Creating a vision for Winnipeg

Developing a clear, concise and comprehensive vision for the city of Winnipeg is a top priority for the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

In fact it is one of the two key pillars of The Chamber’s three-year strategic plan that the board of directors felt was important for us to tackle as an organization. For too long the board felt that decisions on the future direction of the city were being made in isolation of a clear direction embraced by the community.

Experts on the visioning process for cities agree that in order for it to be successful, a city’s vision must be a shared vision, which means it is developed, conceived and embraced by the community.

Over the past 10 months, 19 Leadership Winnipeg participants have invited hundreds of community stakeholders to take part in community consultations focusing on five key lenses: economic opportunities, creating a sustainable city, downtown Winnipeg, arts and culture, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as part of the Vision Winnipeg process. Through research, interviews with stakeholders and community consultations, participants had the challenging task of not only creating a vision for each of the five lenses, but also identifying some actionable items that would result from that vision.

During this process Winnipeggers from a variety of backgrounds, with connections to the various lenses, were brought together to talk about the strengths we possess as a city and the potential opportunities for the future as we develop the vision. In addition, The Chamber has also held consultation sessions looking at the city through the lenses of transportation, recreation and sport, and youth.

In every one of the consultation sessions held, it was identified that some of the key strengths of Winnipeg that we can build upon are the people that live here, the sense of community that exists here, our multicultural background and our diversified economy.

Some of the potential actionable items that emerged from these consultations include the establishment of a Chamber of Art and Culture, creating more venture capital pools for investors, becoming a human rights city and moving forward with a rapid transit system for Winnipeg.

The information and research gathered over the past year, and in the coming year, will be invaluable in the development of an overall community vision, undertaken in concert with the various stakeholders and the City of Winnipeg. The final product will demonstrate action and growth and outline goals and achievement and is intended to drive future decision making in the city of Winnipeg.