Winnipeggers talk smack about their own city all the time. But when anyone else does - especially anyone from Toronto - watch out.

A new Probe Research survey perfectly captures this dichotomy - and also shines a brighter light on what Winnipeggers worry about most in their city today.

Three-quarters of Winnipeggers agree their city is a great place to live, with two-thirds expressing pride in Winnipeg and more than six in 10 noting they would encourage others to move there.

At the same time, fully three-quarters agree they have never seen things as bad as they are in Winnipeg right now. More than four in 10 (and, worryingly, one-half of 18-34s) say they’d move somewhere else if they got the chance.

a graph showing community perceptions - Winnipeg versus other communities in Manitoba

There is a huge difference between how Winnipeggers feel about their city right now and how those in other Manitoba communities feel. While virtually everyone in rural areas are proud of where they live and would encourage others to move there, the proportion of Winnipeggers who feel this way is much lower.

The gap is most stark when we examine what percentage agree they’ve never seen things as bad as they are: three-quarters of Winnipeggers agree with this, with one-half of those living in smaller urban centres like Brandon, Portage, Steinbach and Thompson agreeing with this statement. Only one-third of those living in small rural or northern centres, however, have this very negative outlook on their communities.

image showing what people living in Manitoba communities are most frustrated with

Winnipeggers are most frustrated by three things: the level of crime in their community, the ability of their elected officials to deal with the city’s challenges, and the state of the city’s roads and other infrastructure. Crime and infrastructure are perennial concerns, and it appears Winnipeggers are increasingly frustrated by the fact that, despite major efforts, these problems are not getting better.

Despite this dissatisfaction, Winnipeggers and other Manitobans are proud that their communities are welcoming places, with a strong sense of community spirit and togetherness. Winnipeggers also take a lot of pride in the city’s arts, culture and entertainment offerings, as well as its relative affordability.

image showing what people in Manitoba love most about their communities

With about a year until Winnipeg’s next municipal election, these results point to a sense of disquiet and dissatisfaction. The question may be whether Winnipeggers vote for change at City Hall, or if some - especially young adults and relative newcomers to Winnipeg - simply vote with their feet and seek out new opportunities elsewhere.

Methodology

Probe Research surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 adults residing in Manitoba from July 24 to August 11, 2025.

Those who responded to the online survey are members of Probe Research’s proprietary panel, as well as members of another national online panel.

Because an online panel is a non-probability sample, no margin of error can be ascribed. For the purposes of comparison, a probabilistic sample of N=1,000 Manitoba adults would have a margin of error of ± 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error would also be higher within each of the survey’s population sub-groups.​

Probe applied minor statistical weighting by age, region, gender and educational attainment to this sample to ensure it properly reflects the known attributes of the province’s population. Probe used SPSS software to conduct the statistical analysis.​

The survey was designed and paid for by Probe Research.

Disclosure Statement

Probe Research is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and confirms that this research fully complies with all CRIC Standards including the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements. Learn more here.

 

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