If police kept working-class people safe, Winnipeg would be one of the safest cities in Canada, if not the world. The Prairie city of more than 800,000 people now spends more than one quarter of its operating budget on the Winnipeg Police Service—by far the highest share for any major city in the country. The police force is projected to spend more than $330 million in 2024 and $360 million in 2027. Comparatively, the entire Community Services department—which includes all libraries and recreation services such as pools, arenas, and community centres—is budgeted for a measly $110 million by 2027, while the city’s contribution to public transit will reach only $133 million by then.
A vast majority of this police budget goes toward the salaries, benefits, and pensions of a tiny cadre of extremely well-compensated cops. A cop starts making a six-figure salary after only five years on the job. In 2022, about 1,300 WPS employees made more than $100,000 a year, compared to only sixty employees of Winnipeg Transit and twenty-three from Community Services. In total, more than half of the 100 highest-paid city employees belong to the WPS. This situation also means that future wage increases will further inflate already enormous salaries, and that this divide will only widen in the years to come. Meanwhile, life-affirming care goes underfunded, understaffed, and unsupported altogether.
