Winnipeg, MB – The City of Winnipeg’s unaudited year-end financial status report shows continued progress in strengthening our financial position, with a $3 million improvement over the last quarterly forecast.
The tax-supported operating budget (General Revenue Fund) closed the year with a $14.3 million deficit, driven in part by significant late-year pressures, including heavy snowfall and an unexpected $7 million legal settlement.
Despite these challenges, we achieved our full $51.8 million in savings targets through:
- Continuous improvement initiatives
- Debt deferral
- Removal of carbon tax
- Additional short-term interest earned
“Throughout the year, we remained disciplined in how we managed the City’s finances — finding savings, improving processes, and adapting to changing conditions as they arose,” said Councillor Jeff Browaty, Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Economic Development. “Those ongoing efforts helped strengthen our overall financial position and better prepare us to handle late-year pressures. In addition to the unplanned $7 million legal settlement, we saw a significant snowfall event late in 2025 that negatively impacted the quarter but still allowed us to land the snow and ice control budget within $1 million of our target for the full year.”
The unaudited year-end balance in the Financial Stabilization Reserve is $25.9 million, following a $14.3 million transfer to cover the General Revenue Fund deficit.
Notably, Water & Sewer operations ended the year with revenues $67 million higher than budgeted, primarily due to:
- Improved water billing accuracy — a 73 percent increase in water meter replacements and a six percent increase in meter readings provided by property owners led to a roughly eight percent increase in billed water usage in 2025
- Increased water consumption during a dry summer — pumped water increased by one-and-a-half percent from 2024 to 2025
This budget variance will be used to fund significant capital investments such as the North End Water Treatment Plant, reducing the need for debt. We will consider changes in water billing or consumption habits as part of our annual review of water rates.
Other positive variances include:
- Winnipeg Transit, which had a $4.1 million positive variance despite ongoing challenges with fare evasion
- Winnipeg Police Service, which had a $1.7 million positive variance, in part reflecting significantly lower homicide levels in 2025 compared to 2024
The year-end report will be presented at the meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Economic Development on April 17, 2026.