Petition shows Winnipeg taxpayers are hitting their breaking point

There’s a limit. A point where people say enough is enough. In Winnipeg, that moment may finally be here.

An online petition demanding the reversal of Mayor Scott Gillingham’s latest water bill hike and Manitoba Hydro’s proposed rate increases is quickly gaining traction. The message is simple: stop squeezing families who are already being crushed by rising costs.

The petition, started by Mazher Alam, puts it plainly: “Living in Winnipeg has become increasingly challenging due to the recent property tax hikes and now, an unexpected water bill increase, and the Manitoba government’s plan to increase hydro bills as well.”

He’s right. These are not minor adjustments. These are significant cost increases imposed on families who are already struggling with high grocery bills, carbon taxes, inflated insurance rates, and now hundreds more in monthly city and utility charges.

Let’s go over the facts.

Under Mayor Gillingham, Winnipeg property taxes were hiked nearly 6% this year—well above the 3.5% annual increase he promised during his campaign. Not only did he break that promise, he added a new water charge and a waste collection fee. Combined, they’ll cost the average homeowner an additional $500 a year. At a time when families are already making tough choices, this move feels tone-deaf and reckless.

And it’s not just the mayor. His supporters on council—rookie councillor Evan Duncan, Janice Lukes, Markus Chambers, and others—backed this budget without demanding real spending cuts. They didn’t even try. Not one meaningful proposal to reduce administrative costs. No push to audit departments or restructure bloated services. The default response was to take more from the taxpayer.

This is not leadership. It’s laziness disguised as inevitability.

The Hydro story isn’t any better. Premier Wab Kinew stood in front of cameras last year, smiling, promising that life would be “more affordable” under an NDP government. But reality tells a different story. Manitoba Hydro has already applied to raise rates 5% this year and another 4% next year. That’s a minimum 11% increase by 2026—and that’s before factoring in inflation and consumption growth.

Add it up. A Winnipeg family paying $1,500 in property tax hikes, another $500 in water and waste fees, and now $200 to $300 more in hydro bills. That’s not affordability. That’s financial suffocation.

And bracket creep, the silent tax increase, is quietly draining even more. As inflation pushes wages up, Manitobans are being taxed at higher rates even though their purchasing power hasn’t improved. The Kinew government has not adjusted the tax brackets to keep pace, effectively increasing taxes on working families without saying a word.

Meanwhile, the province is barreling ahead with record borrowing. The Manitoba government is now paying more than $2 billion a year in interest alone. That’s taxpayer money going to banks and bondholders—money that could have funded health care, education, or infrastructure. To make it worse, Manitoba receives over $4 billion annually in federal transfer payments, and over half of that goes just to pay interest on our ballooning debt. That’s not fiscal management. That’s kicking the can until it explodes.

If you feel like you’re working harder and getting less, you’re not imagining it. It’s happening. And the people responsible for this—at City Hall and at the Legislature—act like there are no consequences.

Well, there can be. And there should be.

The petition calling for a reversal of the water and hydro hikes is one step. It gives residents a voice and a chance to demand better. But it must go further. People need to speak out, organize, and most of all—vote. These politicians count on voter apathy. They rely on low turnout to slip through unpopular decisions. That’s how they get away with it.

Mayor Gillingham has made a habit of breaking promises. This latest budget wasn’t his first betrayal of campaign commitments, and it won’t be his last if voters keep letting it slide. Premier Kinew continues to spend as if the bill will never come due. But it’s coming—just not for him. For you.

It’s time to hold them accountable.

Families shouldn’t have to start petitions to be heard. But when governments won’t listen, that’s what it takes. These hikes aren’t a reflection of good governance; they’re a signal that our leaders have run out of ideas and defaulted to taxing their way out of poor planning.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Winnipeg needs leadership that respects taxpayers and understands the limits of what working families can afford. We need decision-makers willing to dig into spending, demand efficiencies, and make smart trade-offs. Raising taxes and fees year after year is not a strategy—it’s surrender.

There’s a growing number of Manitobans who want change. People who want honest budgeting, not hidden fees. People who want results, not press conferences. People who understand that economic growth doesn’t come from punishing those who work and invest here.

You can add your name to the petition at www.change.org/p/reverse-water-and-hydro-bill-hike-in-winnipeg. And then you can make an even bigger impact by showing up at the ballot box when it matters most.

Because that’s the only message politicians truly hear: votes.

We’re not asking for miracles. Just fairness. Transparency. And a little respect for the people paying the bills.