Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman says he won't run for re-election in 2022

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman announced he will not seek re-election in 2022, giving two years' notice to anyone thinking about running for the office. 

At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Bowman said he never planned to be a "career politician," and he wanted to give business and community leaders in the city time to decide whether they want to put their names on the ballot.

"The community, having that benefit of time, I know will do a great job in elevating the next leader in Winnipeg's 44th mayor," he said. "I'm thinking about the long-term interests of the city."

Bowman was first elected in 2014 and was returned to power in 2018.

At the end of his term in 2022, he will have served eight years as mayor, which he says is "a good chunk of time" to lead the city. 

Bowman promised that his focus on the job will not waver during his remaining two years in office. His main priority will be fighting the pandemic, he said.

"My focus has to, and will, remain right now helping our community weather this storm," he said, adding he is committed to serving out the rest of his term.

"I have to be very clear: I'm not going anywhere, you're stuck with me for two more years. My focus is on the pandemic right now. I don't want anybody thinking that I'm making decisions based on re-election."

Other priorities will include the Winnipeg Transit master plan, due next year, city council's human rights committee, and his challenge to Winnipeg to plant a million trees in the city over the next two decades.

'No aspirations' for elected office

Bowman, who worked as privacy lawyer before running for office, wouldn't offer any speculation about his career post-politics, but he said he had "no aspirations" to run for office in another level of government.

"I think this is the best political office in Canada, is to serve as Winnipeg's mayor. If you're thinking about making a difference in the community, this office is where it's at," he said.

"I had a career beforehand, I'm going to have one after, but ... I'll give more thought to that in 2022."

Bowman played down any concerns that his ability to push for priorities on city council might be hampered by making his announcement halfway through his term.

"I'm not naive, I am a student of political history … I'm well aware of the power of incumbency and I benefited from that in the last municipal campaign," he said.

"This is a four-year term. We're all here for four years, there's no guarantees for anybody on council that they will come back, and so we should be focused with urgency to attend to the needs of our community and the next generation, regardless of who may or may not be running for election."

WATCH | Winnipeg Mayor not seeking re-election:

Winnipeg Mayor not seeking re-election

4 years ago

Duration 2:07

In a surprise announcement, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman says he will not seek re-election in 2022.

Building out rapid transit is among the major projects Bowman has championed that remain unfinished at this point in his career. Asked if he's worried about leaving office without having built another leg of the network, Bowman said he still has two years.

"We've got a lot of work to do there and I'm confident that we'll continue to make progress on that file," he said.

One of the major issues that dominated the 2018 Winnipeg mayoral election was the plan to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians. Bowman pledged in his first election campaign to reopen the intersection, but ultimately supported a plebiscite pushed by Couns. Jeff Browaty and Janice Lukes, which ended in a majority of voters rejecting that plan.

On Friday, Bowman said he still supports the idea, but he has no regrets on voting for the plebiscite.

"I was with Team Open, in terms of where my vote was, but I don't think you should ever regret listening to the people."

Asked to reflect on his biggest accomplishments, as well as frustrations over his time in office, Bowman said he would be better able to answer in at the end of his term.

"When we near the end of this term, and my time in office, I think we can all better reflect on the progress that we've made, as well as the challenges that we have going forward as a community."

Council reacts 

The reaction among Bowman's council colleagues was mixed.

Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie said Bowman will be a "lame duck" for the remainder of his term, and argued he should resign.

Eadie been fiercely critical of the mayor in the past, even posting a posting a false rumour on social media that the mayor was about to leave his job last year. 

"I just find it unbelievable that two years out, he's saying he's not going to run and he says he has nothing to look forward to," Eadie said Friday. 

"It's like he wants to have his cake and eat it, too."

Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Sherri Rollins said she was surprised by Bowman's announcement.

"Well, I lost a bet.... That was not anything I expected," she said. 

But she disagreed with Eadie, saying Bowman made the responsible decision by announcing his intentions early. 

"That two years does provide … a lot of room to get the right leader for Winnipeg," she said. 

"And I think Mayor Bowman and all the mayors that have been in that position know that heavy is the head that wears the crown — or in this case, the mayoral chain of office."

Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) said he didn't think the advance notice will change much about the quality of the candidates. 

"It's what happens on the inside," he said. 

"It really depends on getting people involved in politics who are gonna hold others accountable, that are gonna look for new ways of doing things."

He said Bowman has spent a large chunk of his life working for the city, and Winnipeg should thank him for that.