Winnipeg OurWinnipeg 2045
Core idea
Corridor growth, climate resilience
Why it matters
Prairie city adapts to change
Description
OurWinnipeg 2045 is the city-wide development plan adopted by the City of Winnipeg in 2022, replacing the earlier OurWinnipeg 2011 and paired with the Complete Communities direction strategy that gives it spatial expression. It steers growth towards existing urban corridors and centres rather than continued low-density expansion at the prairie edge, and frames the city's future around themes of climate resilience, social equity, economic prosperity and good governance. Prepared by the municipal planning department after extensive public engagement, it operates at the scale of the whole city, setting policy direction for zoning, infrastructure and neighbourhood plans over roughly a twenty-five-year horizon.
Significance
The plan is a representative example of how mid-sized North American prairie cities have moved from expansion-oriented land-use plans to strategies centred on intensification, corridor growth and climate adaptation. Winnipeg's slow-growing, spread-out form makes it a useful test of whether such policies can redirect development in cities without strong market pressure for density, a question that remains actively debated. It also illustrates the broader Canadian shift towards linking municipal plans to reconciliation, equity and greenhouse-gas commitments.
What shaped it
- Urban resilience (2013)
- The compact city (1973-1990s)
- UN 2030 Agenda & Sustainable Development Goals (2015)
Sources
- https://www.winnipeg.ca/building-development/city-planning-design/ourwinnipeg/ourwinnipeg-2045
- https://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/ViewPdf.asp?SectionId=612079