Three vying to unseat Allard in St. Boniface
Four councillor candidates are running to represent the St. Boniface ward in Winnipeg's municipal election.
Three individuals are competing to replace St. Boniface's incumbent candidate, Matt Allard, who has held the seat for three terms. The candidates are a bartender, a restaurateur, and a school board trustee. Allard, first elected in 2014, is running for his fourth term in the francophone ward. He served as acting deputy mayor and chair of the infrastructure renewal and public works standing policy committee.
Coun. Matt Allard, a bartender, is seeking re-election, citing his experience at City Hall and a clear vision for the future. He has pushed for free transit for children under 11 and the completion of the Windsor Park Fire Paramedic Station. If re-elected, he intends to shift funding from expanding roads to repairing neighbourhood streets and increase support for homeless services and libraries.
Nicholas Douklias, the owner of Greek eatery Helios Restaurant & Catering, ran for the position in 2022 but lost to Allard. He is now running again, emphasizing the need for an advocate at City Hall to restore the community as a "jewel" in Winnipeg. Douklias would like to coordinate with police, municipal officials, and homeless outreach groups to address crime and homelessness, and believes in maintaining smaller, free pools rather than building new, expensive facilities.
Sylvie Schmidt, a school board trustee for Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, entered municipal politics after the Happyland pool's closure. She is running to halt any potential pool closures and prioritize maintaining and improving existing facilities. Schmidt also advocates for better coordination between city departments to prevent twice-routed repairs.
Written by urgent.news from Winnipeg Free Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
