What to know in St. Boniface ward before Winnipeg's election - Action News
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Manitoba

What to know in St. Boniface ward before Winnipeg's election

The councillor of aWinnipeg ward with a large French-speaking population will face off against a political newcomer and a familiar opponent this election.

Restaurant owner, real estate agent hope to unseat ward's councillor

A map with one area highlighted in yellow.
Winnipeg's St. Boniface ward includes the Southdale, Windsor Park and Norwood neighbourhoods. (CBC)

About St. Boniface

The councillor of aWinnipeg ward with a large French-speaking population will face off against a political newcomer and a familiar opponent this election.

St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard will go head to head with real estate agent Marcel Boille who ran against him in the 2018 city election and restaurant owner Nicholas Douklias for the central-east Winnipeg seat.

The ward stretches from north St. Boniface to the Island Lakes development and also includes the Southdale, Windsor Park and Norwood neighbourhoods.

It also has a large French-speaking population. Based on data collected for the 2016 census, about one in every four people in the ward speaks the language.

People in Winnipeg will head to the polls on Oct. 26 to vote for councillors in 13 of the city's 15 wards, as well as a new mayor and school trustees. Councillors in the other two wards have already been acclaimed meaning they automatically hold on to their seats after no one ran against them.

In the 2018 election, less than half of the people eligible to vote in St. Boniface or just over 45per cent cast a ballot for their ward's council seat, data from the city clerk's office says.

Here's what you need to know before election day in St. Boniface.

Who's running?

Matt Allard has been the ward's councillor since 2014. He was elected after former councillor and current Liberal MP Dan Vandal whomAllard worked for as executive assistant left the seat to run in federal politics.

A man with brown hair and a short beard wears a suit and smiles.
Matt Allard is seeking re-election as city councillor in St. Boniface. (Radio-Canada)

During his time on council, Allardhas been on several committees,including the executive policy committee, which functions like the mayor's cabinet.

Marcel Boille is a real estate agent who has lived in north St. Boniface for decades. He co-founded a St. Boniface daycare, where he was a board member for many years. Boille was also on the board of theNotre Dame Recreational Centre for about a decade.

A man with glasses and a white beard wears a suit and stands in front of a council election sign.
Marcel Boille is a real estate agent running for council in Winnipeg's St. Boniface ward. (Radio-Canada)

Nicholas Douklias owns and runs Helios Restaurant in St. Boniface.

He's a member of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce's small business advisory council and has volunteered on community boards, including the Socit de la francophonie manitobaine, the Norwood Grove Business Improvement Zone and Entreprises Riel.

A bald man in a suit jacket smiles in front of a restaurant sign.
Nicholas Douklias runs a restaurant in Winnipeg's St. Boniface ward, where he's now running for council. (Anne-Louise Michel/Radio-Canada)

Allard says he'd focus on improving the diversity of housing options in Winnipeg including by pushing for more affordable housing and work to improve roads to make active transportation more accessible.

He'd also aim to improve public transit service and address safety concerns in the city, focusing on both road safety and tackling the root causes of crime.

Boille says he'd focus on improving services, increasing police presence, fixing roads and boosting development in St. Boniface.

Douklias says he'd include community groups in decision making and work with them to address crime. His pledges also include improving access to city services, such as transit, snow clearing and community pools.

Douklias wouldalso expand community gardens, develop a food waste and composting program, improve green spaces and plant more trees in communities and native plants on boulevards.

More CBC Manitoba ward profiles


A map of Winnipeg with numbers on each ward.
People in Winnipeg will head to the polls on Oct. 26 to vote for a new mayor and councillors in 13 of the citys 15 wards. Councillors in the other two wards have already been acclaimed. (CBC)