Three vying to unseat Allard in St. Boniface

A bartender, a restaurateur and a school board trustee are running to replace the incumbent St. Boniface candidate who has held the seat for three terms.

Coun. Matt Allard, first elected in 2014, is seeking his fourth stint leading the francophone ward. Prior to his city hall career, Allard was CEO of La Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface and worked as an executive assistant to Liberal MP Dan Vandal, who held the ward’s seat before running federally.

Allard won the 2022 election with 68 per cent of the vote. He said he’s running for re-election because St. Boniface needs someone who has experience at City Hall. He has served as acting deputy mayor and chair of the infrastructure renewal and public works standing policy committee.

“St. Boniface needs someone that knows the job, someone with a track record of delivering real results right from day one, and I think I do have a proven track record and a clear vision in terms of going forward,” he told the Free Press.

He pointed to his push to make Winnipeg Transit free for children under 11, which is still city policy, and the completion of the Windsor Park Fire Paramedic Station in April of 2025.

If re-elected, Allard said he would shift funding from expanding roads to fixing and maintaining neighbourhood streets. He would also push for partnerships with community groups serving homeless people and more funding for St. Boniface libraries and pools.

City crews demolished the Happyland pool last year, despite a public push to keep the site open. In 2024, residents raised $86,000 toward the pool’s operating costs, attempting to sway city council to keep it open for another season. Instead, councillors voted to close it.

While the city has announced the estimated $21-million St. Boniface Outdoor Aquatic Park project, its potential location is currently the site of the Provencher Pool on Langevin Street, a free outdoor facility.

“Like the residents who loved and cherished Happyland Pool, my heart broke with them when that closure occurred,” Allard said. “But I think the fact is these are older facilities, and so far council has preferred to go the direction of decommissioning rather than putting millions of dollars in older facilities.”

This election is Nicholas Douklias’s second attempt at ousting Allard. The 48-year-old owner of Greek eatery Helios Restaurant & Catering ran in 2022, finishing second to the incumbent.

Douklias said St. Boniface needs an advocate at City Hall to help restore the community as a “jewel” in Winnipeg.

“I am always present in the community, and that’s what’s lacking: a presence of someone that actually knows what’s going on, someone in the know, someone that’s listening to the residents and understands we’re having issues here,” he said.

Addressing community safety is a top priority for Douklias. He said he would bring police, municipal officials and homeless outreach groups together to coordinate approaches when addressing root causes of crime and homelessness.

He would also focus on communication and hosting community town halls with residents because many aren’t aware of what’s happening at City Hall, he said.

Access to swimming pools is crucial for the community after the loss of the Happyland pool, he said. He believes it’s more efficient to keep two smaller pools open that are free for the public rather than building a new complex that might charge entrance fees.

Sylvie Schmidt, a two-term school board trustee for Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, decided to enter municipal politics after the closure of the Happyland pool.

The 56-year-old, who has lived in the ward all her life, said the city didn’t listen to the community’s calls and efforts to save the pool.

She said her experience as a school board trustee and day job as union Unifor Local 2002’s national health and safety coordinator has taught her how to act on resident concerns.

“I may not be able to fix everything, but at least I will try hard to listen to them, and I will respond to them,” Schmidt said.

Her first action, if elected, would be halting any potential closure of the Windsor Park Pool and halting the new St. Boniface Outdoor Aquatic Park project. Schmidt said she would instead prioritize maintaining and improving existing facilities.

She added there needs to be greater coordination between city departments so road maintenance and sewer fixes happen at the same time, rather than “ripping up the concrete twice.”

“People just want change, and I want change, so I’m going to step up to be that change,” she said.

Robyn Vilde, a former Royal Bank of Canada employee and current bartender at the Norwood Hotel on Marion Street, is also vying to supplant Allard.

The 32-year-old moved from Toronto to Winnipeg six years ago in search of a lower cost of living and quieter city.

While Vilde lives outside the ward on Rosyln Road, he said he’s witnessed the lack of homelessness support and escalating safety issues plaguing the area from behind the bar.

In Toronto, he was previously a union organizer and ran as an NDP candidate in the 2018 Ontario provincial election.

Vilde said he would pass a motion to ensure new developments will pay a portion of the land’s value to the city to help fund and improve municipal services such as libraries and recreation facilities. Toronto already has a similar bylaw in place.

He promised to cancel the estimated $900-million Chief Peguis Trail extension and redirect the funding towards improving Winnipeg Transit.

He’d also push the provincial and federal governments for more supportive housing funding.

“We need change in this community, and we need to start seeing things getting better and unhoused neighbours getting the support they need,” he said. “We want to make sure that what makes the community great continues to be in place.”

Vilde said he will be moving into the ward after April 2027, once his current lease expires.

matthew.frank@winnipegfreepress.com