LIVE SHOW: MB Votes '26 - What Happens After October 28th?
Welcome to Municipal Affairs Live for this Wednesday, October 21st.
Municipal politics is often the level of government we pay the least attention to — until something goes wrong. A pothole that never gets fixed. Property taxes that keep climbing. Concerns about public safety, homelessness, housing or the state of our roads and infrastructure.
These are the issues we encounter in our communities every day, and they’re often the issues we expect our local leaders to address.
But as Manitoba heads into the final week before municipal election day, there’s a bigger question: how much are voters paying attention, what will shape their decisions, and are we about to see a call for change at city halls and council chambers across the province?
In Winnipeg, a crowded mayoral race is putting questions of leadership, accountability and the city’s future in the spotlight. And beyond the capital, communities across Manitoba are weighing their own priorities — from growth and development to affordability, infrastructure and the services residents rely on.
Municipal elections can also be unpredictable. Turnout is often lower than in provincial and federal elections, which means a relatively small shift in who actually casts a ballot can have a meaningful impact on the outcome. And with some high-profile incumbent defeats recently in British Columbia, it’s worth asking whether those results offer any lessons for Manitoba — or whether each community’s political story is unique.
So, what are voters really thinking? What do the polls tell us — and what can they not tell us? And when election results come in, how do we separate a genuine appetite for change from the influence of turnout, name recognition and local issues?
To help us make sense of it all, we’re joined for our penultimate episode of Manitoba Votes 2026, with Curtis Brown, Vice President and Managing Director for Western Canada at Abacus Data, to talk about voter sentiment, municipal election polling and what to watch for as Manitobans prepare to choose their local leaders.
This episode of Municipal Affairs Live is brought to you in part by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, representing Manitoba’s municipal governments and the communities they serve.
So, with that, let’s get started.
As this is Municipal Affairs — live, I’m Christopher Brown, and today, we’re asking…
What Should I Expect On Election Day?
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