Full Breakdown
Scott Gillingham Re-elected as Winnipeg Mayor, Council Sees Major Turnover
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Core Event: Election Results and Immediate Reactions
Incumbent mayor Scott Gellingham secured a second term with roughly 40 % of the vote. Former councillor and PC MLA Kevin Klein placed second with about 21 %, while software developer Noah Redden and funeral-home director Mike Vogiatzakis finished third and fourth with 20 % and 10 % respectively. Gellingham announced his victory shortly after polls closed and thanked voters at a watch party.
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Data & Statistics
- Vote totals: Gellingham 80,206; Klein 41,703; Redden 39,962; Vogiatzakis 19,463.
- Vote percentages: Gellingham 39.8 %; Klein 20.7 %; Redden 19.8 %; Vogiatzakis 9.7 %.
- Council turnover: Nine new councillors were elected, the highest number since the council was reduced to 15 seats in 1992. Four incumbents—Russ Wyatt, Devi Sharma, Ross Eadie and Shawn Dobson—were defeated. Six incumbents retained their seats.
- Candidate field: 54 individuals ran for city council and more than 90 contested school-trustee positions.
Visual evidence
Images from the story
03
Background & Context
Gellingham first won the mayoralty in 2022 with a 27.5 % share, edging out former mayor Glen Murray by 4,391 votes. The 2026 contest featured a fully contested slate of mayoral and council races, a shift from the 2022 acclamations that saw two councillors returned without opposition.
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Key Figures & Groups
- Scott Gellingham — mayor, re-elected; previously a pastor, emphasizes community-service staffing and homelessness solutions.
- Kevin Klein — former councillor, PC MLA, second-place candidate; owner of the *Winnipeg Sun*.
- Noah Redden — software developer, third-place candidate; ran a largely social-media-driven campaign.
- Mike Vogiatzakis — funeral-home director, fourth-place candidate; represents a right-of-centre populist platform.
- Lora Meseman, Greg McFarlane, Natalie Smith, Kelly Ryback — newly elected councillors who unseated incumbents in Transcona, Old Kildonan, Mynarski and St. James.
05
Official Statements & Responses
Gellingham outlined three priority initiatives:
1. Community-service workers to answer non-emergency 911 calls, reducing reliance on police and fire-paramedic responders.
2. Expanded homelessness and addiction services, calling for additional provincial funding for detox and long-term mental-health beds, and urging the city to stop routing such patients to emergency rooms.
3. Restoration of senior-focused bus stops removed during the 2025 transit overhaul.
He announced plans to meet each newly elected councillor within two days to seek common ground on council priorities. Klein, after conceding, remarked on the difficulty of unseating an incumbent.
06
Why It Matters / Impact
The influx of nine new councillors reshapes Winnipeg’s policy landscape and may alter the composition of the mayor’s executive committee. Gellingham’s focus on non-police 911 responses and provincial support for detox and mental-health facilities signals a shift toward addressing chronic social-service challenges. Restoring senior bus stops could improve mobility for an aging population, while the council turnover suggests voter appetite for change beyond the mayoral office.
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Verbatim Quotes
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What's Next
Gellingham intends to convene with the full council within the next two days, followed by negotiations with the Manitoba provincial government on funding for detox and mental-health infrastructure. Implementation of the community-service 911 model and the phased reinstatement of senior bus stops are slated for the first year of his term.