissions, and tracks emissions in accordance with By-law 5360 – The City of Selkirk Greenhouse Gas Accountability By-Law.
The most recent numbers available are from 2024 and show a reduction of 12.4 per cent from 2023. Total emissions for 2024 were 790 tonnes CO2e. The city’s corporate emissions have decreased by 30.3 per cent from 2018 – 2024, or by 6 per cent annually.
A great year for Selkirk Transit
In March, the federal government provided funding to Selkirk Transit for capital investments, providing $57,000 a year for the next 12 years.
CAO Duane Nicol said the stable, predictable funding is important for the city.
“From a capital standpoint, it’s significant for the City of Selkirk,” Nicol said.
“It’s a really meaningful contribution that will allow us to invest in better buses, plan and make smarter long-term decisions for the type of equipment that we are going to purchase. It also supports our transition to low-to-no-emission vehicles and it works into our asset management programs. We have a long-term plan for buses but part of the challenge is that buses are expensive and these additional dollars will help.”
In May, Transit extended its hours of operation on weekdays, running buses until 10pm instead of the previous schedule that stopped service at 6pm. An additional stop was added at Canadian Tire as well. Selkirk Transit began operating in 2011. That year, the number of rides provided was 13,502. In 2024, ridership was 35,642.
Selkirk Transit Manager of Transportation Services Charlene Dunning says later service is in response to public demand.
“It’s the biggest request people have,” Dunning said.
Selkirk’s leadership on the international stage
In 2025 the City of Selkirk was selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to be part of its Inclusive Climate Action for Tunisian Municipalities program. The city was selected due to its national leadership in climate change adaptation and asset management. Four city employees with the required expertise will travel to Tunisia once or twice a year until the program concludes in 2029.
The program aims to strengthen the resilience of local communities in Tunisia while promoting equity and inclusion. All travel costs associated with participation are covered by FCM.
The benefits of the program to the city include continued recognition as a leader in climate change adaptation and asset management and a unique professional development experience that few municipal professions ever get in their entire careers. The experience will enhance their skills and knowledge and provide valuable insights and best practices that can be applied to their work at home.
Selkirk CAO wins Lt.-Gov’s Award for Leadership in Municipal Administration
Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol was named recipient of the Lt.-Gov’s inaugural Award for Leadership in Municipal Administration and was honoured during a ceremony at Government House in November.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Municipal Leadership is one of the highest honours bestowed upon a municipal administrator in Manitoba. This prestigious award recognizes visionary leaders whose innovation, integrity, and dedication have advanced municipal leadership and strengthened communities across the province. It celebrates individuals whose outstanding leadership and service have made a lasting impact on the lives of Manitobans.
Nicol was nominated for the award by Selkirk’s Mayor and Council. Mayor Larry Johannson says Nicol is most deserving and he’s proud of the city’s CAO for not just the award, but his dedication and commitment to the position and the community that has made it possible.
Vibrant mural celebrating Selkirk added to iconic Water Tower
The City of Selkirk commissioned Charlie Johnston to paint a mural around the base of the water tower. The mural celebrates four categories of Selkirk’s past and present as represented in each band of colour: red – industry, orange – sports and recreation, green – parks and wildlife, and blue – marine life and history.
Adding windrow removal to the city’s snow clearing operations was done in response to a public desire, and the service was included in last year’s budget and began this winter.
“It’s a big deal, we all know it’s a big deal. We live in a place where we can get a lot of snow and our residents told us they want the pile left behind by the plow removed and the city listened,” said Mayor Larry Johannson.
“The city has responded to the people.”
Leading the way in innovation
The city won the Willis Award for Innovation, a national award, for its CitizenSupport service request program. Presented by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA), it recognizes programs, projects or services that demonstrate new approaches to leading, facilitating, or administering which result in positive changes to local government processes and practices, and ultimately bring outstanding benefits to the organization and the community.
CitizenSupport involves the integration of a website, in-person service, a call centre, a service tracker/ticketing system, customer relationship management (CRM) software, artificial intelligence tools, and a database of service information — all to bridge the gap between citizens and municipal services, while evolving to meet the needs of the community.
As we come to the end of the year that was, 2025 proved to be another very busy — and very successful — year for the city. It was a year defined by significant growth and achievements guided by smart investments that improve city services and better the lives of citizens, paving the way for continued momentum into 2026.
