The building of bridges

Opinion

As election signs begin appearing on lawns for the Elmwood-East Kildonan city council byelection, and with the general election on the horizon for next year, so is a certain kind of political rhetoric: politicians promising to fight for their constituents.

The subject of the Louise Bridge and its importance to the residents of the community has been raised as an issue by some candidates seeking success in the current byelection. The discussion that’s been raised has made me think about the process of building bridges — and I’m not talking about the physical ones. How do we build the metaphorical bridges within our government, and within our communities?

On the surface, having someone fight for you seems like a grand gesture, but in municipal governance, is this really effective?

The language used by some candidates in this byelection and candidates ramping up for the 2026 general election sounds heroic on a campaign brochure, but it falls short at city hall. To get anything meaningful done, whether that be repairing failing bridges, modernizing our transit system, or opposing zoning reform, you need at least eight other people (councillors and mayor) to agree with you.

You can’t fight your colleagues to support you. You need to work with them, negotiate and collaborate.

You need teamwork.

When a candidate says they’ll fight for you, what does this mean?

Is it fighting against a councillor from another ward, whose residents also need their roads fixed? Or fighting for better roads for the entire city we all use? Effective leaders in our communities will work with others, build relationships, and tackle the real challenges Winnipeg faces together. There is no enemy in the person in the next chair over at city hall, it is decades of past decisions which likely made sense at the time that we’re all facing together now.

We should be listening closely to how candidates describe their accomplishments. Is it “I got this done” or “we achieved this together”? Any significant project in Winnipeg involves a resounding “we”: community members, organizations, city planners, public works crews, people who provide feedback and of course, the other council members who voted for it. A leader that uses “I” is either erasing the contribution of several other people or hasn’t actually been involved in the complex team building work of a functioning unit. True leadership focuses on the people around you and not yourself.

We’ve seen some people bring the fight into politics, both in Winnipeg and in our neighbours to the south. Is this really effective?

Let’s consider a hockey team where a forward thinks they’re the only one who can score. They ignore their teammates, trying to bust their way through the entire opposing team alone. This rarely results in a goal; but often leads to a turnover then an odd-man rush against your team.

A city council is no different. Each councillor is responsible for their ward, their position on the ice, but for the city to succeed as a whole, they must play together.

When city hall becomes a battleground instead of a collaborative space, more than a motion fails.

The public’s trust erodes. Talented city staff get caught up in the political grandstanding, become demoralized, and may resign. Skilled workers and council candidates might look at the dysfunction and toxicity then decide not to apply or run for election.

The “fighter” mentality repels the very collaborative problem solvers our city desperately needs for Winnipeg to succeed for generations to come.

City council needs teamwork if we want to see our city hit the potential we know it has.

People who want to fight their way into success may win the argument on social media, but they’ll lose the vote 15-1 in the council chamber.

We don’t need someone who will throw political punches, we need people who will work with and for everyone. Someone who can use teamwork to address many pressing issues such as crime, cost of living and homelessness. How can you expect to build an important connection in the form of a physical bridge, when you can’t form a connection with the person across the table from you?

Tyler Crichton is an enthusiastic team builder, who may or may not be (a little too) obsessed with Winnipeg.